Pricing The Heart

Chapter 17

He would never see her again.

The realization left a dull pain in David's chest as he stood on the front stairs that morning, staring at Eloise. He moved his gaze slowly across her face, committing every feature to memory. He was unwilling to forget her, even though he doubted he would. For how could he forget the woman who had deprived him of slumber all night? The woman whose tearful gaze the afternoon before—after he accused her of being Jon's mistress—filled him with so much remorse, he had spent the evening loathing himself as he sat trying to write a letter of apology. How was he ever going to forget what it felt like to hold her in his arms?—her warm, fragile, soft form pressed against the firmness of his own. She fit so perfectly in his arms, a stubborn part of his heart was willing to believe she belonged there.

And could he ever forget the kiss they shared? After he had written what he hoped was an appropriate apology, he had succumbed to the demands of nature and his dreams had been filled with images of their kiss.

Even now, he wanted to go to her; to carry her off of that horse and kiss her. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms, his limbs ached with need. But he restrained himself, unwilling to further damage things between them. He had hurt her enough. To keep her safe, he needed to remove himself from the picture by journeying to Scotland. He already decided to pay for a lease on a property for six months to give Eloise ample time and space to recover and leave Oakham Hall. In the meantime, he hoped she agreed to take the money he instructed Mr. Miles to give her—he didn't think she would, but sincerely hoped for her safety that she did. Life in England was tough for women, and even more so for unmarried ones.

Perhaps Jon might take her to be his mistress. Embittered by the thought, he tore his gaze off of her and descended the stairs to the carriage. He didn't want Eloise to end up with Jon, and even if she did, he hoped Jon was sensible enough to provide for her for the rest of her life, and not only while he was still intrigued by her. If Jon decided to dump her and leave her to the cold arms of poverty after he had grown weary of her, David wasn't certain what he might do to him, he thought, curling his fingers into fists.

He settled in the carriage, and once the footman closed the door, shifted to the window and parted the curtains slightly; enough to catch one final glimpse of Eloise. She remained unmoving on the horse, with her head turned toward the carriage as it rolled to the gates. And in that second, David thought she might have been as unhappy about his departure as he was. For surely, the tight knot in his stomach that left him unable to partake of breakfast that morning was a result of his unhappiness.

Tightening his grip on the curtains, he sat watching Eloise until she faded in the distance.

**

Relaxing her grip on the reins as the house came into view, Eloise sat back on the saddle once the horse began slowing down along with her racing heart. Wiping her forehead with her sleeves, she heaved a sigh as she brought the horse to a halt and climbed down. She was exhausted, for in her bid to distract herself from several troubling thoughts of David, she had ridden for much longer and farther than she had ever ridden since she came to Oakham Hall.

Still, her efforts to rid her mind of David proved useless—even more so when she found the gazebo again. She had sat in it for another hour, thinking of their time together.

She missed him. It didn't matter that less than forty-eight hours had passed since she saw him.

Shaking her head, she turned to lead the horse to the barn, but not before she caught sight of movements above her head. Confused, she looked up at the window, but the gray curtains remained sealed, blocking her view of the room and its occupant.

Convinced she had imagined the whole thing, she took the horse back to the barn and reentered the house. At noon, Greta informed her of Mr. Miles's presence, and she met him in the drawing room.