Finding Lady Enderly by Joanna Davidson Politano

Author:Joanna Davidson Politano
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction;Christian fiction;FIC042030;FIC027170;FIC027050
ISBN: 9781493417742
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

19

True beauty is not the absence of flaws, merely the parts of us that can outshine them.

~Diary of a Substitute Countess

Sully spotted her across the study the moment he entered the hushed space, and he paused to consider what to do. He’d sought her out the moment the carriage had departed, eager for the chance to speak with her alone, yet now he couldn’t bring himself to wake her, to have her watching and listening as he said what needed to be said.

In the silence he studied her sleeping form draped over the plush red settee as if she were a part of it. How well she fit into this place of great beauty and fine things, with her golden curls and delicate features, her long, willowy frame. Yet she was his Raina, his plucky and loyal childhood chum.

The kitchen was busy and he should return, but as he looked upon the silent face of the girl who’d become a permanent fixture in his mind and heart, with no one to disturb them, he couldn’t resist drawing near. The girl always slept like a rock, which emboldened him further. He strode over and knelt beside her, gazing down at her pure face, so peaceful amidst the chaos of the situation.

“I suppose it’s easier to offer my apologies when you can’t answer back.” He exhaled. How could he say it? He had let his hurt make him childish and he shouldn’t have. “You didn’t deserve all those things I said. You always do have a reason for the scrapes you get into, and they’re kind and loving ones even when they’re foolish. And I . . . I truly love you for it.”

He drew a shuddering breath as the all-important words hung in the air and studied her long eyelashes resting on pink cheeks. They seemed even rosier than when he’d first entered the room—perhaps her sleep had deepened. “I know I make things harder on you by being here, Raina, but I cannot stay away. I made that mistake once and I’ll not risk it again. Even if you’ll never have me, I’ll be nearby from now on. Forgive your foolish friend his weaknesses, but I cannot stand to be away from you again.” This was his fault. All his. If only he’d continued to remain in Spitalfields as her protector, perhaps he could have kept her from this trap.

He knelt closer and breathed in the fresh scent of her hair, the sweet aroma of her flushed skin. He’d once had this lass in his own arms, leaned her against him before a well-lit hearth. He’d loved her then, but through his absence his feelings had swelled to an unbearable intensity both sweet and painful.

“It’s funny how, even in the midst of finery, you come to appreciate the ordinary, everyday things, like being around your favorite person. I miss that.” He sat forward and pulled the tip of one loose curl that rested against her shoulder, stretching out its golden length and releasing it.

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