Page 27
Story: An Improbable Scheme (Courting the Unconventional #1)
E lsbeth sat in the coach as she wiped away the tear slipping down her cheek.
Her chest felt tight with humiliation and frustration, the sting of Niles’s offer echoing in her mind.
Employment. He had offered her employment.
Did he truly think so little of her? Did he believe she had fallen so far?
The mortification of it all weighed heavily on her heart.
She clutched her hands in her lap, the reality cutting deeper than she cared to admit.
She had allowed herself to care for Niles, and that had been her mistake.
Foolish, really, to think he might see her as more than just a friend.
But now, for the first time in a long while, Elsbeth realized she deserved more.
The coach came to a stop, and Elsbeth took a deep breath, bracing herself. Exiting onto the gravel path, she straightened her back and walked briskly towards the manor. The butler opened the door promptly, offering a polite bow, and she forced a brief smile in response before stepping inside.
Her resolve wavered as she went to ascend the staircase towards her bedchamber, but her mother’s voice stopped her mid-step.
“Elsbeth,” her mother called from the drawing room.
Pausing, Elsbeth turned reluctantly towards the open doorway. “Yes, Mother?”
Her mother’s brow creased. “You’ve been crying,” she observed. “What is wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” she murmured, desperately wanting to be alone.
Her mother crossed the room swiftly and wrapped her arms around her in a comforting embrace. The unexpected warmth undid her. Elsbeth clung to her mother, the tears flowing freely now as the emotion she had tried to contain spilled over.
After a long moment, her mother pulled back, though she kept a gentle hand on Elsbeth’s arm. “Come, let’s sit down and have some tea. You can tell me what’s troubling you.”
Elsbeth allowed herself to be led into the drawing room. Her mother poured a cup of tea and handed it to her before sitting across from her. Elsbeth took a sip of the warm liquid, feeling its soothing effect but knowing it could not erase the turmoil inside her.
“Now, tell me,” her mother prompted. “Why are you so upset?”
Elsbeth debated her next words. She could choose to deflect, to guard her pain as she so often did, or she could confide in her mother as she used to. Inhaling deeply, she chose trust.
“I went to visit Lady Margaret this morning, and I saw Lord Westcott,” she began, her voice trembling slightly. “He… he offered to hire me as Eugenie’s companion.”
Her mother’s sharp intake of breath betrayed her shock. “How insulting,” she said, her tone carrying equal parts disbelief and outrage.
Elsbeth nodded, her grip tightening on the delicate teacup. “ It was mortifying. Does he truly think so little of me? I thought we were friends, but…”
Leaning forward, her mother placed a comforting hand over Elsbeth’s. “You are an heiress and the daughter of an earl. You can still make a fine match.”
Elsbeth averted her gaze. “I don’t think so, Mother. Who would want me now?”
Her mother’s expression softened with understanding. “My father had a reputation not unlike your father’s, and yet I married the second son of an earl. You mustn’t lose hope.”
“But you became a countess when Uncle Jack passed,” Elsbeth pointed out.
Her mother’s smile was bittersweet. “There is more to life than titles, my dear.”
The candidness of her mother’s tone emboldened Elsbeth to ask a question that had lingered in her heart. “Were you happy with Father?”
Her mother hesitated, her gaze distant as if searching the past. “We had our challenges, as all couples do,” she said carefully. “But your father… he was a difficult man to love.”
“But you did love him?” Elsbeth pressed.
Her mother sighed. “In my own way, yes. But I can’t say your father felt the same. He married me for my dowry.”
The revelation stunned Elsbeth. “Father was a fortune hunter?”
“I wouldn’t call him that, but he was… calculating,” her mother admitted. “He had ambitions, and my dowry supported those ambitions.”
The room fell silent as Elsbeth absorbed this, her perception of her father shifting slightly. After a moment, she changed the subject. “Charles wants me to return to his estate with him.”
Her mother didn’t look the least bit surprised by her revelation. “He’s spoken to me about it.”
“What do you think I should do? ”
“I think you should go,” her mother said firmly.
“Is this because of Alfred?” Elsbeth asked, her tone edged with suspicion.
Her mother sighed again, her frustration clear. “You have despised Alfred from the moment I married him. He’s a decent man and he saved us from financial ruin. Yet you refuse to see his goodness.”
“He has secrets, Mother.”
“So do we all,” her mother countered. “But you’ve never tried to understand him. You’ve let your disdain blind you.”
