“To the altar, sir, if I could receive your blessing once I beg for Miss Barnet’s forgiveness.”
A harrumph left Harry’s mouth. “She won’t make it easy if you’ve offended her.”
“I would expect nothing less, sir.”
Harry glared at him before his stance finally relaxed. “My son assures me that my daughter has feelings for you. If his assumption is correct and then you break her heart again, I’ll come after you myself,” he warned, as he pointed a finger at him.
“I understand, Mr. Barnet. It was never my intention to upset your daughter and I will do my best to convince her that my apology is sincere.”
“I suppose that will have to do… for now. It’s up to you to find out if she’ll even talk to you.” Harry rose to his feet.
“I appreciate you seeing me,” Gideon replied. “Will I have your blessing to marry your daughter if I gain her trust again? I only wish to make her happy.”
Harry tilted his head to one side, obviously contemplating his answer. “If you can gain her forgiveness, then I suppose you’ll have my blessing, especially if Patience can speak to your character and your ability to support my daughter. But you better be on your best behavior. You’re in my part of the world here in Bracknell where everyone knows everyone. I won’t have my daughter’s reputationtarnished.”
“You have my word, Mr. Barnet, and thank you for your confidence and trust where your daughter is concerned.” Gideon held out his hand, hoping the older man would grasp it. It took several seconds before Violet’s father reached out. The handshake between the two men was a start toward mutual respect, or so Gideon hoped.
“We’ll see just how committed you are, young man. Violet can be stubborn to a fault so you have your work cut out for you.”
“Then we are two of a kind, sir. Thank you.” Gideon left the mercantile with a renewed sense of hope filling his chest. He’d won over her father and convinced him of his sincerity. Now… if only he could convince the lady herself.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The past weekhad been unbearable, at least where Violet’s heart was concerned. Everywhere she turned in Bracknell, she found Gideon. At the apothecary, the Raven, the mercantile, even along the boardwalks lining the streets. She couldn’t seem to shake the stubborn lout who had been making every attempt to make amends.
She had to give him credit for his determination no matter how hard she wished to dismiss him. The fair amount of groveling he had been doing was becoming embarrassing and the town folk were beginning to talk and worse, they were inhisfavor! Even the people who had commented on his disfigurement when he first arrived in town seemed to now encourage Gideon to win her favor. Everyone appeared to be against her. What was she to do?
She glanced across the aisle of the church to the pew where Gideon sat, to see him turning the page in the hymn book. And then, she could hear the rich baritone of his voice as he joined the rest of the congregation in the song rising up to the heavens. His singing had a calming effect on her, lulling her into a sense of security she had never experienced before. Was it because she was sitting in church with her family that she felt the extra support she needed? Perhaps. But whenGideon turned his head to look at her, she felt her resolve to remain uninterested in him crack.
There could be no mistaking she was witnessing such longing upon his features. His expression brought her back to when they had locked eyes at the Lyon’s Den for the very first time or when he had awoken from his accident. It was a clear reminder of that sense of connection to another living being who had originally pulled at her heartstrings to accept the inevitable… they were meant to be together, if she would only finally forgive him and not remain so prideful.
When the services ended, she couldn’t leave the church fast enough and she hurried past the other parishioners as quickly as she was able. Once she gained the fresh air, she leaned one hand on a tall oak tree while inhaling deeply to fill her lungs. Her relief was short-lived when she saw the gentleman who had occupied her thoughts leave the church and head to a horse tethered nearby and then hard-pressed not to see the small bouquet of flowers he untied from the saddle.
She swiveled away from the sight. It was entirely possible he would be giving them to someone else but that only fired in her a ridiculous jealousy. Who else besides her and her family did he know in Bracknell? No one. The flowers had to be for her.
She heard the rich deep voice from her dreams calling out her name. She could do nothing less than turn around to address him. Otherwise, she would bear the scrutiny of the whole community who seemed to be gathering in droves on the grass outside the church. She took another deep breath to calm her frayed nerves before she turned to him.
“Good morning, Captain Tyler,” she said softly while bobbing a curtsy. The closer he came. the more her heart began a rapid beat she was sure all the world could hear.
“Good morning, Miss Barnet.” He pulled the flowers from behind his back and thrust them in her direction with a smile that could meltan iceberg. “These are for you.”
Her hand trembled as she reached for the bouquet and studied the flowers. Red and white roses were intermingled with green myrtle with small white blooms. There could be no mistaking the meaning of such an arrangement since Violet was well aware of the love language they represented. Red roses implied a passionate love, the white saidI am worthy of you, and the myrtle…good heaven!…love, andmarriage. He could drop to one bended knee and she would have known the implication without Gideon saying a word.
“Do you like them?” Gideon asked, stepping even closer. He became a human shield from spying eyes as he moved to stand next to the tree.
She raised her face to his. “Do you have any idea of what this floral arrangement means?” she asked, in a hushed whisper.
His smile told her everything she needed to know even before he spoke. “I should hope so, or my mother might take me to task for not learning what a lady would like,” he said with a slight chuckle. He touched one of the white roses. “I would have had violets in the arrangement to represent my faithfulness but the lady who helped me pick out the flowers didn’t have any in her greenhouse.”
“But the myrtle represents marriage and love. I hardly think they are appropriate since our relationship isn’t at such a point.” She couldn’t help but lift the flowers to her nose and inhale as she enjoyed the fragrance of the blooms.
He reached to run a finger down one of her cheeks. “That can easily be remedied if you would only forgive me so we could start again.”
“You should give these to someone else whom you favor,” she replied, attempting to thrust them back into his hands.
His rich, deep laughter caused her heart to flip end over end. “And just who do you think I would give them to, Angel? You are the only woman in whom I am interested. I followed you from London for areason, my lady.”
“I’m certain any of the young ladies back in the city would be more than happy to return your affection,” she responded with a lift of her chin, trying not to allow the green-eyed monster of jealousy to rear its ugly head at the thought of another woman who might attract his interest. It shouldn’t have mattered in the least who this mystery woman might be if Violet wasn’t going make it known that she wanted to be with Gideon.
