Page 83 of An Earl Like You
Yes, Eliza knew. She had often wondered how different her father would be if her mother were still alive. “My father interfered in my marriage.” She didn’t know how else to say it. “I fear it may be an unforgivable action.”
“That is grave indeed,” concurred Mrs. Upton. “I hope it was not to prevent an abuse by Lord Hastings.”
“No! Hastings wouldneverdo anything like that,” Eliza declared.
“But it has caused a rift with him,” murmured the older woman perceptively. “Otherwise you would not be here, I think.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Eliza admitted.
“And I cannot tell you,” said Mrs. Upton gently. “If I taught you anything in your time here, you know that.”
She did. Mrs. Upton wanted her young ladies to be self-assured and capable. It would have been lovely to be handed a solution, but Eliza knew she would have to find that herself. “But what would a lady do?”
Mrs. Upton smiled. “A lady conducts herself with grace and courage. However, every lady is also a woman, with passions and hopes and feelings. Only the woman can decide what her heart wants.” She made a delicate motion with one hand. “And then the lady will pursue that, gracefully and courageously.”
A knock at the door interrupted, and Mrs. Upton went to answer it. Eliza sipped her tea and thought as the headmistress engaged in a quiet conversation. She knew what her heart wanted—but how could she pursue it? How could she repair her marriage, founded on such a terrible deception, with both grace and courage?
“Lady Hastings,” said Mrs. Upton, breaking into her thoughts, “you have visitors. Shall I show them in?”
Eliza froze. “Who is it?”
“I daresay they’ll be welcome,” said the headmistress with a smile. “You always trusted their advice when you were younger, even when Miss Graham led you into misadventure.”
Sophie. Her friends had known where she would go. Her throat tight, Eliza nodded, and a moment later Sophie rushed into the room, Georgiana close on her heels. They flew into each other’s arms without a word, and Mrs. Upton quietly slipped out, closing the door behind her.
“I should have guessed you would find me,” said Eliza, trying to hide the sudden tears that had sprung into her eyes.
“We would have been here sooner if you’d mentioned it in your letter,” said Georgiana. She took out a handkerchief and gave it to Eliza.
Eliza gave a watery laugh, mopping her cheeks. “I didn’t even know I would come here until this morning! I’ve only been here a few hours.”
“A few hours we might have been here to support you,” said Georgiana pertly.
Eliza laughed again, weaker this time. “I’m astonished you’re here at all. Did Lady Sidlow come with you?”
“Bother her,” said Georgiana, but with a guilty flush. “I knew she wouldn’t approve, so I didn’t tell her.”
“You ran away?”
“I went right to Sophie.” Georgiana shook her head at Eliza’s horrified expression. “I’ve been perfectly well chaperoned ever since.”
“Oh no.” Eliza looked at Sophie in apology. “And you were rusticating with His Grace—”
“His Grace is downstairs with the coach,” Sophie told her. “Enough about us. What happened to you?”
That was Sophie—cut to the key point. Eliza’s spirits dropped again, after the sudden delight at her friends’ appearance. But... how was she to explain? It was too humiliating, too awful, too heartbreaking.
“What did Hastings do?” demanded Georgiana. “Why on earth would you leave him?”
“My father bribed him to court me,” Eliza heard herself say. “He pretended to admire me. He made me love him. But he—he didn’t feel anything for me.”
Georgiana gaped, but Sophie was frowning. “This requires far more explanation. And tea.” Ever the practical one, she rang for more tea, and soon they were settled around the tea table. Gradually Eliza managed to get out the whole story. Georgiana’s exclamations of outrage and shock spurred her on, as did Sophie’s direct questions.
“That’s intolerable!” Georgiana flung herself out of her chair when she reached the end.
Sophie shushed her, gaze fixed on Eliza. “Do you love Hastings?”
Eliza flushed in misery. “I do. Desperately.” Even after discovering the lies.