Elsbeth’s lips pressed into a thin line. “But what if he’s like Father? What if he’s deceiving us all?”
“Alfred is nothing like your father. Trust me when I say this.”
Before Elsbeth could respond, the butler stepped into the room, his demeanor composed. “Lord Westcott has come to call on Lady Elsbeth.”
Elsbeth froze, her heart lurching. “Send him away,” she instructed.
Her mother raised a hand to halt the butler. “Wait,” she said, her gaze on her daughter. “Are you certain you want to do this?”
Elsbeth looked down at her lap, her emotions in turmoil. “I don’t want to speak to him.”
“I understand that you’re hurt,” her mother said. “But I would be blind not to notice the growing connection between you two.”
Elsbeth’s voice was barely a whisper. “He offered me employment, Mother.”
“Perhaps it was a misunderstanding.”
“You don’t accidentally offer to hire someone,” Elsbeth muttered.
As Elsbeth turned to instruct the butler to send Lord Westcott away, the infuriating man strode into the room uninvited, his expression a mixture of determination and something softer—something almost pleading.
“I know you don’t want to see me, and I don’t blame you,” Niles began, his voice rushed. “But please, you must hear me out.”
Elsbeth’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Very well,” she said. “Say what you wish to say and then leave.”
Niles’s gaze met hers and she caught a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes. A stark contrast to his usual air of confidence. Something about him felt... different. “May we take a turn around your gardens?”
“I don’t think that is a good idea…” she began, but he interrupted.
“Please, Elsbeth.”
His sincerity gave her pause, and though her mind urged her to refuse, her heart betrayed her. “All right,” she said, rising from her seat. “But it is cold outside, so I do not wish to lollygag.”
Without waiting for his response, she brushed past him, her skirts whispering against the polished floor as she made her way to the entry hall.
The butler stood ready with her cloak, which she draped over her shoulders before stepping outside.
The brisk morning air greeted her with an icy sting, biting at her cheeks and nose.
Niles followed close behind, his boots crunching softly against the gravel path as they walked towards the gardens.
They moved in silence for a time, and the only sound was the occasional rustle of bare branches in the breeze.
Finally, Niles clasped his hands behind his back and broke the stillness.
“I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier,” he said. “It was wrong of me.”
Elsbeth stopped abruptly, turning to face him. “Then why did you say it?”
He exhaled slowly, his breath visible in the chilly air. “I was trying to find a way to help you,” he admitted. “In my overzealousness, I failed to think through the repercussions of what I was asking.”
Her brow furrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You offered me employment,” she said, her tone curt. “Did you not realize how insulting that was?”
Niles had the decency to look ashamed. “I never meant to insult you.”
“But you did,” she retorted. “You made me feel as though that was all I was worth.”
“Heavens, no,” he said, his voice rising with urgency. “I wasn’t thinking that at all. I only wanted to keep you safe, Elsbeth. That’s all. You must believe me.”
Her gaze fell to the gravel path. “It doesn’t matter, does it?” she murmured. “You’re going to leave here one day, and we won’t see each other again.”
Niles stepped closer, closing the space between them. “I don’t accept that.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his. “It doesn’t matter what you accept. It’s the truth. You have a life beyond this village. You’re destined for great things, and I… I’ll remain here. Perhaps it would be best to accompany Charles to his country estate.”
“I don’t trust your cousin.”
“I know,” Elsbeth replied. “And he doesn’t trust you either. It seems no one trusts anyone around here.”
“Do you trust me?”
A weak smile came to her lips. “I do. You’re the only one who believes in me. Everyone else thinks I’m mad for my obsession with my stepfather and his secrets.”
Niles stepped closer still, forcing her to tilt her head to look up at him.
His presence was overwhelming, his nearness igniting a warmth in the frigid air.
“I don’t think you’re mad,” he said softly.
“I think you’re determined. Stubborn. But more importantly, I see you.
The real you. The one you keep hidden from the world. ”
“Niles…”
He spoke over her. “Please forgive me for my thoughtlessness. I don’t want to lose you over this.”
She studied his face, the rawness in his eyes speaking volumes. He was in earnest, and she couldn’t deny the sincerity of his words. “You won’t lose me.”
“Good,” he replied, his voice heavy with emotion. “Because I wasn’t ready for you, Elsbeth. But here you are, and somewhere, at some moment, you became my favorite coincidence.”
“What are you saying, Niles?”
“I don’t rightly know, but I?—”
Table of Contents
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- Page 27 (Reading here)
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