Page 82 of Cloaked in Beauty

“Sweetheart, no. I don’t doubt your loyalty for a second. It’s one of the things I love most about you. I trust you completely, and there are only about ten people in this world that I can say that about, and more than half are related to me.”

Hope sparked in her eyes again, burning away some of the hurt and giving him the courage to continue.

“You are a rare treasure, Letty.” He gently reclaimed her hand, breathing easier when she offered no resistance. “I know that because I’ve seen what this world has to offer, and in my eyes, none of it can hold a candle to you. I want you to have the same chance to make an informed decision. To see what the world has to offer before making a choice with lifelong consequences.”

Something shifted in her gaze. “You’re afraid that Scarlett Radcliffe won’t love you the way Letty Hood does.”

The starkness of the statement cut through his altruistic motives to uncover a seed of truth beneath his good intentions. He dipped his head, staring at their hands instead of her face.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” He sighed softly, then forced himself to meet her gaze. “Money changes people, Letty. And while I don’t believe it will change your character or your heart, there is a chance it will change your priorities. Wealth comes with a lot of power and responsibility.” He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and smiled. “I have no doubt that you are going to do amazing things with what you’ve been given. You will bless countless lives, just as your mother has done. But like your mother, you might find that in order to do the most good, you have to let go of things you love.”

Let go of him.

Her posture straightened, but not with the stiffness he’d noticed earlier. She didn’t pull away from him. In fact, she leaned closer.

“How long?” she asked.

Philip struggled to make sense of the question. “What?”

“How long do I need to live as Scarlett Radcliffe before you’ll trust that my mind won’t be swayed?”

He swallowed. He should probably say a year, but he just couldn’t make those words form on his tongue. “Six months?”

She gave a sharp nod. “Done. But you can’t leave me high and dry. I’ve been abandoned by people I love before, and even knowing they had good reasons didn’t make it easier. It left me doubting my worth and their affection. I don’t want that to happen to us. So I’ll agree to take six months to figure out what it means to be the Radcliffe heiress as long as you write to me once a week and stop by to see me at least once a month.”

“Done.” He’d seriously doubted his ability to stay away from her for an entire month anyway. “Any other conditions?”

“Just one.” She glanced away from him. “Mrs. Krouse? Would you please fetch my shawl? I’ll be seeing Mr. Carmichael off in a moment, and I’d like to have my wrap.”

The knitting needles stopped their quiet clinking. The housekeeper rose and bobbed a curtsy. “Right away, miss.” Her eyes twinkled with delight, though they narrowed as she focused on him. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Philip’s collar suddenly felt tight. What was Letty about?

She didn’t make him wait long. “A kiss,” she blurted the moment the housekeeper exited the room. Red instantly suffused her cheeks at the words, but she held her ground and tilted her chin in a stubborn line. “The only way for a princess to know if she’s found her true love is through a kiss. Scarlett’s been asleep for fifteen years. I need to know if you can awaken her, or if I should search for someone else.”

As in, kiss someone else? His jaw clenched as the idea scraped against his skin like a rusty razor. Yes, he’d just been advocating for her to see what other men had to offer so that she could make an informed decision on who might be best for her. But that wasn’t supposed to include kissing!

Philip lifted a hand to her face. If she wanted to be kissed, he’d kiss her with every ounce of his soul.

He held her gaze, pulling back the curtain that had been hiding the depth of his passion and desire so she could see the intensity of his love. Her eyes widened slightly, and her mouth parted on a small indrawn breath. His focus dropped to her lips, and his heart pounded so hard he became light-headed.

A hunger built in him, obliterating his need to prove himself worthy and leaving only a need to meld his heart with hers. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. A tender touch. Soft. Barely there. Just enough to set his lips to tingling with the desire for more. So he tasted her again, curling his fingers around her nape to draw her closer.

A tiny purr rumbled in her throat, heating his blood. He brought his second hand up and cupped her cheek, deepening their kiss until he could feel her kissing him back. The princess had been fully awakened. But so had he. His senses pulsed with awareness, with sensitivity. Taste, touch, smell, and sound—everything heightened and attuned entirely to her. Man alive, but she was sweet. He crossed his mouth over hers again and again. His chest swelled with a love he’d never known. Protective. Passionate. Possessive. He’d been a fool to think he could ever give her up. They belonged together. Forever.

Loud, clomping footsteps echoed in the hall. The sound caused Letty to jump and brought Philip back to reality. He ended the kiss but held her close for one precious heartbeat longer. His forehead pressed against hers as their unsteady breaths mingled in the charged air between them.

“I love you, Letty.”

He prayed his love would be enough.

38

How could six months feel both like an eternity and a blink of an eye? Letty tied the string on her hooded cape, then pressed a hand to her twittering belly. Probably the same way she could be both excited and terrified at the prospect of seeing Philip this afternoon. It seemed she was destined to be a study in contradictions. Heiress and simple country girl. Society’s darling and society’s outsider. Known to the world as Scarlett Radcliffe yet known to the man she loved as Letty Hood.

That was how he addressed his letters to her. She smiled as she ran a finger over the blue ribbon that bound the collection of letters sitting on the dressing table in her room at Grandmother’s house. More than two dozen, all addressed to Letty Hood. Not because he wanted to keep her from becoming Scarlett Radcliffe, but because he understood who she was at her core. Yes, she’d donned the Radcliffe name to move about in society and to help her mother take over the management of Radcliffe Shipping now that Uncle Drake was in prison, but that name didn’t reflect her true self. Society, wealth, and prestige meant little. At her heart, she was a simple girl who loved to romp in the woods, tussle with wolves, and dedicate herself to her family and her Lord.

Besides, if everything went the way she hoped today, her last name would no longer matter. Neither Radcliffe nor Hood would have a hold on her any longer. Carmichael would become her new identity.