“Where are we going?” Richard asked, not exactly resisting her but also curious as to where she was taking him.
“Shh—”
“But don’t you have someplace to be right now?” he asked, thinking of how just moments before she’d been outside.
“Will you keep your voice down?” Leticia snapped as she continued to pull on his hand. When she got to the library, she flung open the door and gestured for him to go inside.
“I really don’t think we should be—” he began, and when he hesitated, she placed one gloved hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shove.
“Stop being so pragmatic. Just get in there already, you luxurious mountain goat,” she commanded, but as she chose to add the ridiculous insult on the end, he knew she wasn’t as perturbed with his behavior as she seemed. Richard walked into the room with his head down, and when his eyes alighted on the wine stains he’d left on the carpet earlier, he became a bit agitated.
“I don’t appreciate being shoved about in my own Manor,” he said, just as soon as she came into the room. Then, before he could say anything further, she shut the door behind herself and twisted the key in the lock. Richard was unable to contain his astonishment. “What exactly are you doing?”
“We need to talk,” Leticia said, her expression a shade less intimidating than it had been a second before but not nearly as soft and delicate as it had been when they ran into each other on the stairs.
“What’s wrong?” Richard inquired, fearing the worst. “Did someone hurt you?” He thought of how quickly she’d gone into the garden and emerged once more. To be here now, she would’ve needed to flee the scene speedily. He eyed her closely, a wave of resentment overcoming him at the thought of another man laying a hand on her.
“Hurt me?” Leticia echoed. “You can’t be serious. We just bumped into each other on the stairs. I am perfectly fine.” She took a step toward him then, and as she did, he also moved in her direction. She must not have been expecting him to do as much because she trod squarely on his foot.
He winced, and she stepped away hastily. “Heavens! I’ve never been so clumsy in my whole life as I’ve been today.” She wrung her hands. “I am sorry, Richard. I think I am just having trouble processing something I overheard earlier today, and now, I am all aflutter.”
He bent over to rub at his toe. “You shouldn’t be listening at keyholes, Leticia. Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not polite?”
“You know,” Leticia said, her tone hardening, “I am getting awfully tired of being told how I should behave in polite society.”
As he returned to his standing position once more, Richard shrugged. “I know some of the rules are a bit of a pain, but surely, you know better than to eavesdrop on other peoples’ conversations.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Leticia replied as her lips drew themselves into a very thin line. “I was merely trying to go assist the bride, and then—”
“Ah, yes,” Richard interrupted, “how is my lovely bride-to-be today?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she answered, each word coming out of her mouth in a clipped way.
“But you just said you went to help her get dressed,” Richard argued. “How could you possibly know so little about her if you just left her company?”
“Maybe I should ask you the same question,” she sniped.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that Miss Loery is your bride, and yet, I’ll bet you haven’t seen her all day.We’verun into each other twice now, but I am willing to wager you don’t even know where she is at this very moment,” Leticia said, a taunt weaving through her words. “Go on, then,” she challenged. “Where is she?”
Richard furrowed his brow as he tried to recall the itinerary he’d created especially for today. Unnerved by the specks of gold in Leticia’s eyes that became even more apparent the harder she stared at him, he searched the room. His eyes drifted to the clock on the mantel, but knowing the time made little difference as he had no idea what Miss Loery was meant to be doing at noon.
“And where were you?” Richard countered, dodging her question completely and flipping it back on her. “I saw you going into the gardens. Who were you meeting there?”
“I was meeting you,” Leticia answered without a bit of sarcasm. He just stared at her dumbstruck.
“Did we arrange to rendezvous near the rose bushes?” he asked, looking straight at her, helplessly hoping whatever he was missing would become apparent.
“Of course, not.” Leticia shook her head vehemently. “You are missing the point.”
“So, you were meeting someone else out there—” Richard said, stroking a finger down his sideburns, letting it trail toward his clean-shaven chin. “You must know, you can’t do such things. Someone, besides me, is bound to catch you, and if they did—” He paused and blew out an exaggerated puff of air. “The wholetonwould be gossiping about you. Which brings me back to where we were before. Leticia,” he said, stopping and crossing both arms over his chest, “I don’t like it that you listened in on my wife’s conversations.”
“She’s not your wife!” Leticia exclaimed, and that made Richard drop his defensive pose.
“She might not be yet, but she will be in just a few days’ time.” He sighed heavily and gave Leticia a placid smile. “And I would greatly appreciate it if you could become friends with Miss Loery. It would mean a great deal to me—”
“I’ll never befriend a hag like her,” Leticia spat out the words. While she’d always had an unruly nature, he’d never heard her talk in such a way about anyone else before.