Yet as he stood there, all he could think was,I found my last chance, and her name is Lady Belmont.
The urge to see her again was even greater than before, and he couldn’t imagine being able to fight it for much longer, if at all.
It was only his mother’s surprising arrival that stopped him from doing so right there and then.
Again, he wondered why she hadn’t visited to check on him yet, but deep down, he knew the truth.I tried to get too close, and I frightened her away.
Chapter 23
For Melissa, the morning was just like any other. Having risen early, she’d harvested her herbs before the morning sun could touch them and hung them up to dry. Then she had walked Flit around the border of the manor before returning for breakfast. All was calm and peaceful, just the way she liked it.
Until the butler came to announce the arrival of a guest, an entirely unwelcome one at that.
Though she had heard the door knocker, she hadn’t jumped up from her dining table immediately. And when Winston came to announce whoever was at the door, she instantly got the sense that she would not like what he said. The expression on his face suggested he already knew she wouldn’t be pleased.
“Is everything alright, Winston?” Melissa asked. At the same moment, Flit, lying peacefully beside her chair, jumped up and started to bark. The noise, though not new to Melissa, made her jump. It was clear that whoever had entered the house, Flit did not wish them to be there.
With a raised eyebrow, Melissa asked, “Winston, who has come to visit?”
“A Doctor Redditch, My Lady.”
No sooner had the butler announced the words than the man stepped into the room behind him. He gave no bow of his head, nor did he avert his gaze from Melissa’s as he approached from the end of the table.
“Sir, you cannot just …” Winston began, but Melissa quickly cut him off with a raised hand.
Never taking her eyes off the doctor, she stood firmly and, with a click of her fingers, silenced Flit, who was still barking madly at the doctor.
“Mr Winston, please step outside,” Melissa insisted. It was clear that the doctor had come for a confrontation, and though she loved Winston for his loyalty and devotion to protecting her as his mistress, she did not wish him to become involved in whatever this was about to be.
“Are you certain, My Lady?” Winston asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the concern upon the old man’s kindly face.
“I am certain,” she said, still without blinking. “I am sure Doctor Redditch will only be here but a moment.”
The doctor glowered back at her, and a glance down told her that he was entirely on edge, his hands tightened into fists at his sides.
Winston still looked reluctant, but he gave no further argument, slipping from the room. Melissa noticed he did not close the door behind him and sensed he was ready to rush back in at the first hint of any real danger.
There is nothing this man can do to me that his peers have not already tried,Melissa reminded herself. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and stepped out from behind the table. Keeping her distance, she did move to stand before the doctor.
“How might I be of assistance, sir?” she asked calmly, her hands clamped together before her. She blinked slowly, taking slow and steady breaths. She was not frightened but angry at the man’s presence in her home, made more so by the fact he seemed adamant that he had any right to be there. She already knew well what was likely coming.
“I have come to offer a warning, Lady Belmont,” Doctor Redditch announced, his greying head held high. He looked down his nose at her as though she was no better than something he would find upon the bottom of his boot.
“Whatever for?” Melissa responded, feigning innocence, “Is there some trouble in the area?”
She fluttered her lashes slightly, knowing she had likely irritated him further already.
“The only trouble in this area isyou, Lady Belmont, and you would be wise to quit while you are ahead,” Doctor Redditch announced. He glared at her as though he would have liked just as much to take a hand to her, though it was clear he was far too lofty a man to actually do it.
Melissa almost wished that he would try just so that she could fight back. Though he was larger than her and she a lady, she was not opposed to the idea of causing bodily harm to those who liked to try and put her back in her place, or at least the place they believed she ought to be in. She would have liked the sting of her palm after striking him clean across the face, yet, save for doing so to the odd man here and there for trying to kiss her, she had never allowed herself the option to do so when it came to doctors. Though she was not your usual lady, she was, however, lady-like where it counted, and she would not allow anyone to try and take that away from her by acting anything less.
“Pardon me?”
“Do not bat your lashes and play dumb with me, Lady Belmont!” Doctor Redditch demanded, growing louder and louder until Melissa was forced to grit her teeth to stop yelling back at him. “Do not think I do not know what you have been up to!”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the doctor did not allow her the chance. He stepped forward in such a threatening manner that Flit intervened immediately.
Baring his fangs at the doctor, he growled menacingly, and the man took a hesitant step back again.
