Chapter Eighteen

L ennox breathed a sigh of relief once his gaze landed on Flora. No harm had come to her. Except for the heartache he had caused her. He needed to cease blaming everyone else for his problems when he should’ve been honest all along.

He searched the park for any sign of disturbance. As his sister had informed him, Donald stood within reach of Flora if she needed him. He had been neglectful in keeping Flora protected because of his desire to be her hero. Well, no more. He would set aside his pride and utilize the weapons at his disposal: her brothers. Those who loved Flora would keep her safe. Now to convince her of his intentions. It would be no easy feat but one he would find pleasure in, especially if it resulted in them confessing their love to one another.

When he looked at Flora again, she was walking away from her friends. He strode off to reach her before he lost sight of her. However, he couldn’t pass by her friends without acknowledging them. His manners were questionable at best, and he had been called a brute by many before. However, his parents had raised him to be a gentleman. Also, he wanted to make a noble impression on Flora’s friends and show them his worthiness for Flora’s affections.

Lennox tipped his hat at them. “Greetings, ladies. A pleasant day we are having, are we not?”

They greeted him with silence. Each lady was assessing him and making her own judgement about him. Their shrewd gazes had him squirming inside and struggling to strike up a conversation that would warm them to his arrival. He shot a glance at Flora to see how far she had walked away.

His wife had turned at the trees lined along the path as if she was waiting for him. If he wasn’t mistaken, she wore a smirk at his discomfort. She found amusement in how her friends behaved toward him. He faced a dilemma where he needed to make a formidable impression on these ladies, when he desired nothing more than to stride over to Flora and capture her in his embrace. Only once he held her next to him with her heart beating against his would his fear subside.

“Um ... that is ... I beg your forgiveness,” Lennox stumbled out.

“It is not our forgiveness you must seek,” Lady Courtland answered with a haughtiness most men would cower under.

Lennox cleared his throat. “You are correct, my lady.”

His glance kept straying between Flora and her friends. He was unsure which course of action to take where he didn’t appear too arrogant to offer them politeness.

Lady Lockhart smirked, waving her hand toward Flora. “Then what are you waiting for, Lord Hepburn?”

Lennox shrugged. “I suppose I wait for permission?”

Lady Lockhart laughed. “From whom? From my viewpoint, it appears Flora is waiting for you to accompany her. As for us, do not feel obligated to carry on a polite conversation. We would much prefer if you and Flora work out your differences so that our friend is happy.”

“’Tis what I aim to do.” He bowed. “Good day.”

The ladies offered their farewells.

“Do not cause her any more heartache, Lord Hepburn.”

He had only taken a couple of steps away when he paused again. The soft-spoken request from Miss Abbott punched him in the gut, and he could only answer with a nod in agreement.

He closed the space between him and Flora within seconds. “Hello.”

Flora whispered, “Hello.”

Lennox stood like a bumbling fool, uncertain how to respond to Flora. Her stiff posture showed she might reject his affections. He didn’t dare draw her into his arms. Instead, he offered his arm for her to take. When she laid her palm against him, he rejoiced at the gentleness of her touch. One small step. He would take as many as he needed to win her love.

They strolled along the path in silence, neither of them attempting to discuss the trouble that lay between them. In truth, the blame lay with him for the predicament they were in. She was innocent and always had been. The only aspect he considered Flora guilty of was how she had never confronted him and had run away instead. His fault again. He had never built trust between them to begin with.

Once they entered the wooden path that led them near a pond, he stopped at a bench shielded by bushes. It was the perfect spot where no one would intrude on their privacy. He gestured for Flora to sit, and she chose the very edge to rest upon. She made her message clear. He was to sit far away on the opposite end of the bench.

Lennox laid his hat on the space between them. “I would like for us to discuss the events leading to the stalemate of our marriage. I understand how I am at fault for one mishap after another. However, I hope we can be honest about the course of our demise and how it has affected us. It is my greatest wish that we can repair our battered hearts.”

