AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She dropped her gaze, frowning thoughtfully for a moment before peering up at him through dark eyelashes. ‘Is that story true or did you make it up?’
‘Do you think I’d make up a name like Peredurus? Check the town’s crest if you don’t believe me.’
He grinned and pushed the jeweller’s door open, leading her into a dark room filled with wooden and glass cabinets, each one sparkling with a glittering array of rings, brooches and pendants.
‘Take your pick. Anything you like.’
‘Anything?’ Doe eyes opened wide, seeming to glow with reflected light from the jewellery. ‘I don’t know what’s suitable. Don’t you want to choose?’
‘You’re the one who has to wear it.’
She pursed her lips, peering into the first cabinet they came to and pointing towards a plain band set with a single red stone. ‘That one.’
‘The garnet?’ He looked at her dubiously. ‘Is this because I insisted?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It must be the plainest ring in the shop.’
‘Exactly. Not fussy, just respectable.’
Respectable. There was that word again. He was starting to wish he’d never used it.
‘There are bigger rings.’
‘I don’t want bigger. You said I could choose.’
‘So I did.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘All right, if that’s what you really want, but what about that one?’ He gestured towards the back of the cabinet, towards a thin, delicately wrought gold band with six small sapphires mounted around a single raised diamond. ‘It’s still respectable, but I think it might suit you.’
‘The flower?’ She gave an audible gasp.
‘May I?’ He conferred briefly with the jeweller before picking the ring up and slipping it gently over her finger. ‘There.’
‘My mother had a ring just like this.’ Her voice softened as she gazed at the stone admiringly. ‘It broke my heart when Percy sold it. My father always said it was naturally beautiful, just like her.’
‘My thoughts exactly.’
‘I didn’t mean...’ Her cheeks flooded with colour. ‘That is... It just reminds me of her, that’s all.’
‘Then we’re both convinced. That wasn’t so painful, now, was it?’
‘No.’ She shook her head, a shy smile hovering over her lips. ‘I don’t want to take it off.’
‘Then don’t.’ He turned to the jeweller. ‘Send the bill directly to me in Whitby.’
‘Very good, Mr Felstone.’ The man looked almost as pleased as she did. ‘It’s a classic design. An excellent choice, if I might say so.’
‘It’s perfect.’ She was still staring at her hand, her face breaking into a sudden wide smile, like sunshine bursting through clouds. ‘Thank you, Robert. I don’t think I’ll ever wear gloves again.’
‘Then let me carry them for you.’
He scooped her things up, determined to prevent anything that might chase her smile away, taken aback by an unfamiliar stirring sensation in his chest. She seemed calmer now, as if the ring had actually soothed her—a whole different woman again, the one he’d danced with at the ball, the one he hadn’t wanted to let go...
He held the door open, inhaling the scent of fresh grass as she brushed past him. The happy, wondering smile on her face was dazzling, transforming her features from plain to breathtakingly lovely. For a moment he felt an unwonted impulse to reach down and kiss her, to feel the soft pressure of those wide lips against his. Not that he had any intention of doing so. That would be entirely against the terms of their agreement.
Besides which, he didn’t want to frighten her again. Their trip to the jeweller’s had gone better than he’d expected, as if all she’d needed was some reassurance, but he still couldn’t be certain there wasn’t something else bothering her...
‘Are you sure you’re all right, Ianthe?’ He glanced down at her quickly as they walked side by side up the hill towards her aunt’s house.
