Page 52 of The Lady Was Lying
“But you didn’t dance with Lady Belinda then.”
“I did not.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“For what?” he asked.
“I should have realized sooner.” She seemed softer, maybe even calmer, and significantly less fraught than she’d been since well before they’d arrived in London. “I misunderstood your motivation for staying. I assumed you were being reckless and stubborn for no good reason.” The edges of her mouth turned up. “In my defense, I didn’t realize you’d already met her.”
“Her?”
“The woman you want to marry.”
Heat spread onto his cheeks. “You refer to Belinda.”
“Obviously.”
“But—”
She held up her hand. “I’m not blind. Do not suggest I didn’t understand what I saw this afternoon.”
“What did you see?” he asked nervously. Would the scandal sheets tomorrow show him leering at Belinda instead of Jane? Or would they completely ignore that she had been pressed against his side for the entire conversation with his mother?
“Your future wife,” she replied.
His heart stuttered. “You think?”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Am I wrong?”
“I couldn’t say.” He wished he could, but understanding Belinda was nearly impossible.
“You don’t like her?”
“It isn’t that.” He liked her very much.
“She seems different from other young ladies. I’m not sure exactly why, but Lady Elias does not like her. Told me she was loose.”
Was loose a proper descriptor? Or did Lady Elias only see what she wanted to see?
Lowering himself into the adjacent chair, he stared into the fireplace. “I cannot say whether she is loose, but Belinda has told me on more than one occasion that she is not interested in me.”
“And how many times has she told you that she is interested?”
“In marriage, never. In me…it’s complicated,” he admitted. “She wavers between reluctant and eager for my company. Sometimes she ignores me entirely, and other times she seeks me out. It’s difficult to tell whether she hates me or likes me or doesn’t care one way or another.”
“But you like her?”
“Maybe.” He straightened as soon as he spoke. “I mean, yes. In spite of the fact that she confuses me and regularly tests my patience, she is the only woman I’ve met whom I cannot ignore and look forward to seeing.” His fingers drummed a pattern on his knee. “I cannot be sure, but at times it seems as if she is trying to match me with Jane. Others as if she wants to keep us apart.”
“Hmm. Maybe she believes the scandal sheets too. Or she isn’t sure of how she feels.” Her lips pursed and she tapped her finger against them. “Why isn’t Lady Belinda married already?”
“She isn’t interested.” He wished he knew why.
“Every woman wants to marry.”
