Scoundrel With A Noble Heart (sequel of Disgraceful)

Chapter 87

Taking the woman's advice, Marguerite and Jacob sauntered down the small cobbled path leading into the nearest village. Within minutes, they reached a stream spanned by a stone arch bridge. Beneath it, the river was gloriously bathed in the sunlight, golden flashes shimmering on its softly rippling surface. At either edge, wild bluebells began to reveal their blossoms, stretching out in rich blue carpets along the riverside. Again the spectacle took Marguerite's breath away. She stopped to admire the view.
"I've never seen anything like this in London. Everywhere you look you can only see rows of buildings and gloomy sky."

"Nobody has taken you to travel before?" asked Jacob, furtively relishing the look of wonder on her face.

"Never. My father was too busy working. Matthew followed in his footsteps, he almost never left the club," She paused for a second, then added, "Until he met Lady A."

"He is such a fool."
His voice was soft, but she could hear the intense earnestness in his voice.
"Have you ever asked them to bring you to new places?" He asked, deliberately diverting her attention from the unpleasant subject. She shook her head.
"No."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't want to be a bother."

A look of concern flickered across his face.
"Tell you what, Maggie, you should know your worth. You deserve all the things that you want."

Something in the way he looked at her made her heart flutter and she immediately turned away from the intensity of his gaze.

"Look! There's a well over there!" She hurried away, glad to find a diversion. To her great relief, when she cast a quick glance at him, his earnest expression had gone and he was back to his usual easy and laidback manner.
"Is it the first time you've ever seen one?"
He asked with a faint smile.

"Of course. Where can I find a well in the city?"

They continued to stroll around, taking in the sights of the lush greenery and the charming cottages and the people. But while the scenic beauty of the rural area seemed to fascinate Marguerite, it barely interested Jacob. He didn't really care about it, not when there was one thing that captured his undivided attention more than anything else. One person, to be precise. His radiant companion.

For the first time in quite a while, she looked genuinely happy. Before the trip, he'd stalked her for weeks, watching her when she took a stroll in the park, and he'd noticed that she'd lost her spark. But now, a smile lit up her face and he could see the twinkle in her eye. And despite his good intentions, he couldn't for a minute tear his gaze away. She might not be the woman who turned heads whenever she entered a room, but she possessed a rare purity that he'd never found in the superficial world of his.

It was such a joy to simply watch her, to be around her, and he felt a deep resentment towards her father and her fiancé, who'd neglected her all this time. Both of them had never cared about what mattered to her, what she wanted, what made her happy. And he would hate to see her being denied all the joy that life had to offer, which she so dearly deserved.

They returned to the inn in the midmorning, and after a brief final packing, they were ready to depart. When Jacob was supervising the loading of their luggage outside, Marguerite approached the landlady and her husband, the gaunt man from the previous night. She produced a pouch full of gold coins from her reticule and slid it across the counter.

"Don't worry Miss, the lord has paid for the stay." The landlady pushed the pouch back to Marguerite, but she gently stopped her, placing the pouch in the woman's hand instead.

"I know, it's just... consider it a little gift from me for this place. A token of appreciation for your hospitality."

A line appeared between the older woman's brows.
"What's that supposed to mean, Miss?"