Never Doubt I Love (43 page)
Read Never Doubt I Love Online
Authors: Patricia Veryan
“Of course. Is it your leg? Oh, dear! A lady is not supposed to speak of suchâer, articles, is she?”
“No, but you're not a lady. Oh, God! What I mean isâDon't be cross! Please do not! What I mean to say isâis that you're just a countryâer, you're notâyou don'tâ” Without a trace of smooth poise, he gabbled, “I meanâyou're just like my mother!” And wished he had hurled himself to a watery grave.
Zoe looked at him. She was like ⦠his
mother?
It was certainly better than being a “diversion.” Especially if he held his mama in deep affection. But scarcely a romantic declaration. Probably, she had embarrassed him by suggesting they come down to the river; to the riverbank that must always be so very dear to her heart. And then she had confirmed her lack of proper behaviour by speaking of hisâlimb, and embarrassed him still more. In an attempt to put him at his ease, she gazed out at the river. If only she had just a little of Maria's easy charm. Lovely Maria, who had betrayed her, and so brutally shot down poor Sir Owen. The river traffic was as busy as ever. The water looked grey and cold today. Some ducks were swimming about, and she murmured absently, “I wonder if their feet get cold.”
Furtively mopping his brow, Cranford gulped, “Whose?”
“The ducks.”
He glanced at them. If their feet weren't cold, his certainly were. Was. She was probably cold, too. And what was the use? It was hopeless.
He
was hopeless. Despairing, he said miserably, “We'd best go. The wind is too cold for you.”
She said, “Yes,” and feeling twenty years older, started to turn back.
“No!”
Shocked by his shout, she looked up at him.
“No,” he said again. “Do not look at me, Zoe. I m-mean Miss Grainger. Look atâlook at ⦠the ducks. Thatâer, scrawny fellow trailing along there, do you see?”
Bewildered, she said, “Why, yes, butâ”
“No. Don't turn your head.” His hands were wet. He felt a little sick. But watching the curve of the smooth cheek against her hood, he leaned closer and said, “Whenâwhen I d-dared to offer for you, youâ Morris said ⦠he said you didn't believe I meant it.”
Zoe began to tremble. She faltered, “Well, I knew ⦠you only thought of me as aâdiversion, soâ”
“As aâ
what?
Noâdon't look at me!”
“Aâdiversion, Lady Julia said. To take your mind offâyour beautiful lady.”
“My beautifulâ¦? Who on earthâ Oh! Do you mean Miss
Laxton?
”
She said helplessly, “I did not mind. Really. I know I'm not pretty. Andâand I have ⦠silly romantic notions, andâno Town polish, andâ” Despite herself tears were beading on her lashes, and her voice broke. She gulped, “And I say things ⦠ladies should notâ”
“And because of that, you doubted my sincerity.”
She nodded.
Cranford took a deep breath. It was, he thought, The Right Time! And, heartened, he dared Scheme Four.
Leaning very close to that smooth cheek, he said softly, “Little Zoe, my sweet country maid, my lovely and kind and courageous innocent â¦
“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
Zoe turned her head then, her eyes swimming with tears, yet bright with a joy that dazzled him. “Oh,
Perry!
How very â¦
beautiful!
And you said
I
was romantical!”
Cupping her face between his hands, he felt suddenly as poised and self-assured as a dozen August Falcons. He said tenderly, “I'll never have two feet, my darling, and you'll have to endure hearing me thump about on this silly wooden peg. But I can offer you a nice home, and the comfortsâif not the elegancies of life. And my heart. Dearest,
dearest
Zoe. Won't you please at least consider this âhorrid doctor' who loves you so veryâ”
“Oh, Perry!” she sobbed, reaching out her arms. “I thought you didn't want me!”
There was only one answer to that â¦
A passing tug hooted repeatedly.
Shouts and whistles came from two ocean-going barges.
Outraged faces stared down from the windows of passing carriages.
The ducks with their cold feet paddled on, undisturbed.
And Peregrine Cranford, his lips pressed to those of the country maiden he adored, banished all her doubts. Forever.
Patricia Veryan
was born in England and moved to the United States following World War II. The author of several critically acclaimed Georgian and Regency series, including the Sanguinet Saga, she now lives in Kirkland, Washington. You can sign up for email updates
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P
REVIOUS
N
OVELS BY
P
ATRICIA
V
ERYAN
A Shadow's Bliss
Ask Me No Questions
Had We Never Loved
Time's Fool
Logic of the Heart
The Dedicated Villain
Cherished Enemy
Love Alters Not
Give All to Love
The Tyrant
Journey to Enchantment
Practice to Deceive
Sanguinet's Crown
The Wagered Widow
The Noblest Frailty
Married Past Redemption
Feather Castles
Some Brief Folly
Nanette
Mistress of Willowvale
Love's Duet
The Lord and the Gypsy
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Contents
Previous Novels by Patricia Veryan
NEVER DOUBT I LOVE
. Copyright © 1995 by Patricia Veryan. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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First Edition: March 1995
eISBN 9781250101372
First eBook edition: September 2015
