Page 11 of The Lady’s Sweet Revenge (Safely in Scotland #3)

B y God, the woman vexed him. At times like these when her thoughts aligned so closely to his own he wondered if she was a siren caught up on the land. But rather than lure him to the depths, she tempted him to do very ungentlemanly things. Like kiss her.

But kissing would surely lead to marriage and while he held most of the criteria on her list, he had already asked only to be refused. Or tried to ask. She’d cut him to the quick before he’d even had the words out. He wouldn’t ask a second time only to be rejected yet again.

What she’d said about wanting a man who would be a loving father to her children had touched him in a tender place he’d thought had healed over years ago after his own father’s death.

His father was all the things a typical father should be.

He’d taught Reese to ride, hunt, and fence.

He’d explained how the earldom should be run and the way to earn the respect of his people.

He’d seen Reese educated so he could maintain the books properly, and even provided advice on what to look for when it was time for him to choose a wife.

However, Reese couldn’t say whether or not the man loved him.

One might say all of that was proof of love.

But the auld earl had never hugged him or spoke of being proud of him.

Had he been mean or cruel it might have been easier for Reese to have protected himself.

The distance between them felt so close as though Reese might reach his father if only he tried just a bit harder.

And try he had to no avail. Perhaps it was his first rejection and why he wasn’t willing to put himself in that position ever again.

Reese considered what being a father would mean to him as he finished the walk with Harlow and went to his rooms to change for dinner that evening.

He’d seen the way Finn had taken to the role of being a father with William. There would be no doubt in the boy’s heart that his father loved him. Reese wanted to be the same kind of man with his children. So they might never wonder if they were good enough.

“You’ve been quiet since our walk. Did I say something to upset you, my lord?” Harlow asked as the meal was taken away and they were alone once more.

“No,” he said, before telling her the truth. “It is what you said about how a father should be able to love his children. I’m not sure my father loved me.”

“Was he cruel?” The way her face scrunched up amused him as if she would take up for Reese against his dead father. Of course, he shouldn’t have been surprised. She was a woman set on vengeance. Apparently, it need not be her own.

“Nay. He was present and kind. But there was a wall between us I was unable to penetrate.”

“But you tried.”

“I dinna realize how very hard I’d tried until I considered it today.”

“I’m sorry I upset you.”

He shook his head. “I think I feel better actually. I’ve thought on it most of the day and I wonder if he was afraid of loving me.

You see I had an older brother who died before I was born.

I wonder if he’d loved Richard and after he lost him his heart was too broken to love me.

Maybe he feared the pain he’d endure if something happened to me as well. ”

Harlow stood and hobbled the few steps to put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Reese.” Hearing his name on her lips stirred something in him, but he cleared his throat and after giving her hand a squeeze in silent gratitude, he pointed to her chair.

“Ye should not be on that ankle. Do you want it to heal or no?”

She fell back into her seat and allowed him to lighten the mood once again.

Later that evening as he lay in bed, he cast off the thoughts of his father and recalled the list of criteria Harlow had wanted in a husband.

She’d joked that he was safe from being a viable candidate, but he realized now that he wanted many of the same things in a wife as she did in a husband. It would seem they were more matched than was comfortable.

He could not allow himself to want Harlow Haverston, for if he proposed and she rejected him again, he might never get over it.

*

Two mornings later, Harlow got out of bed to try her ankle and it held firm. She gasped with joy this time instead of pain.

“Look at this,” she said to the dog who had lifted her large head only to settle it back on the covers. “Well, I am quite happy.”

Harlow rang for Mrs. Garrison who came in and smiled to see her walking around.

“Oh, how wonderful! It’s healed.” Mrs. Garrison gave the proper effort of excitement.

“Yes. It feels wonderful to be able to move where I want.”

“Just don’t overwork it too soon or you’ll be back to the wheeled chair.”

Harlow nodded with a smile on her lips. Her mother had told her often how the little things matter most. The duke had enough money to buy the duchess nearly anything she could want, but it was acts of kindness that touched her mother’s heart.

Harlow thought she might understand it more now that she’d had an attractive man do something sweet for her.

“It was very kind of him to send for it,” Harlow said out loud.

“The earl is a kind man. He’d do the same for anyone,” Mrs. Garrison said and Harlow frowned slightly. Of course, he was only being kind as he would for any guest, or rather damsel, who landed on his shore in distress.

“Of course,” Harlow agreed.

A few moments after Harlow had been dressed and her hair was fixed, there was a knock at the door which she opened herself.

Lord Breckenridge looked her over as she stood there on her own.

“It doesn’t hurt ye?” he confirmed.

“No. It’s healed. I’ll be ready to walk next to you in the gardens today.”

