The Heiress's Scandal || Ambw

16

How he did.

Lord Yu.

How he did want to know everything about her, even details she found to be utterly useless. He smiled about them as if she spoke of healing the world's madnesses, as if her every word were a revelation.

Esinam was a quilt of interest contradictions and surprises. She knew the names of stars that glittered in the night sky and studied lectures that would make most gentlemen's eyes glaze over. Her scent was a unique blend of coconut oil steeped in the most exquisite perfume, a fragrance that was both exotic and familiar.

Adventure called to her like a promise of change and life's unexpected consequences, and freedom was the air she breathed. Yet she found equal joy in the warmth of a good novel, losing herself in worlds of paper and ink. Esinam was a wanderlust of different interests, her mind a pattern of moving mazes, feeding her knowledge and curiosity.

She found meaning in conversations that others might have deemed boring - though not all, mind you.

Even Esinam couldn't deny that some topics were a snore, capable of putting even the most ardent scholar to sleep. But those rare, uselessly, unneeded scintillating discussions that others dismissed? Those were the ones that made her feel truly alive.

And to see a man not just tolerate but actively engage in such conversations? Well, that was something truly special. It made her feel whole in a way she hadn't realized she was missing.

And here they were, doing just that.

"So you prefer cherries to grapes?" Lord Yu asked as they strolled arm-in-arm through his expansive gardens, the roads crunching softly beneath their feet.

He guided her gently around a particularly thorny bush, his hand warm and steady on her elbow. It was their third clandestine meeting in as many days, away from the prying eyes of the ton. Esinam found herself relishing these stolen moments, even as she fretted over the impropriety of it all.

"Why? Are you the grape kind of man?"

Lord Yu chuckled, the sound as rich as it was warm. "I confess, I find grapes far more... versatile. One can eat them fresh, or ferment them into the finest wines."

"Ah, but cherries," Esinam countered, pausing to pluck a blossom from a nearby tree, twirling it between her fingers, "are the fruit of poetry and romance. 'Life is just a bowl of cherries,' as they say."

Lord Yu's eyebrow arched in amusement. "Is that so? And here I thought life was more akin to a crate of sour lemons, at least according to my rather formidable Aunt."

Esinam laughed, the sound carrying on the gentle breeze. "Your aunt sounds like a delightful woman."

"Oh, she's a terror," Lord Yu replied, his eyes crinkling with fond exasperation. "She once made a footman faint simply by raising her lorgnette."

As they rounded a bend in the path, Lord Yu suddenly stopped, turning to face Esinam.

"Now, tell me more about these stars you mentioned earlier," he said, his voice eager. "The ones with the peculiar names. Betelgeuse, was it?" He knew the name. She knew he knew.

He was an intellect himself. Playing as women played when they caressed the ego of a man by knowing less. But Esinam found she rather enjoyed this game of mutual admiration and feigned ignorance..