Once Upon a Wallflower

As she sank down on the settee, Nicholas watched her with an unnerving intensity. Despite the cold fire of his gaze, he seemed distant somehow, his physical presence reserved and contained, as though he were trying to maximize the space between them without actually moving. But Mira could not tell whether his withdrawal was out of anger or awkwardness.

She suddenly wondered how long he had been standing in the hallway, how much he had heard of her conversation with George.

Once she was seated, she surreptitiously dropped the small velvet bag containing her grandmother’s necklace to the floor and used her foot to push it back out of view. The larger bag, she nestled behind an embroidered pillow.

Still Nicholas said nothing, only stared.

Mira thought she might go mad from the tension. Unsure of his mood, she was reluctant to break the silence first, but she was not certain how much longer she could stand the quiet.

Finally he spoke, his voice cold and clipped. “Pawly woke me.”

This was not good. He was most definitely angry.

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh.”

Very angry indeed.

“I am sorry?” It came out more as a question than a statement.

“Sorry does not begin to cover it, Mira-mine.” A flicker of raw emotion began to shine through his cold reserve. “Do you have any idea what I went through, wondering whether you were safe? After your…your encounter yesterday, you go traipsing off along the very same path, by yourself, without any thought at all. Supremely foolish behavior, Mira. Supremely foolish.”

Although a small voice in Mira’s head had to agree that she should not have walked back to Blackwell alone, her temper leapt at his patronizing tone. After all, she would not have left unescorted if he had not been hiding Olivia’s locket, if he had not been behaving in such a secretive manner, if he had not lied about her shawl. Certainly she had reacted without much thought, but she had been reacting to him.

Between teeth clenched tight in anger, Mira ground out a response. “I may be foolish, sir, but you are pompous and overbearing. I had every right to leave the cottage this morning. I was not your prisoner, I had done nothing wrong. And you, sir, do not have the right to order me about. As I have said before, you do not yet own me.”

At the mention of marriage, Nicholas’s expression again grew hard, all traces of concern and passion gone.

“I shall never own you, Mira. But you are correct: we are not yet married. Still, I should think that after last night I might be permitted some concern for your well-being. And I might be entitled to some small consideration from you.”

With that, Nicholas turned on his heel and stalked from the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Mira took a moment to steady her temper. She should not have let it get the better of her. Her situation with Nicholas was already precarious; she did not need to be making matters even worse by snapping at the man.

He claimed concern for her safety, but perhaps he was more concerned about what had caused her to flee. Perhaps he knew that she had found her shawl…and Olivia’s locket. Perhaps he was truly angry that she was close to exposing him.

Again, the question stared at her, refusing to blink: was Nicholas guilty of murder?

For as long as she could remember, Mira had relied on logic to guide her actions, to protect her from harm and to keep her secure. Yet her feelings for Nicholas defied all logic, promising instead a passion she had never dared to dream she could experience for herself.

But what would be the cost of turning her back on logic, of following her heart and trusting without reason?

Whether she would follow her heart or her head, Mira would have to decide quickly. The Midsummer festivities would provide her last chance to clear Nicholas’s name before the wedding. And her last chance to flee if she could not.

…

She was going to leave.

Just as Olivia had intended, Mira was going to run off in the hours before their marriage and leave him to look the fool.

Nicholas made his way across the allure to his sanctuary, every step agony.

It was for the best she left. She was too clever by half. If she stayed, she would be in constant danger. And, as he had proven yesterday, he could not protect her.