Pulling Abigail’s arm through his own, Nathanial guided her up the steps. “Charlaine, this is Abigail.” He smiled at her in that utterly endearing way of his. “Abigail, this is Charlaine.” He chuckled. “Considering the informality favored by everyone in this household, I assume you don’t mind first names.”
Once again forcing a smile onto her face, Charlaine shook her head. “Of course not.” Then she turned to Abigail. “Welcome to England and to Markham Hall.”
Abigail returned her smile, her gaze briefly darting to Nathanial. “Thank you so much for inviting me here.” Her bright blue eyes shone with honest emotions and her lips curled up into a warm smile as she took a step toward Charlaine. “Nathanial has told me all about you, what a dear friend you have been for him, and I’m most grateful for what you’ve done for him and are willing to do for me.” A long sigh, liberating and deeply felt, left Abigail’s lips. “I never knew people like you could truly exist, so good and selfless, so giving and kind.” She grasped Charlaine’s hand. “Please, if there is ever anything I can do for you, do tell me.”
Charlaine stared at the other woman, trying hard to swallow the lump in her throat for the warmth in Abigail’s gaze caught her off guard. There was nothing pretentious or false lurking behind those wide, blue eyes, and the joy that shone on the other woman’s face looked sincere.
Utterly and truly sincere.
Deep down, Charlaine had expected to meet someone cold and calculated. Someone who had accepted Nathanial’s proposal and then broken his heart on a whim. Someone who was first and foremost concerned with her own desires and wishes. Someone who did not care for others in a deep and meaningful way.
Abigail, however, was not such a person, Charlaine had to admit to her utter dismay. The young woman had made a mistake, yes, but she had not done so out of malice. She had acted hastily out of fear, but had come to regret her actions and now sought to make amends.
Now, Charlaine understood how Nathanial could have forgiven her so easily for she, too, could not bring herself to look at Abigail with hatred in her heart. Indeed, it was worse than Charlaine had expected for if it were not for Nathanial, Abigail could have become a dear friend.
Overwhelmed, Charlaine stammered a reply, then turned to Nathanial. “Why don’t you show her inside? I shall…I shall follow shortly.”
A quick frown danced across Nathanial’s forehead and his gaze narrowed as he looked at her, no doubt noting that something was wrong, that she was overcome by a most powerful emotion. Fortunately, he did not press her for an explanation, but merely nodded his head to her before offering Abigail his arm.
As Nathanial escorted Abigail inside, Charlaine remained behind, staring after them. Her heart ached with such misery that she felt her knees begin to tremble, all strength leaving her body as the reality of her situation flooded her being.
Nathanial was lost to her. Truly and utterly lost for it would only be a matter of time before Abigail would reclaim his heart.
“Are you all right?”
Flinching at the voice beside her, Charlaine spun around and almost lost her balance, her eyes going wide as she found herself staring at Lord Ashhaven, who had all but materialized out of thin air. “My lord?” Charlaine panted, her heart hammering in her chest. “Where did you come from?”
His dark gaze narrowed ever so slightly, the expression upon his face betraying no clear emotion. Still, there was something deeply stirring in the way he seemed to observe every small twitch and quiver in her expression and posture.
Blinking, Charlaine noted his travel-worn clothes and dusty boots before her gaze moved sideways to where one of the stable boys, Henry, was leading Lord Ashhaven’s panting mount toward the stables. Indeed, she had not even heard his approach.
“Are you all right?” he asked yet again as his gaze swept over her before it moved beyond her shoulder to where Nathanial and Abigail had disappeared. Was there concern lurking somewhere beneath that calm exterior of his? Charlaine could not tell.
“Are you here to see Pierce?” she asked instead of answering his question for she did not know how.
Lord Ashhaven inhaled a slow breath, his gaze lingering on her face a moment longer. Then he nodded. “I am. We have…urgent matters to discuss.” For a split second, a hint of anger sparked in his gaze, but vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Charlaine recalled the events of the night Caroline and Pierce had gotten engaged. While Lord Ashhaven had arrested Lord Coleridge for the murder of Daphne’s parents, others had merely been implicated. From what Pierce had said, Charlaine knew that Lord Ashhaven had continued his investigations.
He made to enter the house, but then paused. “Will you be all right?”
Charlaine nodded and, with a last glance, he rushed away.
If only it were true.
Chapter Forty-Four
A Most Telling Kiss
Standing on the terrace, Nathanial watched as Abigail made her way down the small slope into the gardens where Charlaine was walking. The sky still hung with large, gray clouds, the threat of rain looming overhead, as the wind moved them onward like ships drifting down a river. Autumn lingered in everything around them, the season of change.
Where once the sun had shone on a clear, summer’s day, warm and comforting, now the world seemed lost in gray clouds, chilling and unsettling. Greens turned to orange, red and brown, warm colors in a cold world. The scent of rain lingered in the air, and the winds that blew in from the north, whispered of the approaching winter.
Abigail pulled her cloak tighter around herself as she approached Charlaine, curls of her blond hair pulled from her hood, a stark contrast to Charlaine’s darker tones.
Seeing them side by side, Nathanial wondered at the differences in their appearance, especially now that he had come to see how similar in character they were. Both were vivacious creatures, longing for adventure and love. Both possessed a kind heart and a daring spirit. Both had suffered, but had come out stronger for it.
Still, Nathanial could not deny that it was Charlaine who drew his gaze. That it was her dark brown eyes that stirred his heart. That it was her teasing, but utterly enchanting smile that made his knees grow weak.
Abigail was beautiful, and Nathanial sincerely hoped that the day would come that she would be his friend once again in every sense of the word.
Charlaine, however, was…the one.
Sighing, Nathanial hung his head, wondering why the world could not be simple for once. Was he forever doomed to lose his heart to women who did not love him in return? No matter what Abigail had told him, Nathanial did not believe that her love for him had been true, all-consuming, unbreakable; that it had only been the harshness of their circumstances that had stolen her from his side.
Soft footsteps reached him from behind, and Nathanial turned to find Daphne standing there, her large, brown eyes moving from the women down below to him. “Will you not ask her to marry you?” she asked him with that innocent and utterly bold curiosity Nathanial had come to expect from her.
“Marry her?” he gasped, nonetheless stunned to be confronted by such a question. Indeed, he knew well that his past with Abigail was no secret to the people of Markham Hall. Even before she had arrived, whispered words about his broken engagement had found their way to those who would listen. He had noted the occasional pitying glance or sorrowful sigh from those employed around the estate.