When he paused for a while, Henry found it necessary to prod him a little. “Was? Is the use of the past tense intentional?” he asked, his partial fear the lady in question might have died making him suddenly serious.
“Yes. Was. Just as I was gathering my courage to ask her uncle if I could publicly court her, I heard from a reliable source she was already engaged to someone else and had been for a while, and she would no doubt soon be married,” he ended bitterly.
Now Walter was talking, he found he had much more to say. “If that was the case, if she knew she was engaged, why did she flirt and dance and … and … everything in her manner gave me the hope she would accept my courtship of her!”
“So, you did not know she was engaged?”
“No! If I had known, I never would have fallen in— I wouldn’t have…” He couldn’t bring himself to say he loved her, nor could he say he wouldn’t have even looked at her when he knew she would have drawn his eye to some degree even if he had known she was engaged.
Henry, though in part trying to be sympathetic, laughed as he saw the struggle. “Walter, I don’t think you fully realize how charming you can be when you make an effort. You could very easily be one of the best rogues in London if you chose to.”
“What does that have to do with this?” he grumbled.
“Simple! I don’t know about this girl you’ve mentioned, but not all ladies are as in love with their betrothed as they appear to be. Some are not entirely against having a little bit of romance with someone else if you catch my meaning.
“She might have assumed you were aware of her engagement and were knowingly showing interest. Is it safe to assume she knew of your … feelings for her?”
Walter nodded reluctantly. “I was fairly obvious in my partiality for her…”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And what are you going to do about it?” Henry asked him.
Walter was confused. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if she is not already married, you could try to steal her away. If she is,” Henry shrugged, “as long as you don’t get caught…”
“What? I would never do what you are implying!”
His friend chuckled and shook his head. “You would not be the first or last gentleman to love a married woman. But I will drop the idea if you wish. A woman is a very hard thing to get out of your head, so I’m afraid I don’t see how I can be of any help to you…”
Walter sighed, then downed his whole drink all at once. He knew it wouldn’t help. Not really. However, there was nothing stopping him from taking the edge off his mental pain. On the contrary, his friend Henry aided him by sending for another round. A favor which he did a handful of times over the next few hours.
Eventually, a nagging sense of the passage of time caused Walter to look at the time. “I have to go. I need to be home to get ready for a soiree,” he told Henry reluctantly as he rose.
“I would wish you good luck, but … well, I think you need a lot more than that.”
As Walter made his way to his horse and then home, he was glad he hadn’t had any more to drink. Though his reflexes and movements were far from being as quick as they usually were, he was still steady on his feet.
Unfortunately, his mother was in the hallway when he arrived. With one look she came closer to him before making a grimace. “You reek of alcohol, Walter,” she said with a clearly disappointed tone. “We have to leave within the hour for Elwood Manor. Try to be on time.”
She turned on her heels and stalked away, leaving Walter feeling properly chastised. His mother’s scolding had reminded him of his childhood, and he found himself feeling jealous of the little rascal he used to be, with not a care in the world, not knowing yet the excruciating pain of heartbreak...
Chapter 9
Georgiana focused on taking deep breaths on the way to Elwood Manor. Seeing the concern in her aunt and uncle as they neared their destination, she took a moment to reassure them. “I shall do much better this time, I am certain of it.”
“Still,” Adelaide reached over and squeezed her niece’s hand. “We intend to leave early this evening, regardless of how well you are feeling. It won’t do to overexert yourself today … especially not after yesterday.”
“And I won’t complain about leaving early this time,” she replied, remembering the many times in the past when she had pleaded to stay just a little longer.
Just then, their carriage slowed to a stop, and it was time to make their entrance. Georgiana went slowly to allow Ambrose time to reach her and escort her into the large manor.
Soon, they were approaching the grey-haired old woman who was the dowager duchess. “Ah, my friends! It is so good to see you all,” she told them all with a smile, as they curtsied and bowed before her.
“And it is good to see you, too, Your Grace,” Jonas replied as, with a matching smile, Adelaide went forward to hug her.
“Oh, please, I have told you before to call me Mary. Since it is not a privilege I grant to many, I expect you to use it,” Mary told him with playful scolding.
Then, Georgiana found the duchess was turning her attention to her, and she was motioned to come forward. “And you, young dear. I was especially pleased when I heard you were coming.”
“Thank you, Your Grace, although I was thinking I might be deemed too troublesome to invite,” Georgiana replied as she took Mary’s extended hand and squeezed it.
“Perhaps, at times. But, when you get to be my age, you may find, sometimes, it is the troublesome things that give life a little … spice. And I shall forever remember the little girl of seven who had such a love of fun.”
She nearly groaned. “In my defense, I did not know you were the Duchess of Elwood when I … borrowed your chair cushion and put it into a muddy puddle.”
“Yes, and what was the worthy cause again you were using it for?”
Georgiana saw from the twinkle in the eyes of the duchess that she had not forgotten; she just wanted her to say it out loud. However, she loved talking with the dear old lady, so she obliged in detail.
“My aunt once told me that getting muddy was not good for me, and it might make me sick. So, when I saw small piglets playing in mud, I thought it would apply to them, too. The blanket I used first only seemed to soak up the mud, but I soon found pillows and cushions worked much better at preventing the piglets from getting to the mud to play.”
Everyone present, including Georgiana herself, found the memory amusing. The duchess, after a brief pause, continued the story, “And then, when I noticed my cushion was missing, you came right up to me and told me you had taken it.”