Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

D ue to the circumstances of the evening and the lateness of the hour, Lord and Lady Burton had suggested a light meal that guests could partake in at their leisure before retiring early.

Thank goodness.

Cooper had taken the opportunity to dress warmly and venture outdoors – alone. He wouldn’t make for good company at the moment, not for Noelle or anyone else who risked speaking to him.

He was well aware that he had no reason to be upset with Noelle for a kiss years ago – goodness, he’d had his fair share of experience over the years that had meant nothing – but he was irritated that she had kept it from him.

He was also wondering just what role she had played in it. If Northbridge had forced himself on her in any way, Cooper would like to resurrect him and punch him in the nose all over again.

Then there was the fact that Lord Bingly, although likely as innocent as he proclaimed to be, was left in the manor even though he was suspected of murder. Cooper was well aware that if he had been accused, he would sit in a cold country jail cell, where he would remain for weeks before his trial.

Instead, a lord was offered the opportunity to remain in opulence and perhaps escape or attempt to clear his name.

It almost made Cooper rethink his decision to marry into such a society.

He would have if it weren’t for Noelle herself. Was she worth it? Was she who he had thought she was? He had only known her for several weeks but couldn’t get enough of her. Even now, if he were across the hall from her bedroom, he likely would have gone over there and shown her what other fun they could have without becoming fully intimate with one another.

He had thought it best to head outside, cool down, and clear his head. He honestly didn’t think Bingly had any part in this, but he was still uncertain about who had.

“Stop! You there!”

Cooper sighed. He had hoped that he would be able to spend this time alone, but it seemed that fate had other ideas.

The approaching figure was as dark as the night surrounding them, although his stature was masculine, a cloak billowing behind him. As he approached, Cooper made out the shape of one of the Rochester twins. He guessed Lord Andrew, although he couldn’t be sure in this light.

“Hartwell, is that you?”

“It is,” Cooper said. “Lord Andrew?”

“Correct!” the twin said as he drew near enough for Cooper to see the grin spread on his face. “Not many people can tell us apart.”

“I have a fair mind for names and faces,” Cooper said.

“I understand,” Lord Andrew said, hands in his pockets as he looked around the gardens. Cooper followed the path through the evergreens and realized they had come far from the house. “Interesting night tonight, wasn’t it?”

“It was,” Cooper said, wondering why they were chatting as though in the middle of a drawing room during a house party. “What are you doing out here?”

“Taking my nightly walk,” Lord Andrew said. “It’s part of my regimen to stay healthy. Fresh air and all that.”

“I have never heard of that before,” Cooper said, eyeing him, wondering if Lord Andrew was having him on.

“It’s a new thing,” Lord Andrew said. “What brings you to the great outdoors on such a frosty night?”

“Clearing my head,” Cooper said, tugging his cap over his ears as the cold started to nip at them.

“Ah, yes, an interesting tidbit of gossip with Lady Noelle and Northbridge. Nothing to concern yourself over, though,” Lord Andrew said with a shrug. “I’ve never seen her so taken with a man as she appears to be with you.”

Cooper felt like a young debutante at how that information warmed him through and through.

“What do you make of it all?” he asked, returning the conversation to the murder. “Do you think Bingly has it in him?”

Lord Andrew sighed and placed his hands in his pockets. He breathed out a cloud of smoke into the cold night air and looked off into the distance.

“I’ve known Bingly a long time,” he said, shaking his head. “He’s always been the quiet sort. Sometimes, you never know what those ones are thinking, you know?”

Cooper nodded slowly, although there was still something niggling at him, telling him that this wasn’t done. The magistrate had been confident in his theory, but he probably would have named anyone as long as he could finish the story in magnificent style and let them all go home in time for Christmas.

Christmas. By then he would be married, his wedding to take place in less than five days.

Cooper could hardly believe it, although that part of his life felt right – unlike this murder investigation.

“What kind of pistol did they find in Bingly's room, did they say?”

“A pepperbox revolver, I'm told.”

Interesting. A pepperbox revolver? That couldn’t be right. Either Lord Andrew was mistaken, or that pistol had been planted. For the gun that had been fired was most assuredly a percussion cap pistol. Surely, the magistrate would have been competent enough to check... unless he was just looking for a quick win.

“I don’t know what to believe about Bingly, although I suppose it’s not up to me, now, is it?” Cooper said, lifting a brow. “The coroner and the magistrate have done their job and determined who their man is.”

“Whether the House will convict him is another story,” Lord Andrew said. “Seems like fairly minimal evidence for such a charge. Chances are he’ll be set free.”

“Which they probably know,” Cooper murmured, understanding dawning. The local authorities had gambled with Lord Bingly’s reputation but not his life. They knew that this would never hold. They just wanted this finished and out of their hands, which irritated him to no end. He hated when people didn’t take accountability for their responsibilities.

“Probably,” Lord Andrew said in his bright, cheery way that Cooper had no issue with unless the subject was as serious as this. “Truth is, I assumed you would be the one they’d pin this on.”

