Page 44 of Dangerous Games of a Broken Lady
“Miss Green has arrived at my doorstep, and she wishes to speak with me,” he said excitedly. “I did not quite know how to respond, so I told her we might speak here… with you as a chaperone.”
Adelaide grimaced. The timing could not have been worse. She had all these secrets swimming around in her head, with nobody to vent them to. Ordinarily, that duty would have fallen to Jasper. For obvious reasons, they had been forced to remain inside her brain, unspoken and building in pressure.
“That is a terrible idea,” she complained.
“Please, my dearest friend,” he urged. “This may be my one chance to make amends, and to assure her of my admiration and affection.”
She paused, taking a moment to look into his eyes. It wounded her to see his boyish excitement. The more she thought about it, the more Adelaide wondered how genuine Leah’s affections were. All night, she had tossed and turned, trying to decipher Leah’s true intentions. After all, if she truly loved Jasper, no amount of external coercing or doubts would be able to drive her away from him.
Something did not add up.
Still, she had to give Jasper his chance.
“Fine… you may bring her in here,” Adelaide relented. “I will sit here, with my book, in complete silence. You may converse as though I am elsewhere—I promise I will not interject.”
Although, it will be hard not to,she added silently.You think Reuben is woefully unsuitable. Perhaps, neither of us has made the greatest choice.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He grasped her hands and lifted them to his lips, planting an excitable kiss on her bare skin. The action took her by surprise. His lips were rough, but not unpleasant. She could feel the grazed tingle long after he’d disappeared back out into the hall.
How bizarre, she mused. Brushing it off as half-crazed weariness, she padded back over to her cozy armchair and returned to her book. There was no way she’d be able to read a single line, not with Leah in the room.
A few minutes later, Jasper and Miss Green entered the library. She barely paid Adelaide an iota of attention, before sinking into one of the deep leather sofas that lay parallel to the fireplace. Jasper, meanwhile, sat on a comically small stool, propriety keeping him from sitting beside her. As woeful as the situation was, Adelaide had to stifle a laugh. He looked like an awkward child, his knees almost up to his chin.
“I hope you do not mind that I have asked Adelaide to chaperone?” Jasper broke the silence. “I know there have been some tensions between you, of late, but I trust such things are behind you?”
Miss Green shrugged. “I do not mind if she is here. She seems to always be wherever you are.” The bitterness in her voice was undeniable.
Oh dear… this is not going to end well.
“That is somewhat unfair, Miss Green.”
Leah shot him a look. “You see, you call her Adelaide, yet you call me Miss Green. It is highly perplexing.”
“My apologies, Miss Green. I do not know you as well as I know Lady Adelaide, though I hope we may continue to better our acquaintance of one another?”
She paused. “You wish to be my friend, Lord Gillett?”
“Why… I rather think I do,” he replied stiffly.
“Onlymy friend?”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “I do not understand, Miss Green. You must forgive me.”
Adelaide had to grip the side of the armchair. The conversation had barely begun, and already it was unbearable. All she wanted to do was hurry over to him and interpret Leah’s meaning, so he could better understand. The poor boy was entirely baffled.
“I have asked nothing of you, Lord Gillett. I have been quiet and patient, biding my time. In the beginning, I had no doubt in my mind that you were the sort of gentleman that any young lady might be fortunate to marry,” she explained coolly. “As the weeks wore on, doubts did begin to find their way into my thoughts.”
“That I am ungentlemanly?” he replied, still clearly confused.
Let her finish,Adelaide urged.
“No, I still believe any young lady would be fortunate to wed you,” Miss Green went on. “The doubt lies in your affection towards me. I am a shy, modest girl. I have done all I can to convey the depth of my feelings towards you, without causing myself embarrassment or disrepute. And yet, you have done nothing in return. You show Adelaide far greater affection than you have ever shown to me.”
“I do no such thing, Miss Green,” he said defiantly. “I hardly show Adelaide any affection at all.”
Oh, you fool. Focus on her, not me. Please, I beg of you, for both of our sakes.
“You are a closed book to me, Lord Gillett!” Miss Green’s voice cut through the air, shrill and angry.
