Richards throat felt a little dry when Miss Scrimgeour - Bella - said she had paid for the room already. He was going into a room with a woman he was not related to. One he had feelings for. Apparently, Richard wasn't too much of a gentleman to not have certain thoughts briefly flicker across his imagination. It was enough to cause his cheeks to redden slightly.
He followed her down the corridor, to the room in question. He hesitated slightly - there would be no turning back from here no matter how the conversation they would have went. But it was something that needed to be resolved.
And so, Richard Gladstone, the impossibly gentlemanly gentleman, made his way into the room, his heart pounding a mile a minute. He felt like his hands should be clammy but thankfully they weren't.
graphics by Lady!