“Except I would not have likely walked free, would I have?” Cooper said wryly.

“Probably not,” Lord Andrew agreed. “How fortunate you and Lady Noelle became… familiar before the wedding. Though no one will ever forget it.”

“Maybe not,” Cooper said. “But we will be married soon enough, so what will it matter?”

“That’s true,” Lord Andrew said as he turned and began walking to the house, speaking over his shoulder as though assuming Cooper would follow him.

Cooper hesitated. He would have loved to have stayed out longer, but his toes were freezing. He was getting soft in the comfort he had become accustomed to, so far from how he had grown up. “We can hardly believe you were the one she agreed to marry. After Northbridge tried, I think we all took our chance. She’s a beauty, but you know that better than anyone. Of course, she’s a bit outspoken for many men once they get to know her.”

Cooper snorted. These men were idiots. Her intelligence was what he loved most about her.

Love. There was that word again. Coming from him – about a woman. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

“Their loss is my gain,” he said as they walked up to the house, their boots crunching on the gravel beneath their feet. The wind swirled around them, and Cooper realized that it was more than just cold air hitting them – there was snow in the air. Would it stick around tonight?

“Well, congratulations to you,” Lord Andrew said, extending his hand, and Cooper shook it. “Have a good evening.”

He smirked as though knowing what Cooper might be considering for the rest of the night. Only for once, he was wrong.

Cooper had decided that he would give Noelle some space. He had cooled down, yes, and had realized that he wasn’t angry at her – he was furious at the thought that Northbridge and men like him had known Noelle for so much longer than he had that he would never have the opportunity to be her first kiss or to have known what she was like as a young girl.

He wasn’t in the right frame of mind to spend the night with her, but he was sure that would change by tomorrow.

For what did the past matter? He could be her first in so many other ways. Ways that mattered much more.

He wouldn’t just be her first, either.

He would also be her last.

Noelle knew a lesser woman would have spent the night tossing and turning, concerned about what her fiancé might think of her and why he had avoided her after learning about a past kiss with another man.

She, on the other hand, slept just fine in the knowledge that she had done nothing wrong, and if Cooper chose to be upset about a kiss that had meant nothing years ago, then so be it.

It was better to learn about his jealousy now than after they were married.

Still, when she opened her door the following day to come face-to-face with him doing the same across the hall, she couldn’t ignore the tug of her heart toward him.

She had missed him. That much was certain.

Even if she had nothing to apologize for.

“Good morning,” she said, dipping her head.

“Good morning,” he said, crossing the corridor in two long steps and coming to a stop in front of her, hands on her shoulders and eyes probing her gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For not providing you assurance last night. I left the drawing room cross and never returned to you because I didn’t want to take out any anger on you. But please know… I was not cross with you .”

She was relieved to hear that he was not the type of man who would think otherwise.

“Who were you cross at, then?”

“I was upset with this entire situation – that a man of the nobility could be charged with nearly no consequence when it would have been much different for me. I was annoyed that the magistrate likely had this all wrong. And I was angry at Northbridge, for I couldn’t be certain that he didn’t force himself on you.” He paused, searching her face. “Did he?”

She sighed as she reached up, running her fingers down the stubble of his jaw.

“He didn’t force himself on me, nor was I particularly eager,” she said. “He had called upon me a few times and then leaned in to kiss me at a party one night. I didn’t have much opportunity to say no, but I didn’t push him away either. At least, not at first.”

“But you did?”

“Once I realized that I was not enjoying it, yes.” Her lips quirked up into a smile, for she knew he would enjoy this next bit of information. “From that experience, I never wanted to be kissed again.”

“Didn’t you, now?”

“No. It made me tell Lord Northbridge I was not interested in his courtship. I couldn’t imagine having to kiss — or do more — with him again.” She shuddered. “I didn’t say anything to you – or anyone else – about it because it had no consequence. We both moved on, and when he began pursuing Hattie, she was so excited that I didn’t want to make her feel like she was a second choice – although I’m a bit concerned about Hermione’s intentions with him.”

Cooper looked from one side of the hallway to the other, ensuring they were alone, before leaning in and wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight.

“You’re a good friend,” he said, his lips just beside her ear. She tilted her head so he would have better access to her neck. “You’re very good in other ways too,” he whispered before kissing down it, from below the shell of her ear, until he reached her collarbone. Noelle had to stifle her moan as the desire was nearly instant, overwhelming her. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to be alone with Cooper and show him how she felt about him.

“I try to be,” she whispered before reaching down and taking his hands, tugging him forward. “Come.”

“Into your bedroom?”

She smiled, nodding.

“Do you wish to be kissed now?”

“Do I ever,” she said. “Someone showed me that kissing is something to welcome – as long as it is with the right person.”

“You are going to break me,” he said with a groan, although he allowed her to lead him in.

She didn’t know what she was going to do with him.

But she would show him that he had made a mistake ignoring her last night.