Girl and villain | Romance novel | Episode 23 | Sahir Studio

Girl and villain

 Romance novel

By Kim Lawrence

Episode 23:

Ignoring all her protests and claims that she was not
tired at all, Theo led Beth to the bedroom door.
Closing the door behind him, she heard the trill of a
bell. Her nanny must have come. To ask Muriel to
stay with her for the night was, of course, a foolish
idea, but if Theo had wandered on something in his
head, he stood his ground up to the last. At such
moments, a steel rod appeared, on which the

remaining traits of his character were strung.
But to think, it is precisely such a person that
is needed nearby in a difficult situation.

Having fallen on the bed, Beth was firmly convinced
that her eyes would not sleep until morning.
The next time, she opened her eyes after five hours
and saw sunlight shining through the lowered
curtains and falling slanting rays onto her bed.
Not trusting her watch, Beth looked at the wall,
but they showed the same thing. She only remembered
how her head touched the pillow, and she closed her
eyes for a moment. The moment when she could not
think about anything, not remember.

She forced herself to get out of bed, went into the
bathroom and splashed ice water on her face, trying
to gather her strength. Water wiped from her face not
only drowsiness, but also the remnants of makeup,
leaving only dark circles under the eyes and
frightening pallor of the skin.

With a grimace of disgust, she threw off her crumpled
clothes, which she did not have enough strength to
sleep before going to bed, and stood in the shower.
She had no desire to think about what to wear, so she

simply threw a bathrobe over her clothes. Leaving the
room, she smelled freshly brewed coffee, indicating
that her nanny was still here. But now, Beth was least
of all ready for the joy of human communication, which
means that Muriel needs to be convinced that she is
already all right and that she can go home. But the
prepared speech lumped up in Beth's throat when she
saw that the Vicar’s wife, and Theo, didn’t manage her
kitchen.

He was sitting at a laptop, laying out some documents
on the dining table, and, apparently, worked
productively.

- What are you doing here? - Beth breathed in
amazement, not believing her own eyes.
“I thought you needed to be at work.”

- For today I had several appointments.
They have been canceled.

Theo did not see the need to explain that it was he who
had canceled them, since she might misunderstand
him. He did not do this for purely practical reasons:
after weighing everything, he realized that the
meetings would not be very productive if all his
thoughts were about Beth, who was left alone in
this huge old house. Not that he felt responsible for
her, but to leave now and leave her alone seemed
completely unacceptable to him.

- And Muriel?

Beth looked perplexedly at the room that was being
last renovated, it seemed, even under Queen Victoria,
as if she expected the vicar's wife to be hiding in the
sideboard.

- She had to urgently return home. One of her children
fell and injured.

“That must be George.” He is only ten years old, but he
is a real natural disaster. Hope nothing serious?

“No, don't worry.” Theo closed his laptop and started
collecting papers. “Muriel asked me to tell you that if
you want, her stepsister will stay with you for the night.”

Beth herself understood that it was stupid to be angry
at people who only wish her well and worry about her,
but could not help herself.

“Very nice of her, but now I would like to be alone a
little.” I have a lot to figure out.

“It's just that people worry about you.”

Beth gritted her teeth. Now he had to politely nod
and leave, why didn’t he take this opportunity?
What keeps him here? Obviously not a desire to
spend more time in her company.

“I am very grateful for your help,” she said, without
raising her eyes. “But I'm really doing fine.”

Theo glanced across the girl's face, peering into
sharpened features, and his black eyebrows converged
on the bridge of his nose. She didn’t look good.
She was collected, stubborn, tried to control herself
and not show emotions, but pain was splashing in her
bottomless green eyes, and sensual lips were
compressed in a thin line.

He had no doubt that Beth could survive, cope

with the grief that fell upon her, but he still did
not want to leave her alone in this huge old house,
where every thing, every creaky floorboard reminded
Beth of her loss.

“But this house ...”

Feeling critical notes in his voice, Beth crossed her
arms over her chest in a protective gesture and

proudly lifted her chin. She did not even let him
finish her thought.

- My house and I have already spent a lot of time
together.

Theo imagined how she returned every evening after
work to this empty, dilapidated building, and shook his
head:

“It's just crazy.”

Beth looked at him and saw all the heartless people
who persuaded her to sell this house, who thought
only about money, about bare, indifferent figures, and
not about the feelings that filled this place.

“I think you think it would be better if I sell this house,
they will restore it and divide it into several pretty
apartments, and instead of the garden they will make
parking?” Her voice trembled with anger.

- Is it possible? Theo inquired, to whom this seemed a
perfectly adequate solution to the problem.

- Only over my dead body!

- Is it better to live in this ruin, which, look at that,
will collapse on your head?

- No need to dramatize.

Theo was surprised to see the changes that had
suddenly occurred in Beth. Helplessness and self-pity
disappeared, a confident woman stood in front of him,
ready to fight for what was dear to her. Her back
became incredibly straight, her shoulders straightened,
her body language changed.

If, angry with him, she feels better, well, let him get
angry, he does not mind.

He picked up the tip of his boot off the floor of the
board.