Ravenwood(49)

“Ah yes, with young Mr. Brock and his… undomesticated associates.”

Caleb’s jaw worked slightly at Hayter’s words and Elinore wished she understood.

“I’m afraid our morning sojourn will have to wait until tomorrow.” Hayter reached over and squeezed her hand too tightly, causing her fingers to go white with the pressure. She was surprised by the desire to snap her teeth at him or run her nails down the back of his hand. That would teach him not to put his hands on her. What on earth was coming over her? She took a deep breath and managed a weak smile.

“I shall head up to my room for a bit. Perhaps do some needlework,” she said, pulling her hand sharply out from underneath Hayter’s grip. She nodded crisply to him and then turned to Caleb, offering him a real smile. Both men stood as she pushed herself back from the table and took her leave.

Halfway down the hallway, Caleb’s voice caught her attention and she turned to see him coming behind her, his long graceful steps eating up the distance between them.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, but I’ve forgotten the last few times in my haste. That is, your post,” he said, blurting the words out. “Do you have any letters you wish me to post while I’m in town?”

“Oh yes!” she exclaimed, reaching toward him in her excitement and resting a hand on his arm. They both stared down for a moment where her fingers rested on him and then she snatched her hand back. “Thank you for remembering.” She changed direction and made her way to the library, finding three letters to Charlotte, another to one of her late mother’s friends, one to her late father’s solicitor and one for another female acquaintance. The three to Charlotte where practically bulging at the seal and Caleb raised an amused brow at her. His expression held no malice and she found herself smiling in return.

“You’ve been quite busy.”

“It’s got some new pages for our writings as well as some changed pages from our last correspondence.”

“I shall take good care of it,” he said, his fingers brushing over hers as he took the letters. She felt her heart thump hard at the contact and her cheeks flush with color. He carefully tucked the letters into the inside pocket of his jacket, patting it once. She had a completely foolish notion that her words now rested close to his heart. How fanciful and impractical. Still, she gave a longing look at his coat, wishing that she could be as close to him as those letters.

“I hope you have a safe trip to Haleton.” Feeling bold, she held her hand out in the most proper way she could, hoping that he was every bit the gentleman she thought him to be and he would take it.

He did. His fingers were large and warm around hers and she felt a delightful shiver run down the back of her neck and across her shoulders as he enclosed her hand in his.

“Thank you. I hope you have a lovely day here at Ravenwood.” He bowed slightly, and then, to Elinore’s delight, he raised her hand and brushed his lips perfunctorily over her knuckles. The entire thing seemed to happen slowly and impossibly fast all at once. She watched as the pink of his lips touched against the pale ivory of her skin, the soft flesh of his mouth flattening slightly as it met the resistance of her bones. His mouth was even hotter than his hand, and there was a hint of moisture from it, but not at all unpleasant. Her stomach turned over in the most exquisite way and his eyes flickered up and she could see the blue of his irises from underneath his black, sooty lashes. She was slightly out of breath, though she’d done nothing but stand there.

“Thank you,” she replied, her words coming out as a whisper.

“Good day.” Caleb straightened upward and his fingers released hers and she had the mad thought that she should launch herself at him, bodily and press herself against him. Instead, she stayed perfectly still, thinking that if she so much as twitched, she would lose the war against her impulses and do something terribly impetuous. He nodded and she barely managed to nod her own head in return, staring at him, surely looking like some sort of open-mouthed fish.

The most extraordinary thing happened then. He blushed. His cheeks flushed pink, high on the apples and it was the most wondrous sight. It brought a smile to her lips, wide and full of teeth and she laughed nervously. He smiled at her laughter, eyes crinkling at the corners and nose wrinkling slightly.

He turned and left the library with quick steps, pausing for a moment at the door to turn and smile at her again. She curtseyed again, not caring that she’d just done so only moments before. She’d curtsey a thousand times if it made him smile like that.

After Caleb closed the door behind himself, Elinore flopped down most gracelessly on her reading chair, reveling in the delicious feeling in her chest and belly. She bit her lip thinking of the warm press of Caleb’s lips against her hand, holding her hand up in the sunlight and memorizing exactly where his lips had been.

Feeling as though she needed time to herself, Elinore took the mythology book she’d been reading from the library and headed up to her room. Not knowing where Alice was, Elinore made sure to let every servant she passed know that she was heading to her room and should Alice look for her, that’s where she would be. With both of the Vollmond men gone, the manor felt solemn and still, as though the house somehow thrived on their energy as long as they were in it or on the estate.

Once in her room, Elinore opened the window and let the fresh air rush in. She inhaled, smelling grass, trees and maybe even the faint scent of horses. She laid down for a moment, just so she could again remember the press of Caleb’s lips against her skin. She wanted to memorize it in perfect detail and then she would write it down - not for a story or even for Charlotte - but so she would have the memory flawlessly preserved. She rested her hands over her chest and could feel her heart thump madly in its cage as she went over every minute detail. His eyelashes, the curve of his lip, the line of his cheekbones. She felt warm and happy at the thought and… something else. She didn’t know what to call it. It made her feel nervous and anxious, but also excited and daring all at once. She sighed, rolling over onto her stomach and kicking her feet slightly, like a school-girl.