Page 38 of The Uncompromising Marquess
“I should take my leave,” Helena said, but Florence shook her head.
“You must wait, else my mother will be forced to come in and be my chaperone,” she whispered, gripping Helena’s hand again. “Please?”
“Very well.” Helena’s eyes twinkled. “But I may be forced to step out for a few minutes, however. I cannot promise toalwaysbe with you.”
Florence’s heart quickened even more at the thought but there was no time to respond. As she turned to the door, it opened and inside came Lord Applegate.
“Lady Florence.” He bowed low, his green eyes vivid in intensity as he beheld her – and Florence could look nowhere but him. “How glad I am to see you.”
Helena cleared her throat and Lord Applegate started, only to flush red and incline his head. “Lady Wickton.”
“I am about to take my leave for only a few minutes, Lord Applegate,” Helena said, with a chuckle. “That is, if it would suit you?”
Lord Applegate smiled. “It would suit me very well, Lady Wickton. I thank you for your consideration.”
With a smile at Florence and a nod to Lord Applegate, Helena made her way from the room but left the door ajar, as though that, in some way, would make everything quite respectable. Florence, watching her cousin leave, began to twist her fingers together, a sudden nervousness clutching at her chest. She had never before been alone with a gentleman and now, suddenly, here she was without any chaperone or the like.
“Lady Florence?”
Dragging her gaze towards him, Florence tried to smile but her whole body trembled lightly. “Lord Applegate.”
“I hope it was not presumptuous to come to call so soon.” His voice was gentle, perhaps a little concerned that she was still fatigued after yesterday’s circumstances. “Your father took you quickly away from the soiree and I was worried that you might be a little unwell because of it all.”
Her head shot up, her eyes fixing to his. “Unwell?”
The way his eyebrows lifted had her blushing.
“I apologize,” she said stumbling a little over her words. “I do not want you to think me poorly, that is all. Yes, I was quite taken aback by all that took place, but to be truthful, Lord Applegate, there was more relief in my heart than anything else.”
His hand brushed down her shoulder, her arm and then caught her fingers. “Relief that you did not have to wed Lord Cheswick.”
“Yes, indeed. I thought…” Her throat knotted and she closed her eyes briefly. “I thought that I was tied to him, that there was nothing to be done. Helena tried to reassure me but I was lost in darkness.”
“She spoke to me.”
Florence’s eyes flew wide.
“Her concern for you was great.” Rubbing one hand behind his neck, he offered her a wry smile. “The way she berated me was… well, it was what I needed to hear.”
The heat in Florence’s face rose quickly. “I did not ever expect Helena to berate you, Lord Applegate. If she was in any way upsetting, then I – ”
“She was quite right to do so,” Lord Applegate interrupted, albeit gently. “I did not come to you when I ought to have done. After what happened with the cake – and no, you need not blush for it was not your doing – I should have come to speak with you, should have come to call upon you or written to you at the very least. Instead, I waited, hoping that you would be at the next social occasion I attended.”
Aware of the lingering flush in her cheeks, Florence took in a deep breath and looked back at him. “Might I ask why you did not come to call? Why you did not write?”
Lord Applegate’s mouth tugged to one side. “Because I was uncertain.”
“Uncertain of what?”
“Of my feelings, of what they meant,” he said, his hand finding hers again, his voice lowering just a fraction. “In addition, I had realized, for the very first time, just how cruel I had been.”
Surprise caught her chest. “Cruel?”
He nodded. “Yes, I was cruel. The way I spoke to and about others was inconsiderate and uncaring. I should never have had such complaints and held others to such high standards. Yes, there is the matter of propriety and expectation within society but I went above that, did I not?” His brow furrowed. “I always had something to say, some grievance to make. I do not think that I truly realized just how much sorrow I had caused by being such a way, not until the night of the Christmas ball.”
Florence did not know what to say. This vulnerability, this awareness of himself and his failings was so astonishing, but yet so very welcome. “I have been aware of that part of your character, Lord Applegate, but your kindness to me and your understanding have always drawn me to you.”
The words were out of her mouth before she could even think to take them back. Silence filled the room, the fire crackling the only sound between them. The air seemed thicker now, and Florence stared up at Lord Applegate, her heart slowing to a dull thud as she waited for him to respond.
