Lord Beast

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

10:32 pm

Dani tapped her foot impatiently. Where was he? Just what exactly was taking him so long? Obviously, something terrible must have happened to delay the odious man. What other excuse could he have to keep her waiting like this?

Then again, they hadn't really decided on a time, or a place for that matter.

Dani had just assumed he would propose to her tonight in her bedroom, doing that romantic thing he did with the flowers and the window all those nights ago.

Hmmm.

She chewed on her thumb nail, suddenly uncertain. Perhaps he assumed she would sneak out the cottage and visit him at Falmouth. Oh, damn. Now she just wasn't sure of anything and the indecision would probably cause monumental confusion for both of them. Perhaps he was waiting for her and thinking the exact same things as she, possibly deciding to go to the cottage while she acted on moving towards Falmouth.

Their paths would cross somewhere in the night and they would both reach their respective destinations and realise they had just missed each other.

Irksome, it was.

Dani heaved an impatient breath and began to pace in front of the window, occasionally glaring at the silhouette of Falmouth on the inky horizon.

She decided to wait rather than act. Let him come to her.

11:05 pm

Where the devil was he?

Maybe he broke his leg. Oh, no. The thought was too terrible to

contemplate. Rhys was quite capable not to engage in harmful behaviour on his way to her. He was, after all, quite familiar with the route into the village. Not forgetting that he had visited her several times before at the cottage. He surely must be capable enough not to meet with accident by now.

A thunderous gargling sound came from the room down the passage and Dani cringed. Even with their doors shut, her aunt and uncle's night-time symphonies resembled the mauling sounds bears made when they fought.

Hardly the ideal romantic setting Dani had envisioned, but it would have to suffice.

For the third time within the hour, she straightened the white linen on her bed and gave her pillows an extra fluff for good measure. Everything had to be just perfect. She had even made sure to pluck all the wilting blooms from the arrangement of roses on her vanity to ensure that the array looked flawless.

Mmm. But where was her perfect groom-to-be?

11:44 pm

She was going to throttle him.

Midnight

Still no sign of Rhys.

Dani had even resorted to squinting out into the darkness, attempting to make out even the smallest movement or shadow that would serve to inform her that he hadn't indeed forgotten about his assignation.

Oh, how tedious, waiting for one's own proposal. Simply preposterous.

She made a mental note to tell him off most sternly about his tardiness. A gentleman should never keep a lady on tenterhooks.

Hmmmf.

00:08 am

Dani cussed and kicked about the room in a right tantrum.

00:12 am

Realising that her behaviour a few minutes ago had been deplorable and that no lady should resort to explicit displays of vehemence no matter the circumstance, she settled for sitting stiffly on the stool of her vanity.