Page 81 of The Scholar's Key
“No,” Faith said, shaking her head. “It hurt my pride far too much. I did not want him to know how much he had hurt me. I didn’t want anyone to know. It was far easier to pretend that it had never happened.”
“I see,” Percy said softly. “It must be hard, having to see him time and again when we all gather.”
“Yes, it is,” Faith said. “It is hard. I want nothing to do with him, and yet I also look forward to seeing him every time. I believe I am as angry with myself as I am with him. How terrible is that?”
“Not terrible at all,” Percy said, shaking her head. “Human emotion is a fickle thing.”
“And now, after everything that we have all done – Cassandra and Lord Covington, my sister and Lord Whitehall, you and Mr. Rowley – we are going to trusthim, the greatest rogue among us, with solving the next clue? This means so much to Lord Ashford and his family. What if he makes a mess of this?”
Percy shrugged. “If Lord Ashford is putting his faith in him, I suppose we must as well.”
“I don’t like it,” Faith said, shaking her head. “I don’t like it at all.”
“Well,” Percy said with a shrug, “there is nothing we can do about it.”
“Perhaps,” Faith murmured with a gleam in her eye that worried Percy. “Perhaps not.”
* * *
It waswith some sadness that they all said their farewells a few nights later. Noah was particularly going to miss his brother, and he could tell Percy was forcing her smile for her friends.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, turning and cupping her face in his hands when they headed back inside.
“It’s just that we all used to see one another so often, and now it is so uncertain when we will see one another again. It used to be that we always knew we would all be back in London when the season began, but now with Cassandra expecting a baby and Hope leaving to travel with her husband, it could be some time until we all come together once more.”
“I promise you that we will always make every effort to see them, whenever you wish,” Noah said, wiping a tear away from her cheek.
“Thank you,” Percy said with a grateful smile.
Besides Lord Ashford and Lord and Lady Covington, they would be the last to leave. They had finally heard back from Percy’s family, and her parents offered to come to them before beginning preparations for their wedding. As expected, Percy’s mother seemed quite overjoyed by their betrothal, if one could read into her words on paper. Noah still suspected Percy’s father would not be quite as pleased as he would have been with Lord Stephen, but it seemed his daughter’s happiness did count for something.
“I am still intrigued as to how this is all going to end,” Noah said as they walked up the stairs. He would see her to her bedchamber and then continue to his own – although there was a good chance that one of them would sneak into the room of the other once all were abed. “It shall be interesting to see what my brother does with all of this.”
“Yes,” Percy said, wishing she could tell Noah more but remembering her promise to Faith. “He has an interest in Faith, does he not?”
“He does,” Noah said with a chuckle. “He will not speak much of it, however. I believe he told her once that he intended to marry her, and for whatever reason, she was not pleased with his pursuit.”
“And yet,” Percy mused, “neither one of them has yet married another.”
“No, not yet,” Noah said, “although Eric seems to have plenty of ladies to keep him company.”
“But not Faith.”
“No, not Lady Faith.”
“Well,” she said when they came to her door as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I am most happy that is not something of which to worry myself over. For I have found my love and we will never hide it from one another again.”
“Never,” he promised. “I love you, Percy.”
“And I love you, Noah,” she said.
“Who would have thought when we began this crazy treasure hunt that it would unlock the key to my heart?”
“Who would have thought,” she mused, smiling at him. “Although I could have told you that I was the key a lot earlier had you allowed it.”
“If only I had listened,” he said ruefully.
“Well, you have trust in us now,” she said, planting a kiss on his lips. “And that is all that matters.”
