Hearts Entwined (Victorian Love #3) - M.A. Nichols Page 0,13

pulling Victoria to a stop in the hallway.

“Not at all.” Feigning a smile, Victoria drew her strength about her before her gaze darted behind Hettie and caught sight of a door that led to the formal gardens. “But I am feeling a bit peaked from my journey. Might I have a moment to take the air and compose myself before dinner?”

“Certainly. I do adore being able to travel so quickly, but trains leave me feeling rattled for hours,” said Hettie, ushering her towards the door. “Would you like me to join you?”

“My thanks, but no,” said Victoria, giving her friend a squeeze of the hand. “I merely need a moment alone.”

“Of course.” And with that, Hettie left Victoria to her own devices.

This portion of the garden was shielded from the setting sun, casting the area in shadows, and Victoria moved to a bench in one corner and dropped onto it with a sigh. Leaning forward, she closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead as though that might erase the anxious tremors in her heart.

Mrs. Oliver Kingsley.

A twinge behind her left eye warned that a headache was waiting to pounce. Victoria took in several deep breaths, forcing the air in and out.

“Miss Caswell?”

Victoria’s eyes shot open and her breath caught, but she did not straighten. She could not bring herself to meet his gaze, though she felt it there, warm and inviting. With effort, she forced air into her lungs. Another breath and one more, and she steeled her spine, rising to her feet to meet the gentleman who had intruded on her solitude.

“Mr. Dixon,” she replied with a curtsy, hardly stumbling over his name. Then she made the mistake of meeting his gaze. Elijah Dixon’s eyes were among the finest she’d ever seen. A light, sparkling blue that stood in stark contrast to his dark mop of hair that curled around his ears. “I hadn’t realized you’d be in attendance.”

“I go where Mr. Flemming has need of me,” he replied.

Victoria nodded and wondered why she hadn’t anticipated Mr. Dixon’s presence. But even as she tried to lie to herself, she knew she hadn’t wanted to face that possibility.

“You look…” Mr. Dixon’s voice trailed into silence, his eyes holding hers as his lips curled into a hint of a smile. “…fetching.”

Shaking her head, Victoria smiled at the rascal who could turn even a few simple words into something far more. Embracing the levity, she ignored the fluttering in her heart.

“And you look disheveled,” she replied, giving a pointed look at his cravat, which leaned far too strongly to one side. Lifting her hands, Victoria smoothed the errant fabric into a semblance of decorum. “Really, Mr. Dixon. With your plans to conquer politics, you should be more circumspect in your appearance. Though I will say you chose a stunning color for your waistcoat.”

Mr. Dixon shifted, leaning a hair’s breadth closer to her, enveloping her in his scent. “An enticing young lady once told me that blue was my color.”

Victoria paused in her ministrations, her dark eyes connecting with his light ones, and became all too aware of just how little space there was between the pair of them. And of how intimately she was touching him. But it was all too inviting for her to step away, and her treacherous mind conjured images of her closing the distance.

“Elijah, please do not…” Victoria tumbled over her words, for she knew not how to finish that sentence. Though not prone to fainting, she wished she had a vinaigrette on hand. “I cannot—”

But before she could finish her thought (though she knew not what words would follow), Phyllis Thompson burst through the door and swept Victoria into her arms.

“It is so good to see you!” she said, leaning back and taking Victoria’s hands in hers. “I cannot believe Mama and Papa refused to take us to London this Season. I was positively envious of you and Hettie having all that fun in Town while I was left to languish in the countryside.”

Victoria’s eyes darted from Phyllis to Mr. Dixon and back again, drawing the other young lady’s attention.

“Am I interrupting?” asked Phyllis with brows drawn tight together.

“I was just renewing my acquaintance with Mr. Dixon.” Victoria pulled a hand free from Phyllis’s grasp and motioned towards the gentleman.

Phyllis’s expression softened, her lids lowering as she gave him a quick perusal. Her brow quirked upwards as she sent Victoria a silent look full of curiosity. Victoria’s insides churned at the gleam in Phyllis’s eye, but