Chapter 6: Chapter V
Her husband was not very talkative, she decided, but she would have to find a way around that. But first… She scanned the impressive collection of tomes, some familiar while some completely unknown. She decided to start with something familiar so she picked a book of poems by Alexander Pope. She immersed herself in the verses for the next couple of hours and she barely heard one of the servants announcing she had a guest.
"Shall I tell Lord Ashton to wait in the drawing room? "The girl asked, but as soon as the world were out of her mouth, a tall and lithe gentleman passed by her and smiling , he walked towards Eva.
"Don't worry Dolores, I shall be fine here."
The girl seemed uncertain and looked at her mistress for permission. Eva just nodded in acquiescence, a bit infuriated that this gentleman would know the name of her servant while she did not.
Said gentleman quickly bowed to her and kissed her knuckles, all the while smiling mischievously at her.
"I am Lord Ashton, my lady, friends with your husband. I have to say that upon hearing he has finally renounced bachelorhood, I simply had to come and find out for myself just what kind of lady had caught his fancy."
"Well, Lord Ashton…"she said as she snatched her hand from his lips. "I suppose, with you being friends with my husband, that you must know exactly what has caught his fancy." He simply raised his eyebrows in question.
"If not, then let me enlighten you, my lord. It was not me, you see, that has caught his fancy, but my purse."
Lord Ashton looked at her in the eyes for a second before bursting out laughing.
"You are not at all what I pictured you to be, my lady"
"And what was that? Pray do tell" She asked, fully aware that he must have heard about her.
"From what Christian told me, you are quite into histrionics, but I see it is not the case as your candor earlier has proved."
"Christian?"
"Your husband"
"Ahh…" Well, she certainly made a fool of herself, not knowing her own husband's name, especially since she had barely paid attention to the wedding ceremony.
"But please, call me Robert, as we are certainly going to see a lot of each other from now on."
"Then you shall have to call me Eva. Not Eve, please, just Eva"
"Eva it is then"
"Please do sit down"
As he sat down next to her he noticed an Alexander Pope book.
"How do you like his poems? "He asked, trying to make light conversation.
He was not really sure how to tackle this particular female. Indeed, just as he had told her earlier, she was not at all what he had expected. For one, she was more than comely; his friend had not done her justice by just saying comely. She was simply put, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. And there was innocence in her, he couldn't put his finger on it but it was there, in the way she moved, the way she rested her eyes on objects, even him. He did not know what to make of her entirely. Of course he had heard the rumors as well, who in the Ton hadn't? Her father's ruse had been in vain. There was a huge scandal attached to her name, but for a creature so serene, so…maybe this was her allure. Maybe Christian was right and she was just a great actress who knew exactly how to entice a man with an air of purity and ingenuity.
He lifted the book from the sofa and read the first lines.
Prynne had talents for mankind,
Open she was, and unconfined,
Like some free port of trade:
Merchants unloaded here their freight,
And Agents from each foreign state,
Here first their entry made.
Barely had he finished the last word when he felt her stiffen. She had turned scarlet red.
"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…" he said, more at a loss of words than anything. He was an idiot, by God.
"So you have heard as well…" She whispered and put on a tight smile
"It's my fault, I am entirely sorry…I don't know what to say. I blundered badly, didn't I?"He asked, trying to shrug it off with a laugh. She seemed to be more at ease and added.
"It's all right. I should face my past; it's just that I have never been put in the situation in which a remark was made to my face. Surely I have to learn to control my emotions better if I am to make my entrance into society again."
Robert was amazed by her candor. She was no actress, this girl had suffered. He could see it in the way she avoided direct eye contact, in the way she gazed into nothingness, trying to forget. It was a feeling he knew too well. He decided at once that she would have his friendship. His friend could be so cruel when he wanted; he feared that this beauty could not take any more hurt.
He took both of her hands into his own and made her look into his eyes.
"You've been hurt my lady" He said simply and she nodded apprehensively.
"I am at your service, as a friend, if you'll have me"
She looked at him in awe and he noticed that tears glistened in her eyes. She did the most unexpected of things later. She threw herself at him and hugged him.
"Thank you... I…"she said, once she had regained a bit of her composure.
"I've never had a friend"
"Never?"
"No…"
"Then I shall be your first friend, how is that?"
She beamed at him and she tightened her hold on his hands, repeating her thanks
And that was how Christian found them.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone