Shawn had been at a bit of a loss of what to do following his days with Miss Belchant. He's been frustrated, a little bit angry, and even quite confused. He'd felt quite bad rushing away from her after the affects of the amorentia had worn off and he'd hardly left his study as a result. And then there had been Caro. He should have known she wouldn't have let him simply dwell on yet another lost love. If it was even love. He couldn't be sure anymore, especially thanks to the turn of events about the letters. Why would anyone have even thought he needed to be paired with anyone? It almost felt a cruel joke after all he'd been through during his time in Britain.
So he'd thrown himself into his work as he was apt to do. He'd worked tirelessly trying to secure the deals for the new shipyard in London. It didn't matter how hard he worked though, the deals weren't going to be finished in time to leave before the winter seas became an issue. It didn't look as if they'd be spending Christmas in Boston this year after all. Not to mention a certain dark haired beauty kept distracting him by coming back into his thoughts. And during one evening after imbibing a bit much on some bourbon, he found himself in Caro's company and unable to get away from her. She made it quite clear that he needed to pull his head out from the water and do something about the obvious feelings that still seemed to linger. He'd finally gotten her to leave when he said they'd be staying in London through at least the spring and then he'd been left with his own thoughts.
Was there more to what he felt for Miss Belchant?
Had there been a grain of truth to the love tainted letters?
Or was it all just curiosity of what could have been?
It took a few more weeks but Shawn finally decided he needed to at least speak with her. And in person. He needed to apologize, even. Surely she was struggling herself, right? Or maybe she'd forgotten and moved on the moment he'd all but fled from their picnic. He didn't know but he needed to know.
Dressed in a simple black suit with no embellishments, he followed the familiar pathway that lead up to her cottage. He'd forgone flowers this time, unsure if they'd be welcomed or not. He had been rehearsing what he'd say the whole way there, walking a bit slower than usual out of fear and worry for how this interaction was going to go. But then he found himself face to face with the woman that had plagued his thoughts, and even his dreams, since he'd left her a month prior. All words he'd rehearsed in his mind fled him in that very moment as he took the sight of her in.
The morning fog cast an eeriness around her but there was no mistaking the dark hair or big dark eyes staring at him. "Miss Belchant," he said simply, American accent tentative as he regarded her from a close but still respectable distance, "I thought perhaps we might need to talk."
So he'd thrown himself into his work as he was apt to do. He'd worked tirelessly trying to secure the deals for the new shipyard in London. It didn't matter how hard he worked though, the deals weren't going to be finished in time to leave before the winter seas became an issue. It didn't look as if they'd be spending Christmas in Boston this year after all. Not to mention a certain dark haired beauty kept distracting him by coming back into his thoughts. And during one evening after imbibing a bit much on some bourbon, he found himself in Caro's company and unable to get away from her. She made it quite clear that he needed to pull his head out from the water and do something about the obvious feelings that still seemed to linger. He'd finally gotten her to leave when he said they'd be staying in London through at least the spring and then he'd been left with his own thoughts.
Was there more to what he felt for Miss Belchant?
Had there been a grain of truth to the love tainted letters?
Or was it all just curiosity of what could have been?
It took a few more weeks but Shawn finally decided he needed to at least speak with her. And in person. He needed to apologize, even. Surely she was struggling herself, right? Or maybe she'd forgotten and moved on the moment he'd all but fled from their picnic. He didn't know but he needed to know.
Dressed in a simple black suit with no embellishments, he followed the familiar pathway that lead up to her cottage. He'd forgone flowers this time, unsure if they'd be welcomed or not. He had been rehearsing what he'd say the whole way there, walking a bit slower than usual out of fear and worry for how this interaction was going to go. But then he found himself face to face with the woman that had plagued his thoughts, and even his dreams, since he'd left her a month prior. All words he'd rehearsed in his mind fled him in that very moment as he took the sight of her in.
The morning fog cast an eeriness around her but there was no mistaking the dark hair or big dark eyes staring at him. "Miss Belchant," he said simply, American accent tentative as he regarded her from a close but still respectable distance, "I thought perhaps we might need to talk."