Kiss Me Darkly

by Cecilia Gray

  “You must be very close to your sister-in-law and her family,” she offered.

  “Quite.” How had he ever found her conversation titillating? The Society way in which she skirted around her true intentions? It would be exhausting to spend one’s entire life engaged in such chicanery. “I trust we’ve resolved your matter?”

  She startled and then drew her gaze back to her feet. “I rely on you to assure me of its resolution. I couldn’t possibly ascertain it.”

  Good Lord. Were they to prevaricate all day? “I assure you, then, that we are resolved.”

  His gaze snapped up to Dominic as the man exited Dinah’s room with a smile on his face. Graham slumped back in his chair, relief making him boneless. Tea sloshed over the edge of his teacup as it fell sideways with his motion. He rested a hand over his face and squeezed his eyes shut.

  She was all right. He would have the chance to explain and to make everything right. If only Lily would leave. Did she remain here due to her late husband’s friendship with the Somervilles? Or for him?

  “We’re to head back to Woodbury,” Dominic said. “Preferably within the hour so we can arrive at a reasonable time.”

  Lily clasped her hands together. “Wonderful news.”

  “Is she well enough to travel?” Graham asked. “It seems ill-advised. Has Dr. Somerville given his consent?”

  “No, no.” His nose wrinkled in a horrified expression, sending his spectacles clear up to his eyebrows. “She’s to remain here until the wedding at Leeds.”

  “Then I shall remain, too,” Graham said.

  “Absolutely not,” Dominic said.

  Graham stood and bristled at the comment. The door to her room was shut to him, but that was only a matter of distance and strength—several feet and a door. “I must see her for myself, that she is all right.”

  Dominic stepped left, directly in his line of sight. “That’s quite beyond necessary. Both Mrs. Somerville and I have attended to her.”

  Graham’s hands clenched into fists, and he shifted to the balls of his feet. “I shall stay at the door.”

  With a sigh, Dominic removed his spectacles, wiped his brow, and placed them back on his nose. “It’s not like you to be so difficult, Graham. Dinah insists we return to Woodbury immediately, else the family will be concerned and not enjoy their holidays. I agree with her. She’s always right, you know. Do you want to be the one to tell her that she’s wrong?”

  But he had so much to tell her, so much to say. But he couldn’t tell her through the door while her father listened in from the hallway.

  “We’ll see her in Leeds,” Dominic prompted.

  Lily stood and called that they were ready to take their leave. He glanced helplessly at the closed door. Dinah was just behind it. He sighed. They had already waited so long. What was another couple of weeks? The eternity he felt was all in his mind, at least that’s what Dinah would say.

  “She insisted?” he asked.

  Dominic gave a dry laugh. “Doesn’t she always?”

  * * *

  D.,

  Imagine my relief that you are recovered. I only regret I was unable to visit. To have seen you so afflicted was nearly beyond my ability to endure.

  Your family is well and misses you, as do I.

  G.

  * * *

  D.,

  I have assumed by your silence that we must discuss the matter of what led to your episode. Please know my feelings are unchanged from our last discussion.

  G.

  * * *

  Dinah, please answer me.

  G.

  Chapter Ten

  Alice Belle’s wedding day

  January 7, 1821

  Leeds, England

  It was quite ironic that Alice’s wedding to the seventh son of a modest baron should have more pomp and circumstance than Sera’s had when joining with the Rivington name. The latter wedding had been a small affair with close family and friends at the local Woodbury parish. While the small, stone church in Leeds was also cold, drafty, and unassuming, it was filled inch to inch with the entire town. Alice’s new husband, Robert, was quite popular, so even if one did not account for his six brothers, their wives, and their copious children—they alone could fill the building—they still would have had overflow with the townsfolk, not to mention the Belles, Abernathys, and their friends and acquaintances.

  It was such a blessing, as it were, as Dinah had managed to endure the entire affair without once being forced into the same conversational circle as Graham. Besides, she was done thinking of him. She’d spent the past few weeks engaging in her own therapy and forcing him from her mind. She’d burned his notes. While she believed his assertion that he was not with Lily—there was no reason to assume he would mislead her in this regard—the fact remained that he was still attached in an inappropriate manner, and Dinah was disappointed in her weakness at falling prey to such illogical emotions.

  Now that she was fully recovered—and even a little impatient after being on forced bed rest—she was ready to prove to herself that she had the mental fortitude to move on. Besides, this was Alice’s special day, and she did not have the time to focus on her own mental anguish.

