What a Spinster Wants - Rebecca Connolly Page 0,68

be! Lord Radcliffe would certainly have a time of it as her guardian; there was no doubt about that.

Chuckling to herself, Edith turned to go back to her rooms to change, if she could remember the way. She had not taken more than two turns before another set of footsteps met her ears.

Lord Radcliffe turned down the same corridor, coming towards her, his head lowered as though in thought. He stopped when he saw her, then looked her over, his mouth working as if he did not know what to say. Then his focus remained on her skirts, and his mouth quirked.

“Why is your dress torn?” he asked without premise.

Edith looked down at the hole she had made and laughed, cheeks flaming yet again. “Molly was so upset about the hole in hers, I tore one in mine to match.”

He shook his head a little. “Why would you do that? I was told you did not have much by way of worldly possessions.”

Edith shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t. But I can mend this well enough, and relieving Molly’s distress was well worth putting a hole in my frock.”

That seemed to surprise him, and he looked quite as if words were beyond him.

“She asked if I could see her later,” Edith said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I told her to ask you. I willna do anything without your consent, particularly if ye do not wish her presence to be known.”

“I’m only protecting her,” he murmured softly. “I don’t hide her. I don’t speak of her, and I probably should. But I just… I can’t seem to find my way around guardianship without…”

“Her parents,” Edith replied, her voice very low, her heart suddenly pounding too hard.

He nodded once, looking away.

“I am so sorry,” she murmured, not knowing what else to say. “I canna begin to imagine.”

His throat worked on a swallow. “It has been difficult, it is true.” His attention came back to her, and compassion radiated from him. “I understand you have been separated from your family for some time. That cannot be easy, either.”

“It is hardly the same thing,” Edith protested weakly. “My family… Well, they would still be there if ever I were permitted home.”

“Permitted?” Lord Radcliffe repeated softly. “Do they forbid you?”

Edith winced, wishing she had chosen her words with more care.

“Aye,” she whispered, looking down at the rug beneath their feet. “From the day of my wedding, I’ve been cast off, ye might say. It was hoped that my marriage would last a bit more’n a day, but there was naught to do about that. Unless one takes the view of my father, in which case it is my fault.”

“How in the world…?” he started to argue, his voice rising.

“I didna do my duty proper if I couldna keep my husband to our marriage bed,” Edith overrode bluntly, her hands balling into fists at her side, the confession a release, so long it had remained buried within her. “If I had, he would ne’er have suffered his accident, and we might still be wed.”

Lord Radcliffe’s eyes were wide, his lips parting ever so slightly. “Surely, you jest?”

Edith nodded once. “I wouldna have the creativity to invent such a ludicrous statement.”

“Well,” he muttered under his breath as he ran a hand through his hair, “as long as you realize it is a ludicrous statement…”

“I ken verra well,” she assured him, smiling ruefully. “It is one of the reasons I dinna miss my family over much. Ye’ve a much stronger right to missing yours than I do.”

A crooked smile crossed his lips. “I don’t believe it is a competition, but thank you. Besides,” he tilted his head in the direction of the nursery, “Molly keeps her parents very alive in many ways.”

“Well, she is a delightful child,” Edith told him, stepping away a little, “and if you’ll permit it, I should like to see her again. But I will abide by your wishes. I do owe you that much, for being my hero.”

His smile faded just enough to be bewitching, his eyes still fixed on hers.

“I am no hero, Lady Edith, not even for you. And I would like you to see Molly again. Whenever you like, as you wish, now you know where she is.”

“Thank you.” A giddiness began to well within her, something she didn’t understand but found a ticklish delight in. “Provided I can find my way back to the main of the house at all. I think Molly must have taken precautionary measures not to be