Belle pushed past them to take the stairs while Reese stayed by her side offering his arm as she took the steps slowly. It wouldn’t do to turn her newly-healed ankle on the stairs and be back to relying on everyone to move her about. Besides, linking her arm with the earl’s was no hardship.

He seemed to relax when she was seated in the chair next to his.

“In a few more days you might be able to make the stairs down to the shore,” he said. “But not yet. The steps are quite steep and are often damp with mist.”

She knew Reese went on daily walks along the shore with Belle. The dog would return with a wet coat smelling of dog and the sea, while the earl just smelled of salty air.

“I look forward to accompanying you,” she said, meaning it more than she probably should. Without the haze of her brother’s warnings, she could see the man before her more clearly. He was no longer a man not acceptable for marriage, but a kind man she was beginning to like too much.

For he’d already attempted to propose and it wasn’t likely he’d offer again. And she didn’t want him to suggest such a thing as a solution to the problem of her possible ruination.

She wanted him to want her. That is she wanted the man who would be her husband to choose her. Not Reese specifically, of course.

When breakfast was cleared away he asked if she was up for a short walk in the garden and she was a bit overenthusiastic in her reply.

“I can think of nothing I would want more.”

“Nothing, eh?” He tilted his head toward the sky. “You prefer walking in the gardens to finding out what happens at the end of The Rook’s Tower ?”

“Yes. At least for now. I love to be outside.” Belle came back with a stick and nudged Reese with it.

He took it and gave it a good toss as if he had done it a million times.

When Belle returned it only a moment later, Harlow thought she might be right.

“Being stuck inside for so long makes me want to enjoy it even more. It seems Belle feels the same way.”

He shook his head. “Don’t let her fool ye.

She’s been out for a walk every morning usually when ye were still asleep.

But I know what you mean. I had an injury close to a year ago and was stuck in my bed for even longer than you had been.

Once I was able to get up and move around I didn’t wish to be back in my bedchamber.

In fact, I slept in my study for a few nights. ”

She nodded in understanding. “What happened?”

“Oh,” he waved it off as if it were nothing. “Just a bit of trouble with my leg. It’s fine now.”

She sensed he didn’t wish to speak of it, so she changed the subject.

“It is beautiful here.” It was true enough, but the man next to her was the best part. Though one could argue the man and the lands were alike in many ways. Both had a… contained wildness about them.

The way the manicured gardens flirted at the edges of the unkempt tree line made her think of the well-mannered man beside her who edged the lines of propriety.

The cultivated and the rough parts. Even his speech toyed along the borders.

Speaking with an educated tongue weighed with the brogue of his home.

“I enjoy being here,” he said.

“You can be yourself,” she guessed, though should have probably kept it to herself. She had grown too comfortable with him. It was likely the reason for her earlier thoughts of marriage and children with the earl.

When he smiled she felt a tingle in her stomach.

“Yes. I’m sure it is similar in the way you shed all the rules of London when you are in Lancashire?”

She nodded. “Yes. I might shed more rules than I ought.”

“Oh? You’ve piqued my curiosity. What do you do in the country that would make the ladies of the ton gasp in dismay?”

“Surely, I’ll not tell you.”

“After I opened my home to ye and let you claim my dog.”

“You cannot blame me if she likes me better.” She offered a saucy shrug which caused him to huff a laugh.

“I dare you?” His lips pulled up in a crooked grin.

Oh, the beast. He didn’t have siblings, but he must have spent time with other children in school. He’d likely guessed the way her brothers dared her to do things and she’d been unable to turn away from any challenge.

“Very well. I wear men’s breeches when I ride in the country.”

“Eh. That’s not so scandalous. I would guess many women do the same.”

“Not scandalous?” she said in shock. But he’d acted as if it was nothing of note. If he was not surprised by that she would tell him something sure to win this contest. “I swim at night. Naked.”

She knew she was the victor when his eyes flared with warm heat. He turned toward her, his dark brown eyes flicking side to side as he clearly studied her face. As if looking for proof of a lie. Did he think she’d made up such a claim?

If so, he could look all he wanted and never see her waver, for it was the truth.

“Only when it’s very warm, and I’m sure my brothers are away or in their beds. Only when I know I’m completely alone do I remove my wrapper and night rail and slip into the chilly water as the moon and stars provide the only light.”

He swallowed. She saw him do it. Just as she saw him bend his head as if he planned to kiss her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she quickly decided whether to stop him or grab him close so he would do it faster.

But then they both jumped when Mrs. Garrison shouted for him. It was then as she turned toward the housekeeper that she heard another noise. Carriage wheels on crushed shells.

Someone was here.