Chapter Six
Lavender Cottage
Angelica hadn’t felt this light and fanciful for so long, she’d forgotten what such a thing was like. What had happened between her and Caleb yesterday had changed… everything.
And it was better than she’d ever dreamed.
After she’d made her way back to the manor house yesterday by teatime, she looked like a drowned rat.
The rain hadn’t stopped until well after dinner.
The servants made a fuss over her. She’d been obliged to tell a few lies, hinting that she’d been caught in the rain a couple of miles from the manor and took refuge at a folly near one of the ponds.
Then, when the rain hadn’t stopped, she’d made the decision to walk back.
She’d even added a few shivers for effect.
Heading off her maid’s questions was a bit more difficult, so while Dorcas was busy ordering a bath, Angelica had removed her wet clothes in order to hide the staining left behind from Caleb’s release.
The one good thing about being drenched was that there had been copious amounts of mud accumulated on the way back, so she’d made certain some of it from her hem and half-boots landed on the shift to further hide the evidence that she’d been intimate with a man.
The clothes would be taken down to the laundress, and once in the water, no one would ever know.
Honestly, slipping into the warm bath felt quite heavenly, and she had the most fun regaling Dorcas with stories of the animals she’d seen while out in the rain.
“Be grateful His Grace isn’t in residence,” the maid had said.
“Why?”
“He’d be quite angry to see your dress so ruined and you walking about the countryside in a less than respectable manner.”
Angelica hadn’t bothered to reply, for some of the joy had seeped from the day when she remembered that eventually this string of free days would come to an end.
Now, she was once more outside, and there were no rain clouds in sight. This time, she’d procured the key to Lavender Cottage from the housekeeper with the explanation that she wanted to have a look around in the event the décor needed updating.
It was only a half-truth, for she did need to make notes regarding the décor and what needed to be refreshed or replaced, but also, Caleb had made plans with her to meet there an hour after midday.
He’d arrive through the back way, so no one from the manor would see, even if they could from such a distance.
As she strolled through the lower level of the dower house, memories of interacting with her mother-in-law barreled into her mind.
Tittleford wasn’t just a monster to his wife; he’d treated his elderly mother quite egregiously.
Many times, when they were at the manor, Angelica would spend evenings and mornings with the older woman.
The dowager duchess had apologized profusely over the years for the type of man her son was, said he’d learned such behavior from his father, and that she’d hoped he would have been better.
Angelica had carefully changed the subject, for the woman didn’t need to have her last years on earth plagued with regrets and worries caused by her son.
But the woman had been clever as well. A few months before she’d passed, the dowager had pulled her aside, and in a breathless whisper had told her that one of the books on one of the shelves in the morning room at the cottage had been hollowed out.
Inside were a few valuable pieces of jewelry, a handful of sovereign coins, and other assorted small things that Angelica could hock if she should need to escape the duke and disappear.
She said she understood what it was like to be a wife to an abusive man, and that she didn’t want her to make the same mistake of staying where there was no love or any of the softer emotions.
To this day, Angelica hadn’t touched that treasure, but it had been tempting over the years, but there wasn’t a month that went by when she hadn’t thought about it.
Even more so now. Could she run away to Rome with Caleb?
Would that be enough to fund the rest of her life? Would he even want that for his life?
There were no immediate answers.
“Am I intruding on your thoughts? If so, I can leave.”
The sound of Caleb’s hushed voice wrenched Angelica out of her thoughts as she stood as the open doorway to the drawing room where dust sheets covered every piece of furniture, making the room seem as if it hosted the ghosts of long ago.
She glanced at him, and gave him what felt like a maudlin smile. “You are not interrupting. I’m just remembering.” Then she realized he held a lidded willow basket. “What is that?”
“I’ve brought a picnic luncheon for us to share.” His grin held a cheeky edge, but there was dark desire in his eyes that sent a tremble of need down her spine. “Shall we find an appropriate spot?”
With another glance around the empty drawing room, she nodded.
“I would like that.” The fact he’d taken the time to plan for a picnic went straight to her heart.
The duke had never done anything so romantic for her.
Excitement bubbled up in her chest. The dower house improvements could keep; as would the future.
Right now, she merely wanted to spend time with Caleb, the man who made her feel as if she could do anything… except be free.
“I assume we should use the rear door?”
“Yes. In the event someone is spying, it’s better that way.
” Though she hated sneaking about, if it was the only way to be in his company, she wouldn’t complain.
It didn’t matter that her husband paraded his mistress about in society, that very same group of people would vilify her for the same sins.
After all, who would throw over a duke? “You have no idea how much I appreciate the trouble you’ve gone to for this. ”
“No trouble at all, sweeting.” He peered down at her as he escorted her from the cottage and into the rear garden. “If I had the right to make you happy all the time, I would make certain that you’d always be taken on outings of some sort.”
Thank goodness for the brick wall around the garden, for the dear man pulled her close with his free arm, dropped a light kiss on her lips, and then released her. “A sweet sentiment.”
A snort escaped him. “An honest sentiment.”
The fondness and truth in his tone prompted a smile on her part. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Poppycock. You deserve every good thing.”
She paused at the rear gate for him to manipulate the latch. “And you are a good thing?”
“Absolutely.” Caleb waggled his eyebrows in an outrageous fashion. “Can you not see it?” As she passed through the gate ahead of him, he added, “And if you can’t, perhaps I’m not working hard enough to convince you.”
“Mmm.” What would her life have been like had she been given the opportunity to marry him instead of the duke? Certainly not as lavish, but she wanted to hope that having love and respect would more than make up for the lack of funding. Where was the harm in a little teasing. “Perhaps you aren’t.”
“Ah, well, my apologies. I shall try to make up for that lapse.” Once they’d slipped into the woods, he grabbed her hand with his free one. “Still, I am not going to waste this boon of spending the afternoon with you.”
“Silly man. You are staying at the manor house. We will see each other at dinner.”
“Not in an intimate way, and not in any sort of way that will prove satisfying.”
“Well, in that, I quite agree with you.”
They didn’t speak again for some time, yet the companionable silence spoke volumes. When was the last time she’d spent time in her husband’s company in the quiet without him blowing up about something or interrupting it with his temper that led to her being smacked about or thrown around?
Eventually, they came to a patch of land where the wooded area had thinned. The clearing was perhaps fifty yards in length and nearly the same in width. In the warmth and brightness of the sun, the entire meadow was covered with a carpet of bluebells.
“Oh, look how lovely this is!” It almost took away her breath to see the varying shades of blue and white flowers. “If I imagine hard enough, I can almost see fairies and other woodland myths dancing through the blooms.”
“Then I’d say this is as good as place as any to have our picnic, love.” So saying, he handed her the basket while he took a tattered, folded quilt from the top. After spreading the blanket amidst the bluebells, he presented it with a flourish. “For my lady’s pleasure.”
“Cheeky.” Yet she settled on the quilt with a grin and a feeling of the most profound peace she’d ever known since childhood.
Perhaps what she and Caleb were doing was sinful, perhaps it was scandalous in the eyes of both the church and society, but neither of those institutions knew what her real life consisted of, and with this, she was allowing herself to enjoy a temporary respite from the hell that passed as normalcy.
Besides, who were any of them to judge her when they knew nothing about the truth of her life?
As he settled onto the quilt not far from her and began to set out things from the basket, she watched with a slight smile.
How easily she could become addicted to him and how he treated her, but if she wanted to explore what was between them, she had limited time and they had to be very discreet.
The duke was a jealous ogre. Apparently, it was fine for him to break his vows, but when it came to her? He’d kill her.
Or he would kill Caleb. The thought chilled her blood.
Was the price of this indiscretion too high?
“You seem a million miles away just now,” he said as he briefly touched her hand with his. When she met his gaze, he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Are you well after what we did yesterday? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”