  Alice was usually the sister who organized events and took the lead, but as the bride, she was being forced to rely on her sisters to take charge. Something that was driving Alice batty, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

  The ceremony had been successful, regardless, finishing with the sun high in the sky. Dozens of guests streamed out of the church and into the neighboring field. Carriages lined the road, ready to take the guests to the assembly hall for music and continued merriment.

  Dinah had offers to dance from the moment she stepped foot in the hall, and she’d accepted them, ensuring her dance card was full through the night, even though musical notes had barely begun to fill the space. Additionally, while some people had talent for coordination, Dinah did not. She often stepped in the wrong direction and stumbled over her partner, but she laughed as she did so. Perhaps because the exercise was not mental in nature, she allowed herself more failure. But her laugh was brighter than natural tonight, more forced, even to her own ear.

  She felt Graham watching her while she danced. She had felt his eyes on her all day, in fact. First at the church and now from several partners away. She should just smile at him. Smile and get it over with. If she were not affected by him, she would be showering him in brotherly affection. If anything, by ignoring him, she was given him undue attention.

  So she steeled herself, cast a glance his way, and smiled.

  The moment hovered in time as Graham caught her gaze. His brown eyes widened in surprise. He half returned the smile but also furrowed his brow in confusion. He took a step toward her.

  She resumed her dance steps, focusing on her feet, on ensuring she did not misstep or trip. There, that was not so bad. Her heart was merely beating from the exertion of the dance, and her palms were sweaty for fear of making herself the fool with her clumsy feet.

  As the dance ended and her father approached her, optimism bloomed in her chest.

  “It gives me joy and relief to see you faring well,” her father said.

  “I might say the same for you.” Dinah fanned herself. The room was warmed by the crush of bodies and the blazing hearth. She should step outside for relief from the heat.

  “I am always faring well,” her father said.

  She pursed her lips. “But you have been even better of recent. As if . . .” How could she say it delicately? “You no longer have the demons of your past upon you.”

  “Perhaps I do not,” he agreed. “And see how we are all the happier for it. Bridget is to be married to the Duke of Rivington. Sera is recovering. Alice and Mr. Crawford . . . Well, I imagine that if anyone would be up to the challenge of creating a serviceable home from his holdings, it would be Alice. It was only after I released myself from the burden of honoring your mother’s wishes that I was actually free to oblige
her.”

  The news astounded her. Not only the content but her father’s sharing and speaking to her as an equal. “You believe she would be happy with today’s outcome?”

  Her father gazed in the direction of the newly married couple. Alice was taller than most of the guests, and her head was thrown back as she laughed. Her husband leaned close and whispered in her ear. A pang constricted beneath Dinah’s breastbone at the intimacy. As happy was she was for Alice, she could not stop her swift intake of breath, the icy sensation of numbness.

  “Your happiness was your mother’s happiness—that of you and your sisters. It was something I’d forgotten. I’m ashamed to admit it, Dinah. You may not understand now, but your mother and I . . .” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Love is the most painful feeling of all, and to avoid it, you’ll do anything. I deluded myself. I sought to distract myself from my loss, and in doing so, I disrespected your mother’s memory, her wishes, and our love for each other. I hope to rectify it now.”

  The strings struck up a waltz as she stood gaping at her father. So his newfound calm was not due to having cured his love for his mother but for having found a way to honor her love? It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t!

  The pain she understood now. Intimately so. But how could its cure be embracing the condition that brought it about?

  “I believe this waltz is mine.”

  Lord Savage’s beauty managed to distract her from her thoughts. But only for a moment. She accepted his hand and was pulled into the dance. He moved well, perfectly, even. With smooth steps and a firm, guiding hand on her back.

  As far as distractions went, he was completely suitable. “Have you found Leeds to be amusing enough for one as accustomed to the diversions of London?” she asked.

  “Not as amusing as it is about to become,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll see soon enough.” He brought them to a stop on the dance floor. A complete and utter stop. Heads turned to stare, and she looked over her shoulder to see what they were looking at. Her breath caught.

  Graham stood behind her, looking positively murderously at Lord Savage. His normally friendly brown eyes were fixed, his hands in fists. His stiff frame gave her a strange, satisfied flutter in her stomach.

  Which was completely illogical.

  “My apologies,” Lord Savage said, stepping away from her. “I must have misread my dance card.”

  A scene was already in progress, with curious eyes throughout the assembly hall, so despite her better instincts, Dinah allowed Graham to rest his hand at her waist and guide her in the waltz.

  “You’ve fully recovered?” he asked, turning her in his arms.

  “Yes, I have been for some time.”

  “Did you receive my letters?”

  She faltered but he held her firmly and kept her in time with the swell of music. “I did. I was not aware they merited a response.”

  His hand tightened at her waist, pulling her an inch closer. “You believe me?”

