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Selene breathed a smile. “Put that way, I have no argument.”
They set their plans in motion. The Duchess of Crompton had a carriage with a team of horses at her disposal, she’d travel in it. But not to the Crompton seat in Brighton. She’d find another place, Where no one, including Philip, would find her. This is what she should have done soon after John passed away. Now she’d not be in this mess. Her craving for him had spoken louder at the time he came back from the continent, though. She’d keep the memories and move on anyway. She’d leave a message with Jenkins.
Philip sat in his liveried carriage, happy to be driving home. A week away from Selene felt like eternity. He and his men chased after her blackguard of a half-brother to no avail. The addicted bastard seemed to have vanished from earth. Philip chose to go back to London to do more search there.
He took the entrance steps two at a time, eager to see her. He headed straight to the library, where she’d be at this time. Empty. The study. No one. Fast steps to her Chambers. Deserted. He went down, calling for Jenkins.
“Where might her grace be?” He could hardly disguise his impatience.
“She left a message saying she’d go to the country, Your Grace.”
Philip’s brows pleated. “How is that, Jenkins.”
“All I know, Your Grace, is that Her Grace went out to Oxford Street and decided to travel when she came back.” Jenkins reported as precisely as he could. In the bottom of his heart, he thought His Grace and Her Grace the perfect couple and wished them united somehow. “The driver said she’d got the cut direct from the ladies, her friends. He heard sobs in the carriage as well.”
Philip felt so furious, he wanted to discharge canons on all those hypocrites! Who did they think they were, to throw stones on others? “Thank you, Jenkins.” The butler bowed and left.
Damn it
! Would there be no reprieve for her? Hadn’t she taken enough? For her blasted half-brother and from the same sibling! He’d go to Brighton and stay there with her, no matter what. The ton could go to blazing hell!
She hadn’t gone to Brighton, he discovered next day. Neither the steward knew anything about her whereabouts. Of course, everybody knew what happened in London. Philip didn’t give a fig! He wanted to find her, talk to her. He wanted her. Full stop!
She proved difficult to track down, the stubborn woman! She probably thought of sparing him of her scandalous presence. Only he didn’t care! He would bring her to be together with him, take what it takes. He put his men after her, with extra reward for who found her.
Chapter 17
The sound of the turbulent sea waves and the wind on her face soothed Selene’s nerves as she walked through the meadows. She never thought Gloucestershire would be so beautiful. April turning to May, the snow gone, the infinite sea. She’d find a shred of serenity walking those paths. Because she missed Philip like a condemnation. These weeks away from him tore at her heart. Several times she nearly ceded to the temptation of rushing back to London, whatever the cost to her, scandal or not. This distance threatened her sanity. She shouldn’t feel that much for a man she had a…carnal relationship with. Something must be wrong! She didn’t know what, couldn’t care. She had to forget him. Immediately!
She ended up here on a blind search. They’d drove westwards and when she thought they had gone far enough from London, she started looking for a cottage to lease. She found this little jewel box by the seashore. She’d adored it almost at once. Big enough, that her lady’s maid and driver had their own quarters, the cottage’s decoration remounted centuries in a cosy, pleasant way. She rented it under her own family name. She didn’t want to bring London’s scandals there.
She’d been spending eventless days there, which suited her fine. That’s what she sought; a balmy time to forget him, to forget her disappointments, scandal and the loss of her dreams. Only now she had memories, instead of dreams. Hundreds of memories, big and small, haunting her days, harassing her nights. They ignited her hollow body, installed craving in her void spirit. She needed to surface this torment and did not know how! She hoped it all faded away with time, or she’d go crazy.
Darkness fell so suddenly, Philip didn’t notice it coming. The lantern in his hand lit a couple of yards ahead, where he conducted his horse. He’d been riding for hours, not to mention the last days. One of his men had found a lead, which Philip followed with wild impatience. He hadn’t been sleeping well, or eating enough, or thinking clearly, his mind completely focused on getting to her. The increasing sound of the sea waves warned him of the danger of a precipice.
She awakened his predator’s instincts, sending him on the thrill of the hunt. It aroused him, making him want her blind. After all these days? He was also enraged he could barely control himself. No woman had ever monopolized his attention to this level. He could think of nothing else. Worry for her safety battled with the deprivation caused by her absence and the consequent frustrated desire. The result? A well of wired, wakeful energy that wouldn’t give him peace.
In the distance, he devised a faint light. He directed his stallion to it. Nearing it, he distinguished a cottage, a nice one, by the way. He set his stallion to a gallop, watchful to the terrain he rode on. As he approached, he saw the light came from a room above.
He dismounted, tied his weary horse and strode to the door. He knocked as politely as he could. Waited. No answer. He knocked harder. Silence. He started banging on the massive wood. Someone had to come, the cottage inhabited for sure. He kept on banging, hearing movement inside. The door opened in a dry movement. Her driver. His men did a damn bang on job! To be rewarded suitably.
“Your Grace.” The man bowed, holding a lantern.
He stepped in without invitation. Behind the driver, her lady’s maid. A few steps up the stairs, Selene. He looked up at her figure wrapped in a robe. Their eyes meshed, both frozen.
This woman would always take his breath away. She looked regal and beautiful standing there, loose hair, vivid green eyes flashing. His love for her swelled relieved to find her safe. Still angry, though.
“What are you doing here?” She asked bluntly.
“So much for a warm welcome.” He drawled lazily. Not for the world would he show how desperate he’d been. He made a show of taking off his coat.
“Leave!” She commanded him.
“Yes, leave!” He motioned to both servants. They obeyed him, scurrying. Her eyes flashed fury.
He shut the door with a thud. Pacing, he posted himself at the bottom of the stairs, legs apart, arms crossed. “What were you thinking?”
“Nothing that concerns you!” The driver had left the lantern on the table nearby, illuminating their confront.
