in0 by Beauty Like the Night

Author:Beauty Like the Night
Language: eng
Format: epub

With grave reluctance, Helene paused at the schoolroom, her hand raised to knock upon the door, but it already stood ajar. Just inside, Helene could see Cam, already wearing his traveling coat, and looking like a long-legged giant in comparison to the desk chair in which he reclined.

Nestled snugly in her father’s lap, with a rag doll dangling from one hand, Ariane was carefully watching his face. Cam’s voice was low and gentle. “And so you must be a good girl, sweeting,” he said, lightly touching the tip of her nose with his finger. “Two weeks shall pass quickly, I promise. Do all that Miss de Severs asks of you. And remember always that Papa loves you.”

His gaze focused somewhere in the distance, Cam kissed the top of the child’s head, and Ariane slid obediently from his lap and onto her feet. As she started away, Cam seized her hand and pulled her back to plant a loud kiss on the little girl’s open palm.

“Doeverything that she asks, Ariane, please?” Cam stared down into her limpid blue eyes this time.“Everything,” he emphasized, his voice suddenly husky. “I need for you to try very hard this time. Will you do this for me, sweet?”

As if she did not understand, Ariane smiled vaguely, then danced away, still dangling the doll in one hand. As the little girl turned into her bedchamber, Helene let her hand drop, knocking sharply on the doorframe.

“Come in.” Cam came swiftly to his feet.

“You wished to speak with me?” asked Helene, keeping her voice smooth as she pushed open the door. She felt as if she had intruded upon an intensely personal scene. To her dismay, she found anger harder to sustain in the face of a father who so clearly loved his child. But if she did not feel anger, she would have to feel grief. And that she could not bear. Not again.

Cam watched Helene step uncertainly into the schoolroom. And indeed, uncertainty was the only emotion he could detect in her restrained demeanor. It felt as if a cold wall of formality had been suddenly flung up between them, where earlier there had existed a sense of quiet intimacy.

Today she again wore her deep burgundy carriage dress, the fabric warming in the candlelight as she came gracefully toward the desk. Rising from his chair, Cam let his eyes roam over her face, trying to gauge her mood. It was useless. Unlike Helene the young girl, Helene the woman could dissemble her emotions as well as any lady of theton.

And yet, he could sense the distancing between them. Cam narrowed his eyes, his gaze hesitating for a moment on her sinfully full lips. Undoubtedly, Helene had seen that dratted rector in the hall below. Yet he did not think Thomas Lowe was the cause of her withdrawal.

Perhaps his sister had simply worn her out? Helene was vivacious, yes. But Catherine’s boundless energy had drained the life’s blood from lesser mortals. Perhaps his sister had even inadvertently hurt Helene’s feelings by something she had said or done.

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