Once Upon a Temptingly Ruinous Kiss - Bree Wolf Page 0,67

taught the difference between right and wrong. Someone who had not been taught to respect others and treat them with kindness. Someone who had grown up amongst people who only ever looked to their own desires and needs.

Was that possible?

Leonora felt the urge to rush back to Drake’s house and tell him her thoughts. However, after the way she had left, she could not imagine doing so. Her heart felt torn because deep down he was the one she wanted to confide in, and yet, she worried that whatever had been between them had now changed irrevocably. Had she ruined all by blurting out those words?

I cannot lose you.

Those words kept echoing in Leonora’s head. Not even when night fell, and she found herself alone in her chamber, settling into bed, could she force her mind away from the day’s events and all they had revealed. Again and again, she remembered all that had happened. The way he had spoken to her, confided in her. Although she had seen his pain and felt his agony, it had been a treasured moment because he had not hidden his own haunted moment from her. She remembered the way she had moved closer, offering comfort and companionship. Even now, Leonora could almost feel the warmth of his towering body as she had all but pulled him into her arms.

In that moment, there had been no fear or uncertainty. In that moment, she had simply acted, and her heart had not objected. Indeed, it had felt wonderful to have his arms come around her and pull her closer. Always had he treated her with respect, and Leonora had felt completely safe with him. She had been able to let go of that dreadful moment and simply live in the here and now.

A part of her still could not believe what she had done. What she had been able to do. She had touched him, reached out to him, and it had felt good. Indeed, somewhere within her, Leonora knew that she wanted to feel him again. What did that mean? Did it mean that she was healing? That she had taken another step on a path toward the future she was still hoping for? Would the time soon come when she found herself able to consider marriage?

Staring up at the darkened ceiling, Leonora heaved a deep sigh. “Is it only him?” she whispered into the stillness of the night. “Or…?” That was the question, was it not?

Sitting up, Leonora looked across her chamber to where her new notebook was still where she had placed it upon her vanity. Was she changing? Would she soon be able to place her trust in others as well? If she spent more time with Lord Sedgwick or Lord Gillingham, was there a chance she could feel as comfortable in their presence as she did in Drake’s?

Perhaps she truly needed to give them a chance. Perhaps it would be wise to keep her distance from Drake at least for a while. At the moment, Leonora did not feel strong enough to face him after what she had blurted out, not knowing how those words had been received. After all, in the moment before she had fled, he had looked deeply shocked. Yes, she would be wise to turn her attention to a man who clearly harbored intentions toward marriage. Lord Sedgwick was such a man, was he not? But was he the right man for her?

Leonora urged herself to believe so, and yet, in the last moments before sleep finally claimed her, it was not his face she saw.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Voices Through the Hedge

Leonora was not coming. That much was clear. And yet, Drake could not bring himself to abandon hope.

Donning his coat, he strode outside into the gardens and began pacing along the hedge, never quite venturing as far as the gap through which she had crossed countless times. Indeed, Drake had worried about how they would face each other again after what had happened. Something had changed the last time she had come to visit. They had shared something with each other they never had before, and Drake was not certain what that meant. What was he to make of it?

Again, his feet carried him toward the gap in the hedge, and again, they turned before he reached it. He could not hear voices on the other side and supposed the garden lay deserted. Who knew what the family was doing this afternoon? Was Leonora upstairs in her