Free Viridis - A Steampunk Romance by Calista Taylor Page A

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I’ve been gone a long time, and I have no claim on ye, aye? But I
swear Phoebe, the thought of ye with another man…” Anger and
jealousy tainted his voice.
    She reached out and took his hand in hers. “Soon
after it became clear that Viridis would continue to do well and
was financially stable, I took a large portion of the money and set
up a shelter for those in need. Food, a warm place to sleep,
medical care and an education. When you saw me earlier this
evening, I was just returning from there. I had gone to make sure
they weren’t in need of anything additional, fearing the cold spell
might have depleted their resources.”
    Seth let out a deep breath, then leaned in and
kissed her, his lips sweet and tender. “You’re an amazing woman,
Phoebe.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes before
continuing. “I was so worried you had found another, that last
night had meant nothing.”
    Phoebe looked down at her hands, feeling a guilty
flush rise to her cheeks.
    “What is it, my love?” Hurt clouded his eyes and his
brow furrowed with worry. “Is that not all?”
    “I’m afraid not.” She drew in a large, shaky breath.
“It’s Victor, the man I introduced you to your first night back.”
She watched a wave of emotions— anger, jealousy, hurt— cross his
face and forced herself to continue. “Nothing happened between us,
Seth. I do not think I encouraged him in any way, but was shocked
to find he had gone to Gabriel to ask for my hand in marriage.
Gabriel told Victor the decision was mine to make, and I’ve tried
to make it clear that I have no interest in marrying him, but he’s
rather persistent. I’m sure he’ll not be happy of our relationship,
and I worry about what he may do. He’s not a man used to being
denied what he wants.”
    His fists clenched. “Are ye saying ye think he’ll
hurt you? Cause if he even so much as breathes in your direction,
I’ll kill him.”
    She cupped his face in her hand, feeling the
roughness of the day’s growth of beard against her palm. It was
comforting to know he was once again, just an arm’s length away.
“No. I do not think he would wish me harm, however I do fear he’ll
try and cause you problems. I would not have mentioned it
otherwise. His proposal is not one of importance to me.”
    “Is there anything else, Phoebe? Anything at all
that I should know of? I realize that I only just returned, but I
need to know that you trust me— not only to stay in London, but
enough to be honest with me.”
    There was. Yet she could not bring herself to tell
him. It was a small matter, and though she felt it to be
insignificant and inconsequential, mentioning it would cause an
immense amount of problems. She pushed it out of her head before
she could worry too much, and hoped she made the right decision.
“There is nothing else. As for my trust, I know you are trying, but
I still cannot say. My heart is aching to say yes, however the last
year was difficult and still fresh in my mind. I want to be able to
trust you, but I’m not sure I’m ready yet. You’ve only just
returned and it is still too early for me to make such a
decision.”
    He nodded, and she could see his disappointment
though he tried his best to keep it from her. “You’ve already given
me more than I deserve.” Standing, he turned to her and said, “I
should get you home. It is late, and you’ve had a long day.”
    She felt her stomach sink at his words. The last
thing she wanted was to go home to a deafeningly quiet house and
sleep alone in a cold and empty bed, just as she had the last
fifteen months. Not wanting to be alone, she said, “Seth, please.”
She stood, her body pressed against his as she leaned towards him,
looking up into eyes she could drown in. “Let me stay.”
    Her hand reached up around his neck as she kissed
him, his lips sweet and just a little rough, tasting of brandy.
    “Phoebe.” She could hear hesitation in his voice
    “I don’t want to be