Page 17 of An Arranged Betrothal with a Beast
“Yes,” Abigail answered, speaking carefully for fear that the lady would grow angrier with her still though she still could not understand the reason for her wrath. “This news has only just been announced which may be – ”
“My daughter, Lady Clara, was engaged to him.”
Abigail blinked, a little confused as to what the lady meant.
“There was every intention of them returning together, as they had done before,” Lady Templeton continued, her voice a harsh whisper as she shook one finger in Abigail’s face. “And yet you have usurped her! You have taken her place without so much as a single consideration as to whatshewas expecting to gain from Lord Crestwood. How can you do such a thing?”
Looking helplessly to Lady Chesterton, Abigail turned her attention to the furious lady in front of her. “Lady Templeton, I am afraid that I have very little idea as to what you mean. Lord Crestwood has not spoken of your daughter and – ”
“Well he wouldn’t, would he, since the ending of their engagement came about so abruptly! Clara was a little overwhelmed by his injuries, that was all. I am sure that any gentleman, anyladycould understand that! They were to return together to their engagement, however, andyouhave put yourself in the way of that.”
“Mother!”
An exclamation caught not only Abigail’s attention but the attention of many others near them. Lady Templeton turned, only for a young lady to move forward and grasp her arm.
“What have you been saying to Miss Townsend?” she hissed, her face white as she looked to Abigail. “Miss Townsend, I must apologise. My mother is simply desperate for me to wed and is quite determined that I should return to what I have already chosen to give up.” Dropping into a curtsy, she offered a smile which, Abigail noticed, wobbled violently. “My hearty congratulations.”
“I thank you,” Abigail murmured, still heartily confused by what had taken place. The young lady began to pull her mother away but Lady Templeton refused to be led. Wrenching her arm from her daughter’s grip, she came close to Abigail again, though this time, her voice was barely louder than a whisper.
“If you haveanydecency within you, if you have even the smallest hint of consideration and sympathy, then you will step away from Lord Crestwood and permit my daughter to take her place by his side. I can only hope you have a kind heart, Miss Townsend.”
With that, she stepped away, keeping her head high as she marched across the floor away from them. Abigail watched, her heartaching as Lady Chesterton slipped her arm through hers and then walked in the opposite direction, taking Abigail with her.
“Everyone is looking so do keep a smile fixed in place until we can reach the corner of the ballroom,” Lady Chesterton murmured, as Abigail’s heart began to sink lower and lower. “Did you know about Lady Templeton’s intentions as regarded her daughter’s return to the Earl of Crestwood?”
Hearing the lack of surprise in Lady Chesterton’s voice, Abigail looked at her quickly. “No I did not. Did you?”
Her friend nodded and drew her to sit down at a table in a quieter corner of the room. One or two ladies turned to look at them both but Abigail merely smiled at them and then waited until they turned their heads away and left her to converse with Lady Chesterton in peace.
“Yes, I did.” Lady Chesterton shook her head and sighed. “I mayhap ought to have shared this with you but I did not for I did not think it was particularly important. It was only whispered about between a few young ladies of late and I perchance overheard one of the conversations. Lady Templeton appears to want her daughter to return to her engagement and Lady Clara was, from what I understood, amenable to the idea – although now I believe that last part to be false.”
“It certainly did appear as though Lady Templeton was not pleased by Lady Clara’s decision.”
“And Lady Clara was not pleased by her mother’s interruptions,” Abigail added, with Lady Chesterton nodding her agreement. “I do wonder if Lord Crestwood knows of this.”
Lady Chesterton hesitated. “I suspect that he might. I do know there was a visit from Lady Templeton and Lady Clara to his residence lately.
“I see.” Abigail let out a small sigh. “I would have preferred to hear about this from him rather than being caught in the middle of the ballroom by a visibly angry lady.”
“Then you should tell him that.”
Abigail frowned, her heart beginning to settle now that the moment had passed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you should tell Lord Crestwood what you have just told me,” her friend explained. “There is nothing wrong with stating that very same thing to him as you have said to me. Husband and wife need to be able to share everything with each other and if Lady Templeton has suggested this to him then it is only fair for him to inform you of it.”
Abigail smiled ruefully. “We have not had much opportunity for conversation,” she murmured, looking back out at the crowd. “There is a contract to be signed very soon and he has already informed me that our marriage is nothing more than a business arrangement and that, to hismind, very little will change in his life.” Her shoulders lifted and then fell, a slight heaviness about her eyes. “There is not to be any intimacy between us in that regard, Harriet. I do not think he will be at all interested in what I have to say.”
“Tell him nonetheless,” her friend insisted. “You must get to know Lord Crestwood, even if it is only alittlebetter than you know him at present. And that begins by being entirely honest.”
Abigail considered this, aware of the knot in her stomach as she thought of what it would be like to talk directly and honestly to Lord Crestwood. Already, she could picture the way his gaze would drift from hers, how his mouth would pull tight as she spoke of her upset and how his jaw might set with frustration over her insistence on speaking with him. It was to be expected, she told herself, given that he did not think much of taking her as his bride but would that stop her from doing so?
“I do wish he might have let himself be open to even the smallest affection,” she found herself saying, her heart pulling low with all the weight which now stacked upon it. “Even a friendship would suit me very well but the Earl does not appear to be at all inclined towards pursuing that with me.”
“Then he is a fool.”
Abigail jumped violently, her head twisting around as a gentleman, his hands clasped behind his back and his back itself a little stooped grinned at her.
“Forgive me for eavesdropping,” he said, standing up tall now, his thick brown hair bouncing gently as he pushed it to one side of his head, his dark eyes gleaming. “I am acquainted with Lord Crestwood and was a dear friend of his for some time. I came in the hope of greeting you, Miss Townsend, and congratulating you on your engagement.” Bowing low, he put one hand to his heart. “Though I shall say nothing of what I accidentally overheard, I assure you.”
