Page 13 of The Lady Loves A Scandal

~Lady X

Sybil paused, turning her face toward the sun as it crested its noonday spot and started the fall toward the horizon. Her hands, though gloved, could still feel the smooth texture of the paper clenched tightly between her fingers in her cloak pocket. A note from Gideon delivered by Mr. Oliver. Smiling to herself, she nodded to a passing couple, adorned in their finest walking attire. The breeze was mild for spring in London, and the beau monde had escaped their stifling homes to bask under the warmth of the clear blue sky above. Women had set aside their needlepoint, and men of every status had forgone time secluded in their studies to promenade in London’s fashionable Hyde Park.

On the surface, Sybil appeared like every other young woman enjoying her time outdoors with her parasol held high to keep the sun’s rays from tinting her complexion. She began strolling once more, tilting her sunshade to block the light, and her maid fell into step a few paces behind her. She nodded to those she knew as they passed, either on foot, in open carriages, or on horseback. Keeping her steps unhurried, she moved down the walk until she reached the very end and pivoted to start back again.

Her maid leapt out of the way in response to Sybil’s unexpected movement.

“My lady,” Esther breathed, glancing past Sybil to their waiting carriage. “You have taken three turns. Is it not time we return home?”

“If your feet are sore, you may wait here.” Normally, Sybil would not embark on any more walking than was socially called for during her early afternoon strolls. “I think I will have one more turn and then return home.”

“I shall accompany you.”

Sybil’s hopes crashed at her maid’s compliance. For the last hour, she’d attempted to tire her companion, but to no avail. The need to find other means of escaping her maid’s watchful stare would be necessary. She’d brought a drawstring bag of tacks with her and was resigned to littering them on the ground if required; however, the thought of harming Esther just so she could slip away for a few moments seemed needless and cruel. It was not the girl’s fault that she’d been asked to accompany Sybil on her walk. It had been Sybil’s hope that Mallory, her sister-in-law, would come with her. The woman had a mind prone to distraction, and she’d likely not think much of anything if Sybil disappeared for a spell.

Sybil nodded to the girl and offered a small smile. “If you insist.”

Bollocks.

Glancing up at the sun once more, Sybil noted that it was fast descending toward the tall buildings along the horizon. If she did not find a way to slip her maid’s notice, she would be too late.

Once again, she passed the small trail that cut through a strand of overgrown bushes bordering the walking path. Consciously, she kept her eyes averted, not daring to glance down the almost hidden trail. It had been over a year since she had need to use it, following the path until the bushes receded and afforded a shielded spot if someone wished for a private moment in one of London’s most visited parks. Obviously, it was only she and Gideon who knew of the secret spot as the bushes had grown nearly tall enough to block off the trail completely.

Sybil ran her gloved hand up and down her arm, her shoulders rounding slightly. Thankfully, she had no need to pretend more, producing goose pimples was beyond Sybil’s abilities.

“Are you cold, my lady?” Esther asked, stepping to her side. “Perhaps we should return to the carriage before you fall ill.”

Spotting a gathering of young debutantes not far ahead of her, their mothers gathered several paces away, Sybil waved to the group, slightly shocked that they, one after the other, waved back.

“Oh, what a pleasant surprise,” Sybil cooed.

“You are acquainted with them, my lady?” Esther asked.

“Yes,” Sybil lied. Lying was far preferable to physical harm, at least that was what Sybil chanted silently. “We met at Lord Gunther’s musicale recital a few weeks ago. If you wouldn’t mind, I wish to stroll with them while you return to the carriage to collect my wrap.”

Esther glanced from Sybil’s smiling face to the group of young women who’d returned to talking amongst themselves, Sybil forgotten. “Are you certain, Lady Sybil?”

The maid was rightfully justified in her concern.

“You’ll only be a few moments,” Sybil prodded.

She knew the instant the maid gave in—her shoulders hunched, and her frown disappeared. “I will find your wrap and hurry back.”

“Very good,” Sybil patted the maid’s arm. “I shan’t be far from this very spot.”

She waved the maid off and turned to walk toward the women, but veered slightly after Esther was lost from sight. Certainly, she felt horrid about misleading the poor maid, but no injury would come to Sybil where she was headed; in fact, the area was safer than most places about London for the simple fact that only two people knew of its existence.

Sybil and Gideon.

They’d spent countless hours hidden from view as they spoke of their love, their future, and all they wanted from life.

It was only fitting that after breaking yet another promise to her, Gideon would request she meet him in their secret spot.

Glancing left and right, Sybil noted the young women had started off again, their backs to her. No one paid her any mind. She took a few steps back, making certain no one glanced in her direction as she made to adjust her glove before she ducked under the low-hanging branch and moved onto the narrow path.

A stick pulled at her skirts when she paused to close her parasol. Another branch protruded and nearly scraped her cheek. The ground was thick with fallen leaves and webs cascaded across the path, woven by spiders she’d rather not think about. Sybil barely stopped herself from rubbing the base of her neck as she felt something crawling across her skin.

Surely, she was imagining things. The topic of the human brain had been the focus of a scientific journal she’d found in her brother’s study not long ago. The mind excelled at playing tricks on a person—made possible because who could know a person better than their own mind?