The Widow's Wish

Chapter 8

“Liv said you were pretty, but that word does not do your loveliness justice. You remind me of a statuette of a shepherdess I sold to a Viscount a year ago.”

At those words, and at Christian taking care to to take a tendril that had escaped from Eugenia’s bun and tuck it behind her ear. Eugie, being wholly unused to such flattery, began to giggle in a most unbecoming nature. Olivia could not help but feel happy at the sight of her sister enjoying herself due to Christian’s flirtations. They were innocent, of course, but sincere and sweet, and Olivia was relieved to see Eugie feeling happy and carefree after all that they had been through.

It helped that her sister seemed to like Christian. Olivia found her fondness for Christian growing at an alarming pace. She thought of Andrew still, and those feelings were tinged with bitterness and sadness, but she seemed to forget about that once Christian darkened her doorstep, which he did now on a much more frequent basis. Eugie had been standoffish at first, but Christian won her over with his charming manner, and also, his unassuming nature.

Although Christian was a gentleman in every way, his manner, his appearance, his words and actions, society would not accept him because of his status as a bastard, and this he did not forget, nor did he let it embitter him. Despite his circumstances, Christian was humble in a way that made him more true of a gentleman than any of those who shunned him, and it was this quality that both Olivia and Eugie recognized and admired him.

“I give you permission to like him.” Eugie spoke in a quiet yet serious voice, not soon after Christian’s latest visit.

“I do so like him, very much.” Olivia could not help but to break out into a huge smile. “In fact, I fear, I might be falling in love with him.”

“Please do Livvy.” Eugie spoke earnestly, with a light shining in her eyes. “There has been enough melancholy between the two of us, and he is so clever and charming, and kind.”

Olivia could not help but feel her feelings bolstered. She felt in her heart that Christian was a man that she could find happiness with, and she even dared to dream that he could accept her despite her status as a false widow. Olivia felt that she could expose her sins to Christian and that he would accept her. She wanted nothing more in this world than to share all her secrets and truths with him, but Olivia needed to be sure of his feelings for her.

Christian, despite his flirtations and his willingness to parade their friendship all over town, seemed to be hesitant to make any sort of amorous overture to Olivia, and she herself was uncertain on what she could do to test the waters. It was at a dinner at Christian’s home, when Olivia finally decided that she should suss out what Christian’s intentions towards her truly were.

“Do you care for me, Christian?”

At those words, Christian put down his fork and looked into Olivia’s eyes, taking a sip of his wine before answering her. “More than you could know.”

“Then why,” Olivia’s voice broke as a tear slipped from her eye, “why have you never made an effort to.....” Her voice tapered off into uncertainty.

“I have the reputation of a scoundrel. But I can assure you that it was falsely given to me. It is the nature of my birth, as well as my inheritance from my father. Have you ever heard of the fiendish Lord Blackwell? Or Lord Blackheart as my mother liked to call him?”

“No, I have never heard of your father.”

“He was not a good man. His own true wife he treated cruelly, of this I was a primary witness. He ridiculed her for her inability to bear his children. My own mother he spared few kindnesses for, she was the only one of his many conquests to bear him a child, but he still kept her on a short leash. She complied to all his cruelties, of course, because his money was what kept her fed and clothed and housed as well as myself, and I was admonished to be a good little gentleman and son so as not to incur the wrath of a quite violent man.”