Page 5 of Bluebell’s Fate

“Legends?” He was dumbstruck. He expected to take that flower and some others to his grandmother; why else did a gentleman pluck a flower? And why did this woman addle him so?

Or was she the one that was addled? Maybe this beautiful woman was alone in the woods for a reason. Surely her mind was not functioning properly. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that something was not right with this woman, foremost because she had mentioned magic.

She cocked one elegant eyebrow while gesturing to the bloom he had forgotten was sticking out of his waistcoat. “Yes, the legends. What did you expect to happen?”

Chapter Three

“Enlighten me about the legends, please.” He dipped his head.

Bell wasn’t as half-witted as to believe that this skeptical man actually wanted enlightenment, but he kept asking her questions. If Bell were her sister Rose, she would set him straight, and fast, so that they could move on to what was important: finding this man’s carriage. But Bell had never been successful at emulating her perfect sister. “Legend says that if you pick a bluebell, you will be led astray by fairies, wandering lost forevermore.” She gestured to the limp bluebell in his waistcoat. “You picked a bluebell…and you got lost.” She tilted her head and challenged him with a look.

He scoffed. “And you believe this legend?”

Whether or not it was the fault of fairies, she’d seen it happen on numerous occasions. But this gentleman wouldn’t believe it, not unless she could prove that the legend was valid. If he thought he could make it back to the road on his own, she would let him. She pointed over his shoulder. “What is it you see over there, Mr. Payne?”

He turned around, and she slipped behind the yew tree to her left. Then she took silent steps away from him and hid herself behind a bush. Thanks to Henry, the family’s groundskeeper, Bell was incredible at hiding in the woods. He’d taught her everything she wanted to know about sneaking around so she could watch the animals in their natural habitats. She had then applied the lesson far more liberally. She’d become adept at hiding from her nursemaid, and later governess, and most especially, her mother. She watched through the leaves as her handsome stranger took a few more steps in the direction she’d pointed, then turned back around.

“I don’t see any…” his voice cut off. “Flower?” he called hesitantly.

Bell rubbed her temple. Of all the ridiculous names he could have invented, he’d come up with Flower. She closed her eyes. At least he hadn’t called her a specific flower, and he hadn’t called her Turnip either. There were certainly worse names.

She heard him searching the surrounding area, and she pulled her skirt closer to herself and then held still. Bell could almost feel him coming closer to her, but the soft footfalls in the earth stopped before he reached her hiding spot. He turned and began walking the other way. How long ought she allow him to wander lost? How long would it take for him to believe her? She kept her ears perked toward his tromp through the surrounding wooded area. He was going the wrong way…again. She brushed off her skirts while she rose to trail his progress. Even as Bell kept her distance following behind Mr. Payne, she imagined tiny fairies dancing in and out of the shafts of light that filtered through the leaves, leading him on and on toward…her home.

She covered her mouth. That would never do. “Mr. Payne,” she called out to him, hurrying forward.

He turned around and spotted her. He took a large step over a fallen tree, changing direction to face her again.

She stepped into the small clearing. “Where were you going?”

“Back to the road, of course,” he answered with a haughty challenge. He pulled a watch out of his pocket and studied it a moment before replacing it.

She sighed. He was hopeless. Very handsome, with his strong jaw and dark hair, but hopeless, nonetheless. He would never understand the magic that surrounded him.

She found herself looking him over intently, before she led him back to the road, as if to memorize his presence in her woods. He was average height for a man, with a broad chest and a crease in his brow. She looked into his hazel eyes; mostly brown, with flecks of green and gold, they reminded her of looking into a treasure chest. Not that she had actually done that before, but she could imagine it. He smiled at her, and her heart flipped.

When had he come so close to her? She was practically looking up to see him properly.

“You were going the wrong way.” Why was she so breathless?

He looked up into the tops of the trees and narrowed his eyes. “It is difficult to determine the direction I am walking with all these trees blocking the sun.” He shook his head as if in unbelief. “I was beginning to believe I’d invented you in my mind.”

“And how do you know you did not?”

His half-smile at her seemed questioning, unsure. “You came back for me. It’s almost as if…”

She waited in vain for him to continue. “Almost as if what?”

“Almost as if you are a dream.” He ran a finger between his collar and his neck. “I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as you. Certainly, you are not real. You must be a figment of my imagination.” His voice turned into a soft mutter. “An imagination that was highly lacking until today.”

Bell felt a tingle brush past her entire body as lightly as a dusting of snow. If he kept up this line of talk, she would begin making this man the hero of her stories. But she couldn’t develop feelings for this man; her mother would never allow it. For all the exacting ways of the Countess Gardner, her demand that her daughters marry gentlemen with titles was paramount. And Mr. Payne did not hold a title. He did have the most captivating eyes, and a propensity to be far too serious. What would be the harm in extending their short meeting a few minutes? She was in her woods after all, and they’d never led her astray.

He was watching her—struggling to make sense of her. The temptation to spur him onward was too much. “What if I was a figment of your imagination? How would you ever know?” She’d like to see if he could dream up a story half as exciting as the one fate had given her at the moment. How often did a lady find a handsome gentleman lost and needing her help?

He took another step toward her, and Bell’s breath caught. She sought out the treasure that was hidden in those gold-flecked eyes. He cupped her face in both of his hands and leaned down. The feel of his calloused hands on her cheeks ignited a flutter in her chest and her breath stilled. Bell registered that he was going to kiss her. Where she should have felt a degree of panic or distress, she felt peace. No, peace was not right. She felt a desire to help him along. His lips were mere inches from hers, and she wanted nothing more than to know how they would feel upon her own. Raising up on her toes, she closed the merciless gap between them, her lips meeting his with a delicious sense of magic.

Although she could not pull in a proper breath, she had no wish to put space between them. She tentatively wove her arms over his shoulders and pulled him more firmly to her. He responded with astounding speed, lifting her from her feet entirely, he spun her in a circle as he placed a kiss on the side of her neck. Bell sighed, feeling more at home in this man’s arms than she did in her own bedchamber. Truly, these woods were magical.

Heart pounding, Bell’s feet touched back onto the ground. Mr. Payne stepped back and put his hands on her shoulders as if to keep her at a distance, but she needed his provided steadying as well. Her natural inclination was to lean toward him again, but she held her weight in her toes and took a deep breath.