Hopes and Brides: Regency and Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Collection by Joyce Alec & Ruby Hill

Author:Joyce Alec & Ruby Hill [Alec, Joyce]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

8

The only way Arthur could mark the number of days he had been within this room was by making a mark on the wall with a small piece of broken pottery he had found on the floor beneath his bed, when he had been searching for his chamber pot.

It appeared now that he was a day short of a sennight. He could not believe it. To have been stuck in this small room with only a few short interactions with another living soul had been torturous and had felt a good deal longer than only six days.

The same maid had returned each and every day and even though Arthur had tried to speak to her, she had ignored him completely, her wide eyes betraying her fear. Perhaps, Arthur thought, she had been punished for speaking to him, for taking too long to set down his food and hurry from the room. He had little doubt that he was meant to be kept here for some time, but to have no specific answers was both frustrating and difficult.

Time had seemed to slow around him as he spent hour after hour wandering around his small room, trying to find a way to escape from his prison. The tiny window was his only view of the rest of the world, the only light that he could enjoy. The sun had warmed his face in the afternoons as he had pressed his face up against it, his mind becoming more and more troubled as the sun began to set, leaving him to struggle with his thoughts. What was to become of him? Who would know that he was missing from his home? Of course, the staff would know that he was not at home and would worry for him, but with his sister Charlotte married and settled, there would be no easy way for her to discover his absence, not until perhaps a few weeks later.

Yes, he had friends, but that did not mean that they would think him gone from his own house without explanation. Given that the Season was in full swing, they would simply assume that he was either a touch unwell or had gone to some other occasion from them. There would not be anyone to call upon him and discover his absence.

What about Miss Smythe?

Arthur sighed and rubbed his forehead. Miss Smythe was, indeed, a lovely creature and he wished to goodness that he had done more to further his acquaintance with her before all of this had occurred. Had he done so, had he done as he had promised his sister, then she might never have allowed Lord Davenport to court her. He himself might have been the one to do so, might have stepped into Lord Davenport’s place and might now be contemplating marriage.

The thought of marriage to Miss Smythe did not surprise him. Indeed, these last few days, he had done nothing but think of her and what might have been. It was as though the

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