look very fatigued. And it was at those times that he
became particularly crotchety with her.
According to Milly, he got crotchety with her, too. Apparently,
during the year she’d acted as his nurse, they had frequently bickered. Though
Lady Jayne found that hard to believe. Milly was such a sunny, good-natured
person that it was hard to imagine her bickering with anyone. Even Lord Ledbury.
Although admittedly she was never in his vicinity for long before something he
said or did annoyed her.
‘You feel it, too, don’t you, my darling?’ Harry murmured into
her ear, bringing her back to the present with a jolt. ‘Being forced to meet
only in secret is breaking your heart, is it not?’
‘Oh, er…’ Far from worrying about Harry, she had just spent the
entire dance thinking about another man.
Lord Ledbury was invading her thoughts far too often. She would
be glad when this evening was over and she would be free of him, as well as
Harry. She would, she told herself sternly as her
spirits inexplicably plunged at the prospect of seeing him heave a sigh of
relief as he realized that he could bow out of her life for good.
Harry slid his arm round her waist and towed her from the dance
floor. ‘Enough of this. Though it is delightful to hold you in my arms, I need
to talk to you.’
He took her along a short corridor and into a conservatory.