Flora tightened her hands in her lap. “Is your heart battered?”

“Aye.”

Flora raised her gaze to see honesty reflected in Lennox’s eyes. His gentle tone made Flora realize Lennox’s emotions ran as deep as hers. Perhaps he wished for the same happily ever after she did. She was through with allowing her reactions to rule how she behaved. She would listen with an open heart to his confession and explain why his behavior affected her to such a profound degree. Their conflict had worn Flora down.

She scooted an inch closer to him. “This discussion could take us past nightfall.”

Lennox’s heart thumped quicker. “Aye.”

“A chill might settle upon us.”

Lennox gulped at Flora’s teasing tone. “Aye.”

When Flora’s husky giggle washed over him, he wanted to smack himself on the forehead for his bland responses. However, in his defense, she caught him unaware with her lighthearted mood, especially when he had expected her prepared to battle him. With her defenses lowered, he hesitated about where to begin. He didn’t want the shy smile on her lips to disappear. It would once he confessed his sins of betrayal.

Flora should take pity on Lennox, but he deserved to be uncertain of her behavior. It was only fitting for how he had hidden the truths of their relationship from her. Also, she found too much enjoyment in his floundering behavior to spare him the agony of the unknown. She promised to relent soon.

“Perhaps while we enjoy the lovely day, we start at the beginning of our sad tale. Then, once the sun starts to set, we continue our discussion at home,” Flora offered.

Lennox frowned at her suggestion to finish their discussion at home. Whatever progress he might make, her brothers would plant false suggestions and lead her astray, leaving him the villain once again. They would find no peace at his townhome with their family interfering.

“Too many distractions,” Lennox muttered.

Flora sensed Lennox’s frustration at her suggestion. There were too many obstacles at the townhome, preventing them from settling their differences. However, with the servants’ help, they could sneak in undetected through the servants' entrance, then take the servants’ staircase to one of their bedchambers and pray they didn’t cross paths with his sister or her brothers.

Flora lowered her voice in conspiracy. “Not if we sneak in.”

Who was this beloved sly creature? He had never taken the chance to discover that side of Flora. He had lost out on what a remarkable lady she was when he failed her. Her mysterious behavior still left him unsettled. Was it a ploy before she abandoned their marriage again? Her revenge for his deceit.

He turned to drape his arm across the back of the bench. All he had to do was to raise his arm to run his fingertips along her shoulder. Somewhere, while he was lost in his thoughts, Flora had closed the gap between them to where his hat was the only object keeping them apart.

“And how would we accomplish that?” Lennox questioned.

Flora trailed her fingertips across the rim of Lennox’s hat. She wished it were his hair that her fingers tangled in while he kissed her. Flora never got enough of his sweet kisses, and she missed them. She had allowed her insecurities to keep her from exploring a future with Lennox. Then, once she opened herself to him again, she had allowed her brothers’ comments to restore her doubts. She hadn’t been fair to Lennox or herself.

“Through the servants’ entrance and their staircase.”

Lennox tapped his fingers against the bench. “How do we avoid my sister and your brothers?”

“We wait while they are at dinner and then we sneak abovestairs.”

Lennox didn’t dare ask whose bedchamber they would sequester themselves into. He would follow her lead. “It might work.”

Flora smiled when he accepted her idea. “It will.”

She astounded him again with her confidence. He longed to learn every facet of Flora Grant. Nay. Lady Flora Hepburn. His wife. And hopefully one day his friend. Her happiness in that moment warmed his heart with hope.

“Shall we begin before you left Scotland or with the present situation?” Lennox asked.

Flora twisted her lips from side to side. “Let us begin with what my brothers stated on their arrival.”

A topic he had hoped to avoid until later. “The only truth in the statement was how I spoke out of necessity to keep your family away while we settled our differences. I lied to your parents, hoping they would convince your brothers to stay away.”

“Why the need to lie?”

