Page 48 of The Lady Who Said No to the Duke
‘Are we quarrelling, Thea?’Hal said softly.
She swallowed.‘It feels as if we are.’
‘I have always thought that there has to be some…feeling between people who quarrel.’
‘And I had thought that we were friends.Before.’
‘Can we not still be friends?’he asked.
But I don’twantto be friends.I want to be lovers.I want to marry you.
‘Yes, of course we can,’ Thea said.
There must have been something in her tone, or perhaps her expression, because the smile was no longer in his eyes.‘But you have not forgiven me, have you?I do not mean the twig comment,’ he added.‘No, do not answer, I do not think I have forgiven myself, so why should you?’
That sounded bitter.Thea lifted one hand, perhaps to reach out, but Hal glanced over her shoulder and said, ‘Your groom appears concerned.I think I should leave.Good day to you, Lady Thea.’He touched his whip to the brim of his hat and rode away, the big grey mare surging into a canter as though her rider could not put distance between them fast enough.
Thea sat watching as horse and man grew smaller and finally vanished behind some distant trees.
‘My lady?You’ll become chilled if you stay still much longer.’It was Hopkins, and she had not even heard him ride up beside her.
What had just happened?Had Hal been close to saying that he still wanted to marry her for more than her ‘eligibility’?
Could she summon up enough courage to show him that she wanted him too?Had she enough courage to risk rejection?
* * *
Hal told himself not to look back.It felt as though he had broken something and he had no idea what, or how he had done it.Or what he wanted from Thea.For Thea.A friend, yes.A wife?She would be perfect, except for the small matter of her not wanting to marry him.
The idea of an arranged marriage, a ‘suitable’ marriage, had never concerned him before, not that he had given it much thought, not until he had seen it through Thea’s eyes.
So, friendship, yet somehow that no longer seemed enough.
Chapter Fifteen
‘Have you been listening to a word I have been saying, Thea?’
‘I am sorry, Mama.I was distracted.’She took a sip of coffee and attempted to look alert and attentive.
Mama gestured irritably at a footman who hastened to remove her breakfast plate.
‘More toast, my lady?’
‘Thank you, no.You may leave us.’
Thea, who would have welcomed another slice of toast because she had no recollection of having eaten anything, waited patiently for whatever pronouncement required the absence of staff.
‘This afternoon is the Dowager Duchess of Langridge’s At Home.’
‘Yes, Mama?’Thea vaguely recalled something unusual about the invitation.‘Her new conservatory?’
‘Exactly.It is not so much a space for plants, one understands, as a gallery to display part of the late Duke’s collection of Classical statuary.’
‘Fascinating,’ Thea said, assuming that was what was required of her.
‘A dead bore,’ her mother retorted.‘However, it is another excellent occasion to meet eligible gentlemen, andthere will be more opportunity to converse in broad daylight with no music except perhaps a harpist, and no dancing.I think you will show to advantage in that new jonquil afternoon gown—a ray of sunshine against those cold marble statues,’ she added with an untypical burst of lyricism.
‘Now, all the people one would wish to see will be attending, given that it is Daphne Langridge and she is related to absolutelyeveryonewho matters,’ Mama said complacently.
