An Inconvenient Romance by Chalon Linton

Author:Chalon Linton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: regency, romance, LDS, clean, fiction, novel, secret, friendship, heart
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2017-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Mr. Charles Brumley

Leah’s rejection did not sting as much as her pity. She did not know of my part in the accident; that was the only explanation for it. I had waited outside the library all night, dreading the cries I would hear if her father passed. Sleep had been a ghost, teasing and haunting me through the endless hours of darkness. It was all I could do to push the invented horror away and focus on reality. I listened intently for any sound escaping the library; I hoped every second for another quiet breath and then another. They continued to build, one upon the next, until the light began to dissipate the darkness.

Gentle, welcome sunlight flooded into the entryway at the end of the hall. The shadows began to flee, and then Leah emerged like golden sunshine.

I knew it would come, illumination. First the morning light and eventually the truth. Leah would find out.

Holding her so close, so perfectly in my arms, my mind gave way to my heart, and I had almost kissed her. She had to know what I was about to do. I took solace in the fact that she did not berate me for my actions. She simply pushed me away and left. I had been on the receiving end of Leah’s temper enough to know that were she truly irate, there would have been a much stronger rebuke. Once she had rested and broken her fast, it may still come. I would enjoy the lull in the storm while I could.

My desire for her to know my part in her father’s accident was unequivocally linked to my desire that she never find out. I wanted Leah forever, and there was no way to keep a secret like this. Not if I truly loved her.

Every moment I waited, wondering if she knew, was the most extreme torture I had ever experienced—twisting and kicking and thwarting my spirit. I believed it would be best to face the guillotine once rather than wait for the moment of exile again and again and again. I would tell her. Soon.

I bathed quickly, shaved, and put on a clean change of clothes; when I jogged back down the stairs, the doctor stood in the drawing room giving Mother an update.

“All of Mr. Hastings’s vitals appear stable. His breathing is more shallow than I would like, but it’s steady, which is a good sign. I will return again tomorrow unless a change requires my presence sooner. Please do not hesitate to call for me again.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Mother stood, and they walked to the door.

I acknowledged them as they passed. Mother gave me a heavy, weighted look, a combination of doubt, hope, fear, and the strangled knowledge that it was all out of our control. I envied Leah and her optimism.

Leah! I wondered if she had seen the doctor and heard his prognosis. I walked towards the library, and as I rounded the corner, I saw her slip out the back entrance of the house.

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