Lennox thrust his hand through his hair. “Because they threatened to arrive and force you back home, regardless of if we had reunited. It was their opinion that I allowed you your freedom. An issue they found unjustifiable.”

Flora scoffed. “Yes. My parents would hold that opinion. Let me guess, they also made plans to dissolve our marriage and have another prospect waiting for me once I returned home.”

Lennox growled. “Aye.”

Flora clasped her hands together. “Then I cannot wait to see their expression when I thwart their plans.”

Lennox’s hope rose another notch, but still, he didn’t press Flora for an explanation about her vague responses. “They only decided the course of your future after they learned how I followed you and watched over you.”

Flora tilted her head with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“When you fled Scotland, I followed your trail to England. Once I caught up with you, I kept my distance far enough away for you not to notice but close enough that I could protect you.”

“I do not understand.”

Lennox couldn’t resist any longer and brushed his fingers across her shoulders before pulling away. To work up the courage to share his secrets, he needed to touch her. Even if it was a brief caress. “I understood you fled because I bruised your heart with my secrets. I blamed myself and hoped if I gave you the space you needed, you would one day return to me. But then I watched you blossom in your newfound freedom and convinced myself I didn’t deserve you. So, I withdrew further from your life until I heard word of your demise. Since then, I’ve stayed in the background protecting you at all costs.”

Flora arched her eyebrow. “By arranging my return to Scotland as your governess?”

Lennox offered Flora a sheepish expression. “In my defense, that was the work of your friend, Lady Courtland.”

“Only because you presented an opportunity she couldn’t resist because she wanted to help a friend. You preyed on us when we were at our most vulnerable. “

Lennox shrugged, not repentant in the slightest, especially since it had brought them together again. “All is fair in love.”

Flora peeked a glance at Lennox from beneath her lowered lashes. “Do ye not mean love and war?”

Lennox tangled his fingers with Flora’s, risking his heart if she rejected him. However, her hand softened under his as if she rejoiced in his touch. “Nay. Only love. Unless your opinion differs.”

In all their time apart, Flora had never once thought his deceit meant he was her enemy. The rational side of her concluded he was a victim of their parents’ tyrannical demands as much as she was. It only caused her such despair because she had been the only na?ve soul about their union. Even his mistress knew the terms of their marriage. That reason alone had sent her fleeing. The act of them speaking their wedding vows only for him to resume his affair with his mistress the very next day had left Flora shattered. Had she even mattered to him?

They could never move forward if Flora didn’t admit her insecurities and the depth of her heartache. She would have eventually forgiven Lennox for how he had conspired to charm her into a marriage he never wanted. It was a common occurrence for families to marry off their offspring to gain an advantage in their standings. It was always a possibility, one Flora had learned early in life. She had watched as her cousins got married off to gentlemen none of them desired. She wasn’t na?ve not to believe she wouldn’t meet the same fate.

In fact, when Lennox first arrived and flirted in shameless abandonment with her, Flora had resisted him. However, when he appeared to find genuine interest in what she enjoyed, her thoughts had slowly changed. Soon she had welcomed his company and had fallen hopelessly in love with Lennox and his charming smiles. When he first stole a kiss, Flora had thought she had died and gone to heaven at the sweet gesture. When the passion swirled around them with each kiss they shared, she had eagerly agreed to marry him.

Their wedding night had seared itself into her memory. Each lonely night they spent apart, Flora dreamed of their reunion. Her mixed emotions for Lennox the past two years left her in a state of confusion. She stayed away because she feared he no longer wanted her. Now he professed how his love had guided them back to each other. Could she be so brave to confess her love to give him a second chance?

She squeezed his fingers in agreement. “Nay, my opinion is the same. Except for one matter.”

Neither of them spoke the endearments they held in their hearts. They had yet to share the unspoken secrets that kept them apart. Before Lennox declared his love for Flora, he must be honest with her. Flora deserved to hear the truth of how he continued to keep secrets from her. More importantly, he needed to understand what troubled her.

Also, what had caused her to run away?