Page 44 of The Truth about the Marquess
“Do not say that.” The tenderness in her voice made Oliver’s eyes open, a slight frown flicking across his forehead as he looked back at the lady, still trying to ascertain who she was. “There is still hope.”
“Hope?” Oliver shook his head. “No, my Lady. Despite your best attempts to help me – help which I have highly valued and wanted to thank you for – it seems as though I have lost the interest of both ladies that I have been considering. There can be no hope with either of them although, I should say, I do not find myself greatly sorrowful over it.” Quite why he was telling her such things, Oliver did not know, but there was something about their connection – albeit through letter writing only – that made him feel as though he could be quite open with her. “ButI do thank you for your desire to come and tell me about Miss Leverton before someone in thetonthought to do so.”
“I am relieved that I caught you before it was spoken of to you by another,” came the answer, a softness in her tone that made Oliver’s breath catch, a little unsure as to why he felt such a strength in his connection to the lady when he had never met her in person before. “Lord Edenbridge, I must ask you… that is, I must tell you–”
“Ah, Lord Edenbridge! There you are.”
The door swung open, and Oliver turned quickly, seeing a gentleman by the name of Lord Tertford hurry towards him. Inwardly, he groaned, seeing the broad grin on the gentleman’s face, quite sure he knew why the man was smiling.
“Lord Tertford,” he began, turning back so that he might introduce the lady with the peacock feathers in her hair – even though he did not know her name – only to see an empty space where she had been standing. “I – yes, well.” Clearing his throat, he forced a smile. “You have come, no doubt, to inform me that Miss Leverton has eloped, yes?”
The smile on Lord Tertford’s face immediately began to fade.
“Well, yes, that was what I had come to speak to you about. But you are already aware of it, it seems.”
Oliver kept his smile pinned in place.
“Yes, I am. Though it is no great sorrow to me.”
“No?” Lord Tertford’s expression grew into one of astonishment. “I am surprised. I would have thought that you might be brokenhearted! After all, it was clear to some of us that you were interested in pursuing the lady, but now, it seems, she is gone from you and that can no longer be!”
“I am well used to being rejected,” Oliver answered, in what he hoped was a somewhat careless tone. “This is simply another who does not think well of me, I suppose.”
“And is there any other that you might turn to?”
Oliver frowned, seeing the glint which came into the gentleman’s eye. He certainly was not about to admit anything to him!
“I have been giving a good deal of my time to Miss Leverton, as you are aware,” he said, omitting any mention of Lady Henrietta for fear that the gentleman had not heard about his interest in that lady also. “I have not had time nor desire to pursue any other and therefore, I can tell you quite truthfully that I have no one else in mind.” He let out what he hoped sounded like a small, melancholy sigh. “Indeed, I think that I shall now enjoy the rest of the Season without pursuing any young lady and, thereafter, make my way back to my estate. Mayhap next Season, I shall find myself a little more fortunate!”
“Indeed.” Lord Tertford offered a small, wry smile, but to Oliver’s eyes, clearly looked a little disappointed which, in turn, brought him a good deal of relief. With any luck, this would turn the gentleman from him entirely and there would be no more gossip spread about him. “There is always hope, Lord Edenbridge.”
With an insincere smile, Lord Tertford bowed and then stepped back towards the ballroom door, leaving Oliver to follow. He did glance over his shoulder, wondering where the lady with the peacock feathers had gone, but he could see not even the smallest glimpse of her. A little frustrated that their conversation had come to an end so quickly before it had even begun, Oliver made his way back into the ballroom, no longer as happy nor as contented as he had been at the start.
Chapter Eighteen
“You must tell me why you are so melancholy.” Jane could only smile briefly as she walked, arm in arm, with Lady Guilford. She could not give her any answer, for her heart was too pained and sore for her to speak freely. “You did not tell Lord Edenbridge the truth, then?” her friend pressed, albeit in a gentle manner. “You did not have the opportunity, or you did not have the courage?”
The words smarted a little, but Jane merely accepted the feeling.
“I did not have the opportunity, though I am not certain that I would have had the courage, should it have come to it.”
“Then you must simply tell him now!”
The idea seemed so simple, Jane considered, but it held so much depth, so muchpain,that she could not even contemplate it.
“No, Louisa. I cannot.”
“Why?”
The view of Hyde Park blurred as tears rushed into Jane’s vision.
“Please, Louisa.” The words were tight and broken, her emotions growing to such a swell that she could not contain them, not even here in public. “I cannot.”
“Jane!”
Seemingly astonished by Jane’s outward expression of anguish, Lady Guilford stopped walking for a moment, turned to look Jane straight in the eye, and then, after scrutinizing her, led her to a bench nearby. Jane sat obediently, knowing that her friend wanted her to explain, and feeling the desire within her to tell all, in the hope that it might bring her some relief.
“He did not recognize me,” she began before Lady Guilford could begin asking questions. “I was going to tell him, truly, I was, but then we were interrupted by another gentleman.” She dropped her gaze to her hands resting in her lap, squeezing her eyes closed tightly so that the tears in her eyes would fade just a little. All the same, her breath shuddered out of her, her words shaking as she spoke. “I heard him tell this gentleman that he had no thought of any other, that there was no interest for him in any lady in theton. I hid myself away the moment that this other gentleman arrived, so that he would not see me talking with a gentleman alone, but all the same, I heard everything.”
