Ada & The Earl (The Woodhouse Series #1)

Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

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*Wollaton Hall/Nottingham*

A kiss on her cheek.

A kiss on her neck.

Trailing down her body.

A delicate kiss at her naval and one on her inner thigh.

And then an array of kisses at her centre.

She was beautiful, their hands together and interlocked as she moaned his name.

"Louis..."

Her body arched, exploding for him as he kissed up her body and she pleaded to him to take her away.

And away they would go - to a whole new world.

Louis opened his eyes, suddenly and stared at the high ceiling of his bedroom.

Another dream about Ada.

It had been a week since Ada was arrested and he continued to fight an internal conflict over whether he should've done more.

He told her to leave but should he have helped her get away? Kept her hidden until it all died down and took her to the train station himself?

He was consumed by guilt for so many reasons but he was also hurt, heartbroken and angry.

How could she lie to him like this?

How could she keep it from him that she was not who she said she was?

She put his family in jeopardy - they could've been accused of harbouring a fugitive. He could've been accused of helping her escape all those times. 

But...he couldn't believe it.

He didn't want to.

Kind, caring, fearless, and beautiful Ada Carne was not a killer or an attempted killer. She was not a thief and she was not what she was being accused of. A part of him must've believed her, hence why he let her go when he could've just handed her in to the authorities. She saved his life many times, she was determined to get him home and she put herself in danger for him.

A killer would not do that.

There had to be an explanation for everything.

Louis had avoided his family for days - either through shame or anger, he wasn't sure. He awoke every morning, had his breakfast by himself and either retreated to the stables or his bedroom. His lunch and dinner were all brought to him as bottles of wine were slowly disappearing too.

Every evening, his mother stood outside his bedroom door and told him everything that had happened in the day and he appreciated it, but he also was not ready to face his family yet.

Last night, he was told the formal arrangements had been made and Christina and Clinton were formally engaged to be married.

A small dinner party had been hosted at the Clinton home the day before with only close family and friends and Louis's absence was attributed to 'illness'.

But he knew there were whispers and what happened at the ball had possibly spread amongst society. He couldn't face the looks and whispers. Mutual friends and acquaintances were all present at the ball when things fell apart - they had all seen him fall for the girl who was now accused of murder and theft and Louis was ashamed.