Read Online Bound by Bliss by Lavinia Kent - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lavinia Kent
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him that I was a suitable choice.”
She knew better than to believe that. “I do not believe you.”
Another sigh. “Your brother does wish you wed. That is true. He wants you to be as happy as he is. And I did have to persuade him that I was suitable. He knows me too well, my faults as well as my virtues. He was not at all sure that he wished me for his sister.”
Could that be true? Perhaps part of it, but she doubted he was telling her the whole story. “It doesn’t matter.” She turned away from him, even if her wrist was still caught. The stones from earlier in the evening began to once again pile in her belly. There was so much temptation here in this garden, here with this man, but she must turn it all away. She might be a Danser, but she knew better than to believe that giving in to temptation led to reward; grabbing for what you wanted was the surest way to end up with nothing, which didn’t stop her from reaching and wishing every single time. But not this time. This time she would be smart. She would look for a husband who would not challenge her, who would let her continue as she wished. And that husband would never be Duldon. “Please let me go. I am calm now.”
He lifted her wrist and she could feel him staring at the connection between them. “I will let you go, but first tell me what I must do to have you give me a chance, to prove that I can be the man you once asked to marry you, to show that I can be a good husband to you.”
Again she felt the strings of temptation reach for her, but she pushed them back. He was not talking like himself and she would not be fooled. Even in his tender years, when she’d felt so different, he had been a man of few words. His smile could recite poetry, but never would the words form sound. This man before her, who asked her questions, asked what was needed, this man she did not know. “Let go of me first.”
“And you will not run.”
A hesitation. Did he need to control every situation, every moment of time? “No, I will not run—or walk. Let me go and I will do my best to answer.”
She could see his mind working, trying to decide if she spoke the truth, trying to decide if trust lay between them as it once had. The answer to that was not clear even to her. Part of her thought to flee as soon as possible—and the other? The other wished to know what he would say, wished to know how far he was willing to go. She’d long ago given up fairy stories of knights and damsels, but her heart still longed for such an ending.
He lifted her wrist until their arms formed a bridge between them. His gaze held hers as he sought something in her face. Then with a nod he released her, their wrists both falling to their sides.
Should she turn and flee? The question hovered, but she made no movement. She could claim it was because he still stood between her and the great house, but that was not the truth. He would let her pass. Why she was so certain was not clear, and yet she was. He would let her pass, but her feet did not move.
Her eyes traced the path of white pebbles that led from the edge of the trees, through a bower of roses, and then up to the terrace that edged the glass doors to the ballroom. It would be so easy. There was nothing stopping her—and yet her feet still did not move.
Fairy stories.
The thought moved through her mind, once and then again. Fairy stories. A quest. But that would be too simple. It must be a quest that could not only never be completed, it must be a quest that could never even be started. She would force him to back away, to realize how unsuited they were.
Taking a step forward, closer to him, she paused. “You want me to tell you how to win me? Is that what you want?”
“You see yourself as a prize, do you?”
“No, I believe it is you who sees me as a prize. I merely see myself as a woman who enjoys her freedom and has no desire to tie herself to a boring, staid man.”
His eyebrows rose at her words and his lips
She knew better than to believe that. “I do not believe you.”
Another sigh. “Your brother does wish you wed. That is true. He wants you to be as happy as he is. And I did have to persuade him that I was suitable. He knows me too well, my faults as well as my virtues. He was not at all sure that he wished me for his sister.”
Could that be true? Perhaps part of it, but she doubted he was telling her the whole story. “It doesn’t matter.” She turned away from him, even if her wrist was still caught. The stones from earlier in the evening began to once again pile in her belly. There was so much temptation here in this garden, here with this man, but she must turn it all away. She might be a Danser, but she knew better than to believe that giving in to temptation led to reward; grabbing for what you wanted was the surest way to end up with nothing, which didn’t stop her from reaching and wishing every single time. But not this time. This time she would be smart. She would look for a husband who would not challenge her, who would let her continue as she wished. And that husband would never be Duldon. “Please let me go. I am calm now.”
He lifted her wrist and she could feel him staring at the connection between them. “I will let you go, but first tell me what I must do to have you give me a chance, to prove that I can be the man you once asked to marry you, to show that I can be a good husband to you.”
Again she felt the strings of temptation reach for her, but she pushed them back. He was not talking like himself and she would not be fooled. Even in his tender years, when she’d felt so different, he had been a man of few words. His smile could recite poetry, but never would the words form sound. This man before her, who asked her questions, asked what was needed, this man she did not know. “Let go of me first.”
“And you will not run.”
A hesitation. Did he need to control every situation, every moment of time? “No, I will not run—or walk. Let me go and I will do my best to answer.”
She could see his mind working, trying to decide if she spoke the truth, trying to decide if trust lay between them as it once had. The answer to that was not clear even to her. Part of her thought to flee as soon as possible—and the other? The other wished to know what he would say, wished to know how far he was willing to go. She’d long ago given up fairy stories of knights and damsels, but her heart still longed for such an ending.
He lifted her wrist until their arms formed a bridge between them. His gaze held hers as he sought something in her face. Then with a nod he released her, their wrists both falling to their sides.
Should she turn and flee? The question hovered, but she made no movement. She could claim it was because he still stood between her and the great house, but that was not the truth. He would let her pass. Why she was so certain was not clear, and yet she was. He would let her pass, but her feet did not move.
Her eyes traced the path of white pebbles that led from the edge of the trees, through a bower of roses, and then up to the terrace that edged the glass doors to the ballroom. It would be so easy. There was nothing stopping her—and yet her feet still did not move.
Fairy stories.
The thought moved through her mind, once and then again. Fairy stories. A quest. But that would be too simple. It must be a quest that could not only never be completed, it must be a quest that could never even be started. She would force him to back away, to realize how unsuited they were.
Taking a step forward, closer to him, she paused. “You want me to tell you how to win me? Is that what you want?”
“You see yourself as a prize, do you?”
“No, I believe it is you who sees me as a prize. I merely see myself as a woman who enjoys her freedom and has no desire to tie herself to a boring, staid man.”
His eyebrows rose at her words and his lips
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