Once Upon a Temptingly Ruinous Kiss - Bree Wolf Page 0,38
voice that menacing and somewhat threatening tone.
Guessing the direction of his thoughts, Leonora straightened and said, “I do not hesitate to share the truth about what happened at the masquerade with them because I fear their reaction or doubt their love for me.” She held his gaze calmly, waiting for her words to sink in. When his jaw relaxed slightly, she continued, “It is because I know how dearly they love me that I do not dare speak to them about this. I fear that they would do something unwise, something that would endanger their lives.”
Lord Pemberton regarded her thoughtfully. “You’re worried they would call the man out?” He frowned. “How can they when his identity remains unknown?”
Leonora inhaled a deep breath, beginning to feel slightly fatigued at this late hour. Still, she needed to make him understand because the thought that he doubted her family’s loyalty pained her.
Holding his gaze, Leonora took a careful step toward him. She could see in the slight widening of his eyes that he understood what she was doing, his attention focused on her in a deeply profound way. “Does the thought truly surprise you, my lord?” Leonora inquired, one brow rising up into an arch. “Did you yourself not offer to do just that when we first met? Is that not precisely the reason why you hired that investigator?”
Lord Pemberton’s gaze never veered from hers. Yes, Leonora could see that he understood her meaning only too well.
“As far as I can tell,” Leonora continued, feeling slightly emboldened by taking charge of the conversation, “not knowing the man’s identity is not stopping you, is it?”
The corner of his mouth twitched as though he wished to smile. “The only difference is,” Lord Pemberton remarked, “that you do not have to fear for my life as I am no one to you.” He spoke evenly, and yet, Leonora could not help but think that he wanted her to contradict him. Before she could make any such reply though, he continued on, “You are determined not to involve them?”
Leonora nodded. What had happened to her had been painful enough. She would never be able to live with herself if anything happened to someone she loved because of her, because of her mistake, because of her error in judgment. No, she would not involve her family in this. Both, her father and her brother, were fiercely protective. She had seen their watchful glances over the past few months, concern etched into their eyes. She knew that her parents had more than once discussed her sudden change in behavior, urging her mother to draw her into conversation every once in a while, once more trying to determine what was going on.
Leonora hated lying to them and keeping things from them, and she knew that a better solution to sharing what had happened would be to simply solve the problem. Then she could return to her old self, and everything would be as it once was.
“What about your brother-in-law?” Lord Pemberton inquired, although the look in his eyes suggested that he himself did not fully approve of this solution, either.
Leonora shook her head no. Although she did care for Phineas, she was coming to look at him as another brother, the thought of sharing this with him seemed…wrong somehow. Not that she could think of any kind of objective reason for that emotion; however, that seemed to be the norm as of late. “I cannot.”
Lord Pemberton raked a hand through his hair, a bit of an exasperated look coming to his eyes. “Is there an alternative you can think of?”
For a moment, Leonora did not dare speak for the alternative that immediately came to mind was one she ought not consider at all. Still, his proposition did make sense, and she longed to find a solution to this constant fear, this need to look over her shoulder, to doubt everyone she met. And so, Leonora forced her eyes off the floor. “You.”
His shoulders tensed, and aside from the way his teeth seemed to grit together, he remained perfectly still. His gray eyes continued to linger upon her face, searching, as though he doubted her words, their genuineness. “Are you certain you want this?”
Sinking her teeth into her lower lip, Leonora nodded, not certain at all, but equally afraid to step back.
Lord Pemberton kept his eyes fixed upon her, the intensity in them growing. “Are you aware that I would have to approach you?”
Despite her best efforts, Leonora felt herself flinch.