Page 133 of Wicked Highland Heroes

Chapter Twenty

Lord Rushton hadn’t joined them in the pink parlor when they’d taken tea. Eve had to admit, she’d been relieved, and when propriety allowed, she excused herself for a walk in the arboretum to think things over. But what was there to think over? Lord Rushton hadn’t changed, hadn’t promised he would change, and Laura Greenwood was proof he wouldn’t. Even here on Mull, during their wedding party, he had sought the privacy of the balcony with another woman.

Yet, despite all odds, despite knowing his nature, Eve had fallen in love with him. Worse, in the last two days she had harbored the foolish hope that he might change. That had been her mistake, not his. The fact he bedded her as if he was making love to her simply testified to his ability as a lover. Eve left the cover of an elm tree and stepped into the afternoon sun. She entered too quickly the shade of the next cluster of trees and regretted leaving the warmth of the sunlight.

Grace had said she would allow Lord Rushton to live his life as he pleased, but Eve simply couldn’t sit back and watch him go from one woman’s bed to another’s, fitting her in when he had a moment or when he wanted an heir. That would break her heart. He’d insisted they marry. He now had to deal with her—on her terms.

Eve strolled in silence along the grassy terrain, then slowed at seeing her father leaning against a tree up ahead, staring in the direction of the castle. Apparently, after tea, he’d had the same desire for privacy.

She approached and he turned. “Good evening, Papa,” she said as she neared.

“How is your walk, Eve?” he asked.

She smiled. “Very good.”

“Will you walk back with me?” He winged his arm.

Eve slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “I would be delighted.” She looked up at him. “We have had no time together and…” A lump formed in her throat.

He patted her hand as he started forward. “You were always a good girl, Eve.”

“Even when I ran off with Lord Blane?”

“Even when you ran off with Lord Blane.”

“And now?”

He gave her a soft smile. “You put me out, I admit.” He returned his gaze to the path and Eve’s heart tugged at the tired look in his eyes.

“Oh, papa, I am sorry.” She stopped and nearly fell into his arms.

He stroked her hair and let her cry softly. “Come now,” he finally said. “I doubt this is about an apology to me. What is amiss? I don’t believe for an instant Rushton has mistreated you.”

She drew back. “You think he is a paragon of husbandly duty?”

“Hardly. He is a man—a newly married man—and those chaps make many mistakes. You must see it for whatever it truly is, whatever the case may be. Do you want to tell me?”

“It is nothing in particular,” she lied. Certainly nothing she hadn’t expected and feared.

He nodded and they began walking again.

They were silent for a long moment and Eve knew he was thinking of his other daughter who, despite being a good girl too, was spoilt to the bone. “Grace will come around,” she said. Though during tea, Grace sat like a stone, barely acknowledging his or Lord Somerset’s existence.

“She has no choice,” he replied. “I regret that she isn’t more sensible, like you.”

Eve snorted. “I have not been very sensible lately.”

“True, but is in your nature to be reasonable, and you did accept the inevitable.”

Yes, she did. “Grace will, too. Just give her time.”

“I fear time will not change her,” he said. “She’s willful, even more so than your mother.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Eve said. “She is simply young.”

He looked at her. “You were not like that at her age.”

“No,” Eve agreed, “but I recall my grandfather saying you had your wild moments when you were young.”