Part 26 (1/2)
”Maybe I don't want to wait. I'm not terribly keen on surprises, you know.”
Not any longer at least. She'd had too many unhappy surprises in her life to care much for the experience these days.
He looked into her eyes and reached down to tuck her hand more snugly inside the crook of his arm. ”You'll like this one.”
”Will I? You'll simply have to wait and see,” she said, repeating his earlier words.
Catching the reference, he laughed.
Leo slowed the curricle a short while later and made a turn onto a lane bounded by a redbrick wall with a heavy, black iron gate at the end.
The gate was open. Leo drove through and up to the front of a house made of the same red brick. The door was painted a crisp black, like the shutters that stood sentinel at each window. The grounds were tidy, cleared of leaves and ready for winter, evergreens adding a welcome hint of color.
”Where are we?” she asked.
”Brightvale Manor. I acquired it in a card game a couple of years ago. It comes in handy every now and again when I'm in the mood for a bit of countryside without having to travel too far from London.”
”You use it as a love nest, you mean?” she said, an unexpected edge to her voice.
He met her eyes. ”No. You're the first woman I've ever brought here.”
Her tension fell away and she smiled.
”Shall I show you inside?” he asked.
She nodded. ”Yes.”
Leo watched Thalia as she looked around the house, pleased that she seemed to like what she saw. He'd changed very little about the manor house or its contents since he'd won it from a boastful sharp who'd thought to fleece him. But his brother Jack wasn't the only Byron who excelled at games of chance. Leo had turned the tables on Brightvale's former owner and won the crucial hand-earning himself the small estate in the process.
Although the house had been in good condition, the grounds had needed work, the tillable fields left unplanted, the gardens overgrown and the tenant houses in a sad state of disrepair.
Originally he'd thought about selling the place. With that in mind, he'd taken it upon himself to make improvements so as to increase the value. But the more he did on the estate, the more he enjoyed the process, and the sense of accomplishment he gained in watching something neglected thrive once more.
Despite his interest in the estate, he rarely stayed more than a few days at a time, leaving the house in the hands of a couple who served as caretakers. But this morning when he'd been considering locations for an outing with Thalia, he'd thought of Brightvale.
Seeing her enjoyment, he was glad now that he had.
”I have one last place to show you,” he said, once she finished touring the house.
”Oh? Where is that?”
”You'll see. Or rather you will once I take off your blindfold.”
Her dark brows arched. ”What blindfold?”
”This one.” He extracted a long rectangle of black cloth from his interior coat pocket.
She eyed it with suspicion. ”Why do I need to wear that?”
”Because,” he said, stepping behind her, ”I want what I'm about to show you to be a surprise.”
”And might I remind you again what I think about surprises?”
He chuckled. ”Just play along. I promise you won't be sorry.”
”Very well. If you insist.”
”I do.” He pressed a warm kiss against her neck, then reached up to tie the blindfold in place. ”Can you see?”
”No,” she complained. ”It's as dark as pitch.”
”Good. Take my hand.”
”We're walking?”
”We are. And don't worry. I won't let you fall.”
”You had better not. I just recovered from a twisted ankle. I don't relish suffering another.”
”I shall take utmost care.” He linked their hands together and led her slowly forward.
The temperature dropped the moment they left the house, the gra.s.s soft beneath their shoes.
”Is it much farther?” she asked after a minute.
”Not much.”
Her hand flexed inside his, but she kept walking, relying on him with absolute trust.
Reaching their destination, he opened the door of a small building that Thalia still could not see and led her inside. The air grew warm again-and moist with the scent of earth and vegetation.
”What is that I smell? Flowers?” she ventured.
”Perhaps.” He looped an arm around her waist, her hand still in his, and led her a bit farther into the structure. Then they stopped. ”Are your eyes closed?”
”They are.”
”Keep them closed. I'm going to take the blindfold off and I don't want you to see until I'm ready for you to see.”
”My, you are dictatorial today. But then I suppose I already knew that about you.”
”And you have a smart tongue. Eyes closed.”
”Yes, oh exalted one.”