  “Of course. I have no reason to doubt you.”

  “Then what has changed?” he asked.

  She could have continued her obtuse response to his line of questioning, but she found she had no talent for the veiled conversations of Society. She wanted to tell him the truth, wanted to be plain, because it was how she had always been with him—the most like herself.

  “I couldn’t bear it,” she said. “I don’t know if I could bear a life where I’m so driven mad by emotion.”

  He choked and pulled her close. “Thank God. I thought your feelings for me had changed.”

  “Not yet, but they will,” she said, lifting her chin. “Isn’t that the way of it? Isn’t that what happened to you? I will change them,” she insisted.

  “Dinah, don’t you understand? You can’t change who you love.” His arm slipped tighter around her so their chests were practically touching, despite the impropriety. “Instead, the people who you love change you. You’ve changed me. Not Lily. I was never truly in love with Lily. Even when I thought I was. I was young, bored, and impressionable. She fed my love of art and music. She was an echo of my thoughts rather than a challenge. But with you? You challenge every emotion I’ve ever had. Every thought I’ve kept secret. You are the one I love.”

  She turned away, but he pulled her back to him.

  “I know what you will demand. Scientific proof. So I lay it at your feet. When Lily was lost to me, I was driven to drink and mope. To nothing. But when you were lost to me, I was never more sober, more attuned to what I needed. You, Dinah. So I beg of you. See the logic of my love for you and accept it.”

  Dinah did not know when the first tear began to fall, but she felt him wiping them away from her cheeks. They had stopped moving entirely again, and this time, so had the rest of the dance floor as everyone turned to them, wondering what was the matter.

  All her work and her attempts, all her declarations, had been foolish and foolhardy. She could hardly contain herself given his words. Instead, she placed her palms on his cheeks. “My love for you knows no logic, Graham.”

  And then even though it was neither acceptable nor logical, she kissed him.

  * * *.

  Why was Dominic Belle seemingly so at peace?

  Find out in Kiss Me After.

  What errand was Dinah on when she came upon Graham drunk in the gardener’s cottage?

  Find out in Kiss Me Sweetly.

  Interested in the mysterious Gray Abernathy?

  Meet him in A Dangerous Expectation.

  * * *

  The complete Kiss A Belle series is available to order now! While each book can be enjoyed as a standalone, you may want to read them all. Books 1–3 occur concurrently and can be read in any order; Books 4 and 5 follow respectively.

  Kiss Me After

  Kiss Me Darkly

  Kiss Me Sweetly

  Kiss Me Softly

  Kiss Me Again

  Characters you meet in Kiss A Belle are also featured in The Gentlemen Next Door. Don’t miss it, because sometimes a lady in need of love need look no further than next door. Each book can be enjoyed as a standalone, but if you love one, then you’ll probably love the entire series.

  A Delightful Arrangement

  An Illicit Engagement

  A Dangerous Expectation

  A Flirtatious Rendezvous

  Cecilia’s Booklist

  HISTORICAL ROMANCE

  The Gentlemen Next Door

  A lady in need of love need look no further than next door

  The Complete Series

  A Delightful Arrangement

  An Illicit Engagement

  A Dangerous Expectation

  A Flirtatious Rendezvous

  Kiss A Belle

  Everyone has kissed someone, but who has kissed whom?

  The Complete Series

  Kiss Me After

  Kiss Me Darkly

  Kiss Me Sweetly

  Kiss Me Softly

  Kiss Me Again

  CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

  Small Town Jane

  Coming in 2017!

  Impulses (Emma—Christmas)

  Illusions (Northanger Abbey—Easter)

  Insensibilities (Sense and Sensibility—Halloween)

  Impressions (Pride and Prejudice—Valentine’s Day)

  Innuendos (Mansfield Park—Summer)

  Intimacies (Persuasion—Thanksgiving)

  YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY

  The Jane Austen Academy

  “A unique twist on a classic.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred Romantic Times Book Review Magazine “What’s Hot” Pick!

  Fall For You (Lizzie—Pride and Prejudice)

  So Into You (Ellie—Sense and Sensibility)

  When I’m With You (Kat—Northanger Abbey)

  Suddenly You (Fanny—Mansfield Park)

  Only With You (Emma—Emma)

  Always You (Anne—Persuasion)

  Then Came You (Wickham—coming soon!)
>
  Drawn

  Drawn

  Traced (coming soon!)

  About Cecilia

  Cecilia Gray writes sweet stories about smart girls and nice guys.

  When she isn’t writing, she’s into books, movies, TV, food, and hanging out with her friends. Subscribe to her newsletter for updates on new releases, sneak peeks, and giveaways.