Ladies of Deception 02 - Misleading Lord Martineau by Ginny Hartman Page B

and he realized she must feel as horrible as he did. He slid across the bench so he was sitting close enough to take her hands tentatively into his own. “Felicity I did come.”
    He was staring into her face waiting for a reaction. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she shook her head back and forth, tentatively at first then more frantically as she spoke. “No, that’s not what my father told me.”
    “What did he tell you?”
    Felicity tugged her hands out of his and balled them into fists. “It’s irrelevant now. The past is in the past and there’s nothing we can do to change it. I guess we weren’t meant to be.”
    “You don’t mean that. Is that really how you felt all those years ago? Is that how you felt that day in the cottage when we—”
    Felicity flinched and held up one hand to cut him off, “Please don’t speak of that day.” Letting her hand fall limply back into her lap, she turned once more to gaze absently out the window.
    Elliot watched her profile as she stared out the window avoiding his gaze. Still after all of these years apart, she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, the only woman who had ever haunted his dreams and occupied his heart. Her delicate, fine boned features bordered on exotic. Her dark hair was in perfect contrast to her alabaster skin. Her almond shaped eyes were wide and framed with thick sooty lashes, her lips enticingly plump. The small mole under her bottom lip begged for attention and he longed to reach out and touch it, or better yet kiss it.
    When she refused to look at him he slid awkwardly to the ground in front of her, clutching both of her hands intently as he maneuvered in front of her line of vision so she’d be forced to look at him. When he had her attention he said, “There’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time—you are the only women I’ve ever loved. You stole my heart completely four years ago and you’ve never given it back. When you left, you took my heart with you and I’ve never been the same. I’ve waited and prayed and longed for you to be back in my life, to be by my side. Maybe we can’t change the past, but we can decide the future.”
    Felicity looked long and hard into his ice blue eyes before laughing sardonically, “You’re a known womanizer, a rake. I’ve heard stories of the hundreds of women who—”
    This time Elliot put up his hand to silence her, “Hundreds is being extremely liberal, I assure you.”
    “Well than dozens, what does it matter?” she quipped.
    “ I used them Felicity, I used every single one of them to try to dull your memory. But you know what? It didn’t work. You may not believe we are meant to be together but everything inside of me disagrees. I’ve been nothing but miserable since you left, not a day went by that I didn’t pine for you, my heart aching uncontrollably.” Felicity eyed him wearily as he continued, “What I couldn’t understand then and I still can’t comprehend now is why you left and refused to have anything to do with me, not even offering an explanation. Why didn’t you or your father ever answer my letters or accept my house calls?”
    “ You wrote?” she asked in surprise.
    Elliot was exasperated, “Of course I wrote, didn’t you receive any of my letters?” Before she could answer he continued, “Not only did I write but I paid multiple visits to your father’s townhouse just to be told that I was never to show my face at any of your family’s estates ever again. I believe one time Ramsey even forcefully removed me from your porch, causing quite a scene I assure you. How is it you’re completely unaware of my attempts?”
    “My father told me that you wanted nothing to do with me.” Felicity said painfully. The memory of the day her father had informed her of Elliot’s disinterest had been one of the worst days of her life.
    Elliot’s nostrils flared in anger, “That’s the furthest thing from the truth, you have to