Life would never be as it once had.
****
Adeline was happy to finally have a few moments to herself. She’d been introduced to the Duke of this such and the Earl of that such over the past weeks, but with her father having one foot out of debtor’s prison and their estate close to bankruptcy, she was more a laughingstock than a catch.
She’d had plans of spending the summer at home, but when brokers took most of her home’s furnishings she was lost. When Spencer and his sister, Felicity , invited her to stay at Warringham Estate for the summer, it was a godsend. They had huge hearts and she would always be thankful for their generosity and the fact that not once had they mentioned her family’s financial woes.
Spencer and Felicity were like a brother and sister to her. Felicity had dropped hints on a possible match between her and Spencer, but she never had any feeling beyond ‘brotherly’ affection. Now he’d fallen in love and married Amelia. She acquired another sister, and she was desperately happy for both of them. Would love ever be in the cards for her? It seemed to be such a foreign thing… like Russia.
Men spoke of her beauty, but she found most of them were empty-headed dandies. She feigned interest while they talked on about some poor fox run to ground and set upon by hounds.
A stroll through the gardens would clear her mind.
Adeline turned her face to the sun and breathed in the warm air. The smell of grass and wild roses cascaded in the breeze. Watching the interesting cobblestone path in front of her, she came around the corner, and stopped dead.
“Captain Garrison.” She looked around. “I didn’t realize anyone was here.”
He looked abashed, as if he’d seen an apparition. Her hair was slightly mussed, but she couldn’t look that bad.
He cleared his throat. “Miss Barlow.” He still looked rather ill. “Why aren’t you at the picnic?”
“I could ask the same question of you.”
“I can make my own sandwich. I don’t need crust-less monstrosities.”
“I am sure you can,” Adeline answered uncertainly. “Would you care to walk with me?” She knew she should not be out here with a man, unescorted, but her father was no longer healthy enough to bark judgment. “Captain Garrison…”
“Adeline? Formalities?” he asked, though he still looked uneasy with her presence. “We’ve practically known each other since birth.”
She smiled. “Do you wish for me to call you Clarke Park, as I used to?”
“Clarke will be fine. I said we were to drop formalities, but that goes for childish nicknames, too.” He had a brutish quality since he’d returned. Adeline wasn’t sure if it made him handsome or frightening. His dark hair was combed back from his angular face and he’d lost all boyhood roundness. He was all muscle and strong lines now. His eyes had matured into such a deep shade of brown. When he’d first returned, she’d mistaken them for black. Unlike most of the polished young men around the estate, Clarke’s beard stubble darkened his chin and accentuated his full mouth.
She had the strangest thought. How would his lips taste?
Adeline pulled her gaze up to meet his eyes. He still wasn’t smiling.
“If you have other duties to attend to, I will be fine. I will be on my way.” She turned to walk away, but felt his hand grasp her upper arm, his fingers warm against her skin.
“Wait. I…”
Most men she could read like an open old volume of the dictionary. She had no idea what Clarke was thinking. When they were young she could, but not now. “Yes?”
“I would be happy to walk you back.” He stiffly crooked an elbow and she wound her hand through the opening.
They walked for a few minutes in silence until she finally said, “I have not seen much of you these past few months. Since you came to tell me…”
The muscles in his arm tightened.
“Death is never easy,” she said after a sigh. “Bearing the news of David’s, especially someone so young, must be extremely difficult. I cannot imagine being burdened with the task of informing the families on the loss of a loved one.”
“I was the Captain of his unit. It was my duty.”
“A duty? I thought it was because of your acquaintance with my family.”
“It was both.” They stopped by a wooden garden bench. He motioned for her to sit and then joined her.
Clarke rubbed hands over his knees and then straightened his back. “How has your family coped with your brother’s loss?”
“My father continues to be ill. His cough is worse by the week and I fear he will not be with us too much longer. With my brother gone, there are no male heirs. I will not inherit, so I am not sure where that leaves the estate. If he’s declared a bankrupt, his name will appear in the London Gazette. I only hope my father passes before then. He is a proud man and deserves to die with his dignity intact.” Adeline forced a smile. “What does your father have in mind for your future?”