The Vicious Viscount

chapter 11

chapter eleven

The men shared a laugh through the breakfast table, Malcolm discarded down the stairs with now a new set of fresh attire, he was groomed and his waistcoat in perfect tidy. A wave of calm came to him, he needed peace and neat in his life. "Heavens! You poor gentlemens must be starving!" Annabelle watched as the men devoured a plateful of ham and several dishes to the huge table.

Malcolm joined them by sitting cross to Annabelle, "Has anything occurred?" he asked straight to point which gained a hestant nod from her, "Yes cousin, although I might have forgotten to inform that since Lady Stephanie arrived late it was out of question to take her to the rest of the estate, she spent the night here"

Malcolm nodded curtly while eating the food on his plate, taking a chug of refreshing lemon water he turned his attention back to her, "I believe she had a ton of explanation, pray tell me"

The men stoped echanging words and waited for annabelle to answer the viscounts question, "That poor lady had a ton of rest, she was not in a state to be interrogated and she will not be in this breakfast table as well," the strict tone in hers that had always gotten a reaction of him when they were younger did not work, perhaps because she was 5 years older than him, if anything it increased his temper, "For three weeks, and coming back safe and sound? Have you any idea----" with a swift kick of a leg and narrowing eyes of Annabelle, in a blink of an eye her attention wandered from him and she smiled widely,

"Lady Stephanie!, do not be frighten by this sight of men, they might eat like lions right now but they do not bite" she teased gaining everyone to follow her gaze, malcolm could hear the low whistles of appreation from the gentlemen, he scoffed and twisted the bread bite in his plate not bothering to spare her a glance, the only thing he wanted was to throttle the lady for not only wasting his precious time but also putting a risk in his work and yet she was being able to breath properly when for the past day he and the others had taken the roads brick by brick searching for the golden haired lady with brown eyes, according to Lady Amelias prescription.

Malcolm huffed with a scowl and straighten his back turning his attention to the food, he could hear the ladys footsteps coming nearer and nearer until her sillhoutte gleamered on the sunstreaked breakfast table, "Mrs Standford, gentlemen. I am terribly sorry for my late apperance---" that voice. That voice. His whole body stiffened and he felt the silent i his throat, was it not enough that she apperad in his dreams? Had she need to haunt him for life?, closing his eyes for a brief second he thought it was his imagination, but than her angelic laugh entered his ears.

No—this was an illusion. Six years melted away like ice in a fire as Malcolm slowly turned around, uncaring that he told himself life was playing a sick game. His whole body roared with pain and an pleasure. Achingly, unforgettable. Devastatingly beautiful, his eyes raked down finding the years had changed her tremendously, her body was even more fuller the only inched was her waist, with pale golden hair framing her face of shattering loveliness. Dressed in a bronze satin evening gown, her hair held up with amber clips but it did not stop the locks to fall... "Mabel" the word came out of his mouth like a rasp, as though his body was a cavern that had been closed for decades.

He didn't speak very loudly—at that moment , he couldn't. Yet she looked up at once. Her light brown eyes met his. For a heart beat, her expression registered joy, longing. Then horror.

He blinked and both exoression were gone from her face. She looked smooth and unreadable. It was as if he'd imagined her emotions, he felt both numb and acutely aware of every nerve. His heart pounded and his mouth went dry,

"Who?" she spoke like he was seeing a ghost, for several moments he stared at her, than even more. He couldn't possibly be going insane? He couldn't ever forget a face like hers. It was utterly impossible. But by the frown settled between her eyebrows made him wonder if he was going truly mad.

he was oblivious to the fact that practically everyone watched their exchange, Lady annable was in utter disbelief at what was occuring, watching two people have a eye duel. Her cousin looked like a different person to her, even in Malcolms best, most impressive tempers, there had always been something little wooden about him. Some part of himself that was always kept in reserve. Now the reserve was gone. It seemed as if he were lit with an inner golden blaze. To say that everyone was captured was an understatement.

Because Malcolm Grey never gazed at a lady for more than seconds, the woman who could capture his attention would be one from another planet.... Or she thought. No man could go blind to the kind of beauty Stephanie Hastington had, seems like she could wake up the dead.

his eyes couldn't leave.. because she was mabel.. the woman he had never forgotten---

she was the one to break their intense staring, appearently annabelle mustve said something but they couldve been at an an different universe and he wouldn't have realised, "My god! Forgive my cousin.. he seems to be enchanted by your beauty, I believe it is only natural for a beautiful woman like you" Annabelle teased trying to ease the strong tension that took place, she gestured for Stephanie to sit, she tried also to pull Malcolm in conversations running about politics and finanical a subject that he always was engrossed in. But Malcolm was having none of it, his appettite was gone. His only focus was her.

He had to be dreaming.

Because there was no possibility that this lady besides him had anything to do with his past lover, she was a high titled woman who was the total opposite of Mabel Coster.

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