The Mysterious Mr. Heath by Ariel Atwell

Author:Ariel Atwell [Atwell, Ariel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical; Regency
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Published: 2015-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Afterward, they lay together, and with her head against his chest, she shared everything. About her mother, her uncle who was really her father, and the lie that had begun on the very first day of her life. He asked many questions, and she held nothing back. The story had been bottled within her for so long it felt good to finally speak aloud about what she had never said before, to confide secrets she had never trusted to anyone. After what felt like forever, they both fell silent, her head against his chest listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat.

“I cannot understand how your mother could do such a thing,” he said at last.

“She had no family and no money and felt herself fortunate to be the mistress of a wealthy man. Her role, as she saw it, was to give him whatever he wanted so he would take care of her. That is what she did.”

“To sacrifice you in that way—” he began, but she stopped him.

“What sacrifice was it to live in a fine house, attend the best schools, and receive training to work in a profession that I love? Would I have been better off as the daughter of a woman in a bawdy house? Or working as a maid? All for the dubious pleasure of wearing skirts?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“You misinterpret my words.”

“I don’t want your pity,” she shot back. “That is not why I told you my story.”

“Then why have you confided in me? What do I have to offer you?” he asked.

“Having you here…” Her voice trailed off. “I had not realized how empty my life was until you came.”

“I am someone to keep you company, then. A sort of companion.” He didn’t sound pleased.

She sat up on the bed and looked down at him. How odd that there was a man in her room, lying there unclothed among her things. Even in the candlelight, the darkness of his hair stood in sharp contrast to the white fabric of her bed sheets. If she had ever seen a more handsome man, she could not recall it. But now he was frowning.

“What is it that you wish for me to say, Matthew?” she asked. “You hold the advantage over me for I have little experience in what goes on between men and women, particularly in circumstances such as these.”

“This is not an everyday occurrence for me either,” he said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I still feel like a damned idiot for not seeing your beauty. For not somehow sensing that you were a woman. Or perhaps I did without realizing it,” he mused. “Maybe that is why I found your company so delightful, yet felt it such a torment to be with you.”

His compliment took her by surprise, and she took refuge where she could find it. “You need not flatter me. I know I am nothing to look at, nor do I care about being so,” she said dismissively.

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