Scoundrel With A Noble Heart (sequel of Disgraceful)

Chapter 64

Hello, sorry I've been on hiatus for quite a while. I've been distracted by this and that, and could barely find the time to write, but eventually I finished this chapter. Hope all of you haven't forgotten about this story. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Fortunately Matthew managed to persuade Arabella to return home before nightfall, so he could keep his promise to accompany Maggie at dinner. However, he could hardly enjoy their moment together, for he'd been plagued by the task of having to tell Maggie about his leaving. It was bad enough to see her disappointment, but even worse was the guilt of having to lie to her again. Eventually he managed to steel himself and come up with a story that he needed to supervise the restoration of his small yet lavish inn in Yorkshire, that recently suffered from fire damage. As expected, Maggie was quite taken aback by the news.
"Matthew, do you really need to go? You can send Bill or another staff member to supervise the repair."

"Maggie, the hotel staff said they need to discuss the restoration plan with me. Besides, I think it's necessary to keep a regular check on my properties."

"Can I come with you?"

"No, Maggie. I'll be busy all day and I don't want you to feel neglected."

Well, she already had, Marguerite thought, but she kept it to herself. Matthew reached out to squeeze her hand.
"Maggie, a week is not that long. Once the task is done, I'll be back home soon."

Much to his relief, Marguerite said nothing more and only nodded with a halfhearted smile. But later when Matthew called Wagner to tell him about his traveling plan, the older man cast a suspicious look at him as he said,
"You're not going to elope with your ladylove, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about? I've told you my Yorkshire Inn is in dire need of repair! I'm not playing around here!" Matthew snapped, but to his great dismay, Wagner totally ignored his irritation and added,
"No matter how great the temptation is, remember you've only met her again less than a month ago. Don't do anything rash."

Wagner's impudence left Matthew feeling disgruntled all night, but thankfully neither Wagner or Maggie tried to dig deeper into his excuse. He told them that he would set off before dawn, but on the departure night, he left shortly after midnight. Marguerite wouldn't know because at the moment, she must be asleep already, while Wagner and the other staff were busy in the gaming hall.

Within less than half an hour, his carriage had already arrived at Arabella's house. To avoid being seen, he asked the driver to pull by the edge of the street across from hidden under the shadows of trees. He waited patiently in the carriage, and when Arabella hadn't shown up after almost an hour, he peeked through the curtains at the glowing windows, wondering what took her so long.

He'd started to think if Arabella's plan to sneak out through the back door had failed when suddenly he heard shuffling from outside and the muffled sound of a female voice talking to his coach. A moment later, the carriage door opened and Arabella's face appeared in the doorway.

"Bella, thank God! I thought you wouldn't come."

"Matthew, I almost got caught! A maid suddenly entered the kitchen when I tried to slip out through the back door. Thankfully I managed to hide under the table before she saw me."

Arabella climbed into the carriage and threw herself into the seat opposite him. The driver thrust her luggage under Matthew's seat and nodded at his master before closing the door shut. A moment later, the carriage jolted forwards and their journey began.

"Ready for our next adventure?"
Arabella asked, her eyes gleaming with wicked promises. Unlike before, the beautiful pair failed to captivate him this time. He attempted a forced smile, pretending to share her excitement, while inwardly grappling to understand his sudden change of feelings. All this time, Matthew thought he would give anything to have another chance to be together with Arabella, but now that he'd got the woman of his dreams by his side, he was only half there, his heart was left at home. He couldn't stop thinking about Marguerite, and how lonely it felt to be so far away from her. But he'd made his decision, he couldn't back out now, and as the carriage brought them further away from home, he couldn't help wondering if he'd done the right thing.