Page 46 of Dangerous Games of a Broken Lady
“No, Lord Gillett, it isyouwho must understand,” she interjected. “I adore and admire you, and I am not ashamed to say it. I thought you might love me. I hoped you would, for then I might have found a sense of mutuality in love that I never thought possible. It appears that I was wrong. You care for me only as a friend… nothing more.”
He gripped the edges of the armrest. “What are you saying, Miss Green?”
“I am saying that I must take some time, where I may collect my thoughts,” she said solemnly. “For I fear a dream may have been shattered this very day.”
Adelaide’s heart ached for Jasper, who looked like a deer facing down the barrel of a musket. The poor fellow had no idea what was happening. Adelaide longed to cross the room and shake him by the shoulders, to get him to admit his true feelings to Leah. However, it appeared that it was all too late for that. Adelaide could not forget what she had seen in the tea rooms. Miss Green was already lining up alternative options, no doubt at her mother’s behest.
For we rarely get to marry for love,she mused.You might have succeeded in achieving that impossible dream, Leah, if you were not so desperate for that title of yours. Jasper is shy. Linger awhile longer, and you will discover that your hopes are not misplaced.
“Perhaps, you would care for some tea?” Adelaide piped up. “Then, we may all soothe our fractured nerves and speak again once our minds have had time to ponder certain matters. What say you, Jasper? Miss Green?”
Leah shot a cold look in Adelaide’s direction. “I fear it is much too late in the day for tea.”
Or too late in the day for Jasper?
“Please, Miss Green. I implore you to stay awhile.”
“No, thank you, Lady Adelaide. I have taken up enough of Lord Gillett’s time, not to mention my own.”
Adelaide rose from her chair. “I must insist, Miss Green. I am certain there is more that Jasper wishes to say.” She cast him a look of encouragement, but he did not move. He sat in his seat, staring into the licking flames of the fire.
“Apparently, there is not,” Miss Green murmured. “If you wish to contact me, Lord Gillett, you may write. However, I shall not expect a note. Indeed, perhaps I shall be the one to sendyoua letter, to better explain what I have tried to say today.”
She got up from her chair and dusted off the front of her pale lavender gown. Without another word to Jasper, she crossed the library and headed out of the door. Torn, Adelaide rushed after her. She could see to Jasper’s wellbeing in a moment. However, if she let Leah leave now, she did not know if her acquaintance might ever return. It did not seem too likely.
“Leah, stop!” Adelaide called.
She turned. “What can you possibly have to say to me, Lady Adelaide? Can you not see that I am thoroughly humiliated? Do you wish to add further salt to this already stinging wound?”
“No, of course not,” Adelaide replied softly. “I wish that you would stay. Jasper needs time to think on all that you have said, that is all. Hedoesadore you, just as I said he did. He does not wear his heart on his sleeve, my dear friend. Youmustgive him a moment.”
“I am tired of waiting, Lady Adelaide,” was all she said. Turning on her heel, she strode out of the front door and down to a waiting carriage. Adelaide went after her, pausing on the porch steps as the carriage rolled away with a clatter of wheels and hooves.
You foolish girl,Adelaide sighed.You might have had it all, if you had only shown patience.
Nervously, Adelaide returned to the library and sat down in the chair that Leah had vacated. Jasper had not moved a muscle. He barely looked at her as she leaned forward, seeking out his face with her eyes.
“Jasper?”
“What have I done?” he whispered.
“You were yourself.”
He held his head in his hands. “She wished for a declaration of love, did she not? How could I have been so blind? And to call her ‘friend’—goodness, it is a wonder she did not leave sooner.”
“So… you do care for her in a romantic fashion?”
He paused. “I believe I do. Shall I go after her?”
“You must allow her time to calm herself,” Adelaide urged. “She will write once she realizes that you are the only gentleman for her. She will see the error in her ways. I suggested patience to her, and I believe she will come around to the idea.”
“I ought to have said something.”
“You sought to be courteous. She cannot hold such propriety against you,” Adelaide replied. “After all, you have not spoken to her father about a potential engagement. You have not made your desire for a public courtship known. She must allow you that time, just as you must allow her the time to understand better. There is a delicate process to these things that she does not yet comprehend. Is it foolish? Yes. But tradition is the axle on which our world revolves.”
He sighed. “Still… I could have given her a sliver of hope. A hope that I share.”
“I will speak with her tomorrow morning, once she has had an evening to reflect.”
