Page 11 of The Duke's Last Dance
“I see…” Lord Lockhart frowned. “Anything else?”
“’Tis a good story, Lord Lockhart.” She bit her tongue to hold the next phrase from coming out.
She wanted to yell at him, tell him about how devastated she had been to find out that he had left for the Navy without so much as a goodbye. Of course, all she had found out was that he had gone off to the Navy. She had never received a single letter from him as he was on his travels, and she would have appreciated at least one to tell her what he had been thinking.
Dinner turned into a silent affair. Lord Lockhart stole glances at her, but he seemed to think that she would not notice.
She did notice, and she did not know how she felt about them. There was not a lot she could do about what had happened, and she hurt. She still hurt at the thought of the way he had up and gone to the Navy without any kind of notice to her.
Had her feelings only been a toy for him to play with and throw out like an old doll when he was done?
She hoped not, for his sake. If that was how he saw her feelings, it was probably how he would see any other woman’s feelings. No woman would marry a man like that if they could help it.
“Come, let us go to the drawing room, Catherine, Miss Juliet.” Her mother’s voice broke her thoughts.
Catherine had barely eaten a thing, and now dinner was over. She could not argue with societal conventions, however, and she followed her mother to the drawing room.
The men were left to drink and discuss business – probably having Nicolas tell more stories about his travels and Edward and her father sharing their own stories about their travels across England in the three years he had been away – and Catherine was glad to be away from Lord Lockhart for a while.
Catherine took a seat in the drawing room, and Miss Juliet sat beside her. Her mother sat in one of the armchairs across the room.
“That was an interesting dinner. I wonder what could have caused Lord Lockhart to become quiet like that,” Miss Juliet mused.
Catherine only nodded. She knew her reaction to his story had probably been the reason he had gone quiet, but she did not want to say anything about it out loud. Her mother would scold her, and Miss Juliet might think her miserly with her affections if she were to say something.
“I suppose he has had a long few days. Perhaps he has already told all the stories once and wanted to have some time before he said anything more,” her mother wondered. “I suppose there is nothing we can do about it now, but I do hope he is willing to share more stories soon. The elephant with its trunk is a good story. What did you think of it, Catherine?”
“I believe it was a good story, but I do not know what I think of the elephant’s antics. Nor do I have an opinion on Lord Lockhart’s attitude about the elephant,” Catherine responded.
She did her best to keep her voice from giving away that something was wrong.
“I see.” Her mother pursed her lips. “Catherine, you look pale… is something wrong?”
There wentthatplan.
“No, Mother, though I suppose if I look pale, it could only be a matter of minutes before something were to happen,” Catherine replied. “Perhaps it is best if I excuse myself for the night.”
“Do not excuse yourself, please, Lady Catherine,” Miss Juliet said. “I want you to stay if you can. If nothing feels amiss yet, is there harm in staying in the drawing room?”
“Miss Juliet is right. Besides, I do not want you fainting on the stairs. You will sit here until the men are done, and we will have your brother help you up the stairs,” her mother added. “That is final. Do you understand me, Catherine?”
“Yes, Mother. I understand.” She did not know how she felt about it, but Catherine knew better than to argue about it.
Thankfully, whatever had happened to make her face pale meant that she was no longer expected to participate as fully in the conversation as she might otherwise have been expected to. She sat back on the couch, unsure of what else to do.
Why had Lord Lockhart been invited to tonight’s dinner?
Perhaps that was what had caused her face to pale, seeing him again and realizing that he had only changed in face. He was still the same exuberant, bright young man that had left for the Navy three years ago, but now, he was oblivious to how she felt. He looked at her as if nothing had happened, as if he had not left without any kind of warning.
Catherine pressed her lips together and took in a deep breath through her nose. She was not about to allow Lord Lockhart that power over her any longer. He lost it the moment he had left her without word.
She was looking forward to the Season, she reminded herself. She would debut, and she would meet many potential suitors over the course of the Season. If Lord Lockhart was here to care for his father, then he would not be participating as fully in the Season as he could be.
That, to some degree, was helpful to remember.
Regardless, she did not listen to the discussion that her mother and Miss Juliet were having. It centered on Lord Lockhart, and she did not want to worry about what he did or said or what he thought of her. She was simply going to enjoy the fact that she could debut into society and no one but herself and Lord Lockhart would know about the broken promise between them.
Eventually, dinner did end, and her father and Lord Radcliff helped her up to her room. Miss Juliet bade Lord Radcliff good night as he passed through the room, saying that it was important to help Catherine to her room than escort her out.
