Page 53 of The Marquis, the Minx, and the Mistletoe
Heloise put her arm around Tia's shoulders and patted them with resolute and well-intended British awkwardness. "What did the letter say?" she asked soothingly, once the sobs had begun to come farther apart.
"My father writes that all is well and to come home. He says I can still marry the baron."
She felt Hel stiffen in surprise, as though this were the opposite of what anyone expected of her family.
"So you have options?" Heloise prompted.
"Do I? It felt as though I had options before, when I was ruined. Now I must trod home like a whipped child and have my punishment. I can't bear it!"
"But Moorvale proposed to you," Heloise protested, scooting back so that she could look at Tia in the eye ... and likely also to cease the flow of tears onto her sleeve. "You may choose him instead of your father. I daresay that would be the most sensible choice."
"I thought I had! I thought that's what I did when I ran. It's like I told him, I don't have the strength to do it twice."
"You only have to do it twice if you ride all the way back to Norwich and set up another wedding date to flee from!" Heloise clicked her tongue, tapping Tia beneath her chin so that she might straighten up. "I have it on good authority that he truly did intend to propose to you, regardless of the machinations of the Royal Mail. Tonight, in fact, though I imagine if this is how you reacted to the first proposal, he is now questioning that plan."
Tia stared at Heloise and Heloise stared resolutely back. She felt, for just a moment, a buoyant leap in her heart, a flash of hope where before there had only been devastation. Had he truly wished to marry her properly, even when they all thought she was in utter disgrace? And he had told the others! That was something a man did out of pride, not pity.
"I may have reacted horribly," Tia said, willing herself to still her quivering chin. "I certainly did."
Heloise sighed, an expression of relief seemingly flashing over her features as she reached out and patted Tia's leg. "It's all right. If Callum had listened to every rejection I ever issued him, I'd be a sad old spinster until my dying day. Love makes us act foolish."
"How did you fix it?" Tia flung this question at the other woman like a fishing net, desperate to find an answer, to pull a solution from the mind of one who had been in the same stormy sea. "What do I do?"
Heloise laughed. "Well, you could just talk to him and apologize," she suggested, then laughed again at the expression of distaste on Tia's face. "Yes, I suppose you have always had a preference for the more fantastical approach. What if you helped him find his star, and happened to apologize along the way?"
"Do you know where another one is?" she asked hopefully.
"I know where the perfect one is," Heloise assured her with a little smirk. "Come with me. I will show you."
* * *
Sheldon woke with a pounding headache.
He groaned, rolling onto his side without first checking for Echo's positioning, and put an elbow right in her ribs, resulting in a canine screech and a nip of admonishment on his arm.
"I'm sorry!" he grumbled, frowning. "Come here, you big baby."
She whined and dropped her head into his lap while he got his bearings, rubbing the soreness above his eyebrows. He hadn't had a single sip of liquor last night, so God only knew where this pain had come from. He yawned, his jaw creaking open, and he realized that he had slept the whole night with his teeth clenched tightly together, the muscles in his jaw cracking and groaning at finally being free of this task.
Fool.
He stood abruptly, eliciting another sound of protest from his dog, and walked across the guest room to splash his face with cold water. He did not want to think about how last night had ended. It had been utterly perfect up until those last few moments ... perhaps he shouldn't have pressed her about the letter. He had ruined everything.
He winced, stretching his jaw back and forth to loosen the ragged muscles within and glanced at the bedside clock. He had missed breakfast by a wide margin. Well, wasn't that just perfect? His stomach growled and gurgled as though to punish him further. He dearly hoped that luncheon would be a hearty one.
He did not bother to sculpt his beard, nor to check his appearance before leaving the room, thinking only of having a quick bite and finding a way to alert the other men to the disruption of his plans for this evening, lest they set up the entire embarrassing ordeal and force Tia and Sheldon to go through their row again.
Christ.
He squared his shoulders and pried the door open, telling himself he must simply weather this latest disaster as he had many others, and found himself face-to-face with Tatiana Everstead, her pale hand half raised to knock upon his door. So stunned was he that he had to quickly dodge the hurling weight of his dog, who was simply thrilled to see her new favorite person at their doorstep, especially after being so abused by her master this morning.
Tia gave a cautious smile, reaching down to scratch behind Echo's ear, but kept her eyes on Sheldon. "I've come to apologize," she said gently, "and to offer a peace."
"Were we not already at peace?" he replied coolly, well aware that it was a petty way to respond.
She gave a dry little cough of laughter and shrugged her shoulders. "I would not blame you, if you felt rather warlike toward me, after ... well, after our last encounter," she said, casting a look over her shoulder as two maids walked past.
He stepped quickly out of his room and shut the door behind him, nodding for her to follow him down the hall before they raised any other eyebrows this morning.
