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Luc gave a heavy sigh. He hadn’t yet found out if his suspicions about the will and its wording was correct. Apparently some confusion in the clerk’s office was causing the delay.
Feeling stiff, he shifted his position and stretched out his legs as much as the cramped confines of the carriage would allow.
Part of him wanted there to be a good reason for her behavior. Another part of him no longer cared. That part of him, growing stronger every day, wanted her no matter what she had done. It was the same part of him that had pursued Persephone. The urge was back. Why?
Because on some level he knew she was his?
Knew that she was Honey, the little girl who adored him. The girl who he in return adored, though he’d hidden that emotion deep inside himself, so deep he himself had trouble unearthing it.
Because he knew she was what he needed? He didn’t want to be like his mother any more than he wanted to be like his father, and if he surrendered to his feelings for Ria that wouldn’t happen.
Devon was right. He did love her. He loved Ria, Persephone, and Honey.
Why hadn’t he recognized her? She’d grown up, but her essence was the same. It’s what had always drawn him to her. So much so that as a boy he’d been so frightened by the intensity of his emotions, so worried he was like his father in his fixation, that he’d deliberately hurt her and driven her away. And despite repeated invitations from Devon, he had never returned to Little Bridgeton.
As the manor came into view in a gap between the oak trees that lined the drive, his breath quickened.
The carriage came to a halt at the manor, and Luc thrust open and door and jumped down, much to the surprise of a footman who’d just been about to open the door.
He strode briskly into the large entry hall, and Flowerday, waiting near the entrance, bowed. “May I take your hat and coat, Lord Arden?”
Luc handed him the items, then the butler said, “If you will follow me, please, Mrs. St. James has left something for you.”
Luc frowned. “Where is Mrs. St. James?”
“She is not here, my lord.”
Unsure if Flowerday was telling the truth, or what he really meant was that Ria was not seeing visitors, he looked closely at the butler. His face was expressionless.
Having expected to see Ria and eagerly anticipating the encounter, her absence left him feeling hollow. “When is Mrs. St. James due to return?”
“Not for some time. She has gone away.”
He drew in his breath at the news. Swiftly he asked, “Where has she gone?”
“Up north, my lord. And the ladies are in Little Bridgeton.”
He frowned. Where the hell was she? Did her absence mean she had given up? Had his refusal to listen turned her against him? He’d assumed she would be here at the manor, waiting for him, but she wasn’t. What did that mean?
Flowerday interrupted his torturous thoughts by repeating his earlier request. “If you will follow me, Lord Arden.”
He replied, “I’ll wait here—you can bring it to me.”
Flowerday’s face was impassive as he firmly said, “I’m sorry. I am under strict instructions to ensure you collect it yourself.”
Without waiting for any response the butler, head held high, sedately led him to a small sitting room. At the doorway, he gestured to a rosewood desk. “The items are there, my lord.”
When Flowerday made no move to enter the room, Luc raised his eyebrow in query. Solemnly, Flowerday gazed back at him but still made no move to go in.
As he neared the desk, he turned to ask Flowerday why he had been shown into the sitting room, but the butler had disappeared.
Why had Flowerday been so insistent that Luc collect the items himself? He stood still for a moment and looked around. Seeing nothing untoward, he strode over to the desk.
The box containing the ring he’d given Ria sat on top of some papers. Looking down at it, he remembered the day he had given it to her and the look of delight on her face.
He’d lately assumed she was mercenary, but the ring was not particularly valuable and she would surely have known that. When he’d offered to purchase her a new ring she had declined, saying she loved this one both because it was pretty and because it obviously meant something to him.
He had also offered to buy her an engageme
