wouldn’t have it. Her nails bit into his bicep. “Do you
know her?” she ground out, her voice thick with jealousy.
He opened his mouth to respond, then heard Tessa say his
name. “Christian?”
Obviously, the casual address didn’t go over well with his
dance partner. The snobbish debutant dug her heels in and tightened her grip.
“You cad! Do you think to court us both?”
Odd how Muriel could see and hear the spirit, then as he
watched Tessa a moment longer, he realized the only ones to not dance into her,
had seen her first.
Shifting his eyes from Tessa to the ruffle-clad chit
clenching his arm, possibly drawing blood by now, he said, “Of course not. I
only plan to court one Lady.” And that is not you, Lady Spencer, he
thought, knowing she read the unsaid words in his eyes as he stabbed her with a
glare.
Clearly vicious to the core, Muriel simply smiled and ran a
hand along his chest in a show of improper behavior he knew was meant to cause
trouble for him. He stepped back and shot his look toward Tessa again. His
delight at seeing her then shattered and crumbled at his feet. She’d seen Lady
Spencer’s actions and it was obvious by the devastated look on her face that
she’d interpreted them just as Muriel had planned.
She fled…right through people and right through a wall.
The guests she’d passed through shrieked and then quieted.
He suspected it all had happened so fast no one understood they’d just seen a
ghost. Even Muriel was too fixated with him to notice. He shoved her hands
away, and made for the door.
And even over the music, Christian could hear Muriel
clucking angrily behind him as he waded his way through the guests in the
direction his ghost had gone. He knew he’d abandoned her on the dance floor,
which he also knew was a huge faux pas, but he didn’t care.
“Lady Gh—Contessa?” he called as soon as he ran into the
foyer. She wasn’t there. He began searching room to room until he found her.
Well, her muffled sobs could be heard through the door and he knew the sound of
her sorrow well enough to recognize it. As his fingers closed over the
doorknob, his heart squeezed—such sadness. And he perceived her distress had
most likely begun when she’d awoken alone in his bedchamber. What a louse he was.
Chapter
11
The
Lonely Spirit of Krestly Castle
Somehow she knew she’d slept longer than usual. Her eyes
focused on an unfamiliar ceiling, and she looked around. Where was the canopy?
The butterflies?
Then she remembered. Oh, his chamber.
Tessa rolled to the left, but he was not there. Her gaze
traveled the room. He was not here at all. She sat up. He’d left her?
“Certainly, he has left a note.” But if he had, it was not
here, she realized as she looked about the covers.
Tessa spent a long time moving around the castle and the
grounds looking for Christian, hoping to speak with him again. She knew her
name now, and also knew with that information, he would be better able to
discover where she was from.
But neither he nor his butler were anywhere to be found.
“Has he really left without telling me where he was going?”
Of course he had, he did not owe anything to her, a lost
spirit such as she was.
That reality hurt. She knew it was only the truth, but still
it ached. A ghost would not matter to him. Could not matter to him. She was a
fool to think otherwise.
Loneliness crept in around her like an evil predator.
Again this demesne was deserted except for the cook and a
couple of maids, all of whom she did not want to show herself to. As well as
the fact that Christian had asked her not to. She would not defy him in that,
even if it meant that she remain solitary.
Not realizing she was going to the study until she’d
arrived, Tessa emitted a weighty sigh. Her eyes landed on the gramophone, and
then she moved to it. With her mind, she set it to play.
The same melody as he’d played when he’d danced with her
rose into the room. Unable to stop
know her?” she ground out, her voice thick with jealousy.
He opened his mouth to respond, then heard Tessa say his
name. “Christian?”
Obviously, the casual address didn’t go over well with his
dance partner. The snobbish debutant dug her heels in and tightened her grip.
“You cad! Do you think to court us both?”
Odd how Muriel could see and hear the spirit, then as he
watched Tessa a moment longer, he realized the only ones to not dance into her,
had seen her first.
Shifting his eyes from Tessa to the ruffle-clad chit
clenching his arm, possibly drawing blood by now, he said, “Of course not. I
only plan to court one Lady.” And that is not you, Lady Spencer, he
thought, knowing she read the unsaid words in his eyes as he stabbed her with a
glare.
Clearly vicious to the core, Muriel simply smiled and ran a
hand along his chest in a show of improper behavior he knew was meant to cause
trouble for him. He stepped back and shot his look toward Tessa again. His
delight at seeing her then shattered and crumbled at his feet. She’d seen Lady
Spencer’s actions and it was obvious by the devastated look on her face that
she’d interpreted them just as Muriel had planned.
She fled…right through people and right through a wall.
The guests she’d passed through shrieked and then quieted.
He suspected it all had happened so fast no one understood they’d just seen a
ghost. Even Muriel was too fixated with him to notice. He shoved her hands
away, and made for the door.
And even over the music, Christian could hear Muriel
clucking angrily behind him as he waded his way through the guests in the
direction his ghost had gone. He knew he’d abandoned her on the dance floor,
which he also knew was a huge faux pas, but he didn’t care.
“Lady Gh—Contessa?” he called as soon as he ran into the
foyer. She wasn’t there. He began searching room to room until he found her.
Well, her muffled sobs could be heard through the door and he knew the sound of
her sorrow well enough to recognize it. As his fingers closed over the
doorknob, his heart squeezed—such sadness. And he perceived her distress had
most likely begun when she’d awoken alone in his bedchamber. What a louse he was.
Chapter
11
The
Lonely Spirit of Krestly Castle
Somehow she knew she’d slept longer than usual. Her eyes
focused on an unfamiliar ceiling, and she looked around. Where was the canopy?
The butterflies?
Then she remembered. Oh, his chamber.
Tessa rolled to the left, but he was not there. Her gaze
traveled the room. He was not here at all. She sat up. He’d left her?
“Certainly, he has left a note.” But if he had, it was not
here, she realized as she looked about the covers.
Tessa spent a long time moving around the castle and the
grounds looking for Christian, hoping to speak with him again. She knew her
name now, and also knew with that information, he would be better able to
discover where she was from.
But neither he nor his butler were anywhere to be found.
“Has he really left without telling me where he was going?”
Of course he had, he did not owe anything to her, a lost
spirit such as she was.
That reality hurt. She knew it was only the truth, but still
it ached. A ghost would not matter to him. Could not matter to him. She was a
fool to think otherwise.
Loneliness crept in around her like an evil predator.
Again this demesne was deserted except for the cook and a
couple of maids, all of whom she did not want to show herself to. As well as
the fact that Christian had asked her not to. She would not defy him in that,
even if it meant that she remain solitary.
Not realizing she was going to the study until she’d
arrived, Tessa emitted a weighty sigh. Her eyes landed on the gramophone, and
then she moved to it. With her mind, she set it to play.
The same melody as he’d played when he’d danced with her
rose into the room. Unable to stop
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