Page 44 of Hunted By the Guardian
She was surprised, then, when she went up to her room and found a gown lying on her bed.
Not one of the ruined ones, and not one she had already owned, either. This one was new to her. But it was familiar, too, for it had been made of the same lavender fabric as the one she had tried on and found destroyed. She ran her fingers over the green stitching, wondering what could have happened…and at the same time, knowing the answer.
There was only one possible answer.
Jonathan must have done this.
He must have contacted the modiste and asked for another gown. It was not a copy of the one she had lost—it was finer, a more modern style than she had dared to select for herself. She shivered as she touched it. It was such an extravagant thing to do for her.
Why would he buy me this? What does he think it means?
Was it possible that this was his way of trying to soften her up, wear down her resistance so that he could get the house from her?
Violet closed her eyes.
She needed to stop thinking about everything in those terms, and she knew it. Accepting this gown would not mean giving up the house. There was no such caveat here. She was worrying over nothing, and it would be best to put that from her mind—for tonight, at least. They were supposed to be enjoying themselves, going out to spend time with friends, and she had been given something lovely to wear for the occasion. She could accept a gift without looking for unnamed strings that might be attached. She could take this at face value.
So when Georgina came in, she allowed her lady’s maid to help her into the new gown. It fit perfectly—but of course it did. The modiste had measured her for the other gowns, the ones that had been destroyed, so her measurements had already been available. The bodice hugged her without pinching, and the fabric had been cut so that the embroidery was all on that part of the gown. The skirt was unembroidered, but it was full and lovely and made her smile just to look at it and feel it beneath her fingertips.
“Did you bring this in, Georgina?” she asked.
Georgina nodded. “His Grace asked me to.”
“Yes, I thought he must have,” Violet murmured. “It really is lovely. I’ll have to thank him.”
“After those first ones were ruined, I think he felt badly for you. He wanted to do something to help.” Georgina hesitated, and Violet could tell that she was thinking of saying more.
“Speak your mind,” she urged.
“It’s just that I know you have struggled to trust him,” Georgina said. “And I think—I’d hope you realize that he is a good man. I believe he really wants the best for you, my lady. I think he did this out of kindness and nothing else.”
“I think he did too,” Violet said. “Don’t worry, Georgina—it’s my intention to accept this gift, and to thank him for it.”
And she made her way down the stairs, once she was dressed and ready, to do just that. She found Jonathan waiting for her in the foyer at the foot of the stairs, and he smiled as he saw her coming.
“Ah,” he said. “I knew that it was going to look good on you, Violet.”
“Thank you,” she said, feeling shy. “It was kind of you to arrange for me to have something after what happened to my last dresses.”
“Well, I knew that you wanted to wear something new tonight,” he said. “It seemed unfair that you should be robbed of that chance because of Noah’s prank.”
“Perhaps, but it wasn’t your duty to fix that situation,” she pointed out.
“No,” he agreed. “Not my duty—but something I was able to do, and something I wanted to do. It means a lot to me to be able to lend a hand where I can.” He smiled. “Perhaps you see me differently. Maybe you don’t think I’m the kind of man to want to help someone.”
“I never thought that.” Her face felt hot. She turned away from him, but she was sure that he must have already realized she was blushing. “I never thought of you as someone who wouldn’t want to help. You’ve been so good with Noah, after all.”
“I’m glad you think so.” His voice carried weight. “That means more to me than I think you’re aware, Violet. I do care for Noah.”
“I know you do.” She swallowed. “Thank you for talking to him about his behavior. I hope it means that we’re going to see a change now.”
Jonathan nodded. “I believe we will,” he agreed.
There was a long moment during which neither of them spoke. Violet stole a few glances in his direction, but every time she looked at him, he was watching her, and she couldn’t bear the tension. Every time, she looked away from him quickly.
At last, Jonathan cleared his throat. “Had we better go?” he suggested. “I have the carriage waiting.”
She wished there was some way to decline this. Although she had known the two of them would be riding to the party together, now that the moment had come, the thought of getting into a carriage with him was fraught with peril. How could she spend the next half an hour in such close quarters with this man? There would be no one else to break up the tension and the silences, nobody to talk when Violet couldn’t think what she ought to say. It troubled her. A part of her wanted to speak up, as odd as she knew it was, and to tell him she would rather take a carriage of her own, travel separately from him. But of course that would sound foolish, and would draw far more attention to her discomfort than simply forcing herself to sit in the carriage with him could possibly do.
