The Solemn Bell by Allyson Jeleyne

Author:Allyson Jeleyne
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: 1920s Romance
Publisher: 0
Published: 2016-10-31T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Without morphine to sedate him, Brody was full of energy. He suddenly wanted to go, and do anything. Everything. He was restless and bored, and needed to let off some steam. Since he couldn’t take Angelica upstairs and make love until neither of them could walk, he did the next best thing.

He took her driving.

Brody enjoyed the open countryside, the fresh air, and a morning spent with the girl he loved. If they had stayed home, they would have had little privacy. Here, he could touch her when he wanted, and kiss her when she let him.

They sped through half of Shropshire with her tucked by his side—or, rather, with her face buried in his shoulder. Angelica didn’t like when they went too fast. Sometimes, he’d pull over at the crest of a hill, and shut off the engine just so she could catch her breath. He didn’t mind stopping to admire a pretty view of rolling hills and castle follies, and she’d lay in his lap, feeling the sun on her face. They’d talk if they felt like it, or sit in companionable silence if they didn’t.

For the day, at least, he couldn’t imagine anywhere he’d rather be.

“Where are we going after this?” she asked him, her cheek resting on his thigh.

Brody feared he might burst through his tweeds. “Home. It’s nearly time for luncheon.”

“No. I mean, after your sister’s party. You say we only need to make it through the week, but then what?”

“Honestly, I haven’t put that much thought into my plan. I’m more of a day-by-day type of chap, you see.” He laughed. “All my life, it’s been ‘get through this lesson’, or ‘just survive this last push’. Before you, I never thought beyond my next injection—that’s the problem with being an addict. We live for the moment, and to hell with the consequences.”

She sat up, frowning. “So we are, essentially, living by our wits?”

What a sight she was when she was cross! Watching her blue eyes flash was almost—almost—better than seeing her face in his lap. Strangely, both scenarios had the same effect on his pulse.

“It’s not quite that desperate, my girl. We can get a flat in Shrewsbury, if you’d like. There are plenty of parks and gardens, and it’s small enough that you could learn your way ‘round. I wouldn’t get in any trouble there.” He kissed the furrow in her brow. “It wouldn’t be like living in Birmingham, or Manchester, or even London.”

“Are you worried you’ll turn to the needle again?”

“I’d rather not tempt myself.”

“Maybe we ought to live in the country. There’d be no temptations there. We could live in my house…”

He nuzzled her neck. Even her softest touch could drive him senseless. “I thought we could go somewhere different for a change, like the sea, or the Continent. They say Paris is lovely in peacetime.”

“You want to run away…”

“Is that so wrong? We’ve both been locked up for too long—me in my morphine haze, and you in your solitude—we could use a change of scenery.

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