One Enchanted Winter by Oliveri Victoria

Author:Oliveri, Victoria [Oliveri, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Pedigree Press
Published: 2020-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Lord Dederick stared at the letter on the desk before him. He’d spent over an hour writing it and the words, no matter how many times he read them, didn’t seem to be enough.

Telling Arabella that his parents had no say in who he chose for a wife was a lie and he felt horrible even uttering the words to her, but he could not give Arabella another excuse to deny him. He was too close to having her to destroy any chance he thought he may have. Her father already agreed to the match and seemed happy for them, but he could not imagine how his own father would react. He assumed his father would care much less than his mother, who he knew would not see this as a prosperous or feasible choice. He could almost see his mother’s sneer in his head at the thought.

And so, he reread his letter, made sure the tone was confident and relevant, and with a sigh he folded and sealed it and gave it to the stable boy to be mailed on the morning post. The weather had improved over the last two days, and he’d seen several coaches pass by the manor on the main road, so he was sure the letter would reach London the next day, at which point he’d wait for a response and prayed his parents didn’t see fit to return to the country to reprimand him in person.

He admitted to himself that this was cowardly of him, that he should speak to his parents directly about this, but he did not want to give them the chance to deny him any more than he wanted Arabella to deny him. If he could figure a way of talking Arabella into a shorter courting period, he would acquire a special license and be married at once, but he knew that would not happen.

Making his way down to the dining room, he realized his ankle was feeling much better, and that he was not depending on his cane as much as he had in days prior. Arabella, Carolina, and their father were already at the table when he arrived and he found it odd how commonplace it felt, as if they always belonged there. Dr Wheatley was reading the morning paper, his glasses perched at the end of his nose. He looked up when Dederick entered and came to his feet.

“Lord Dederick,” he said with a bow. “How do you feel this morning?”

Dederick waved him off and gestured for him to sit.

“I am feeling much better. The pain is nearly gone now. I believe I should be able to walk unaided in a few more days.”

“Very good to hear,” Dr Wheatley said. “But do not become too eager. Rest the foot whenever you can and do not rush the healing. You must not stress it too much so early in the process.”

“I understand, I shall take care,” he said then turned his attention to Arabella, who sat quietly across from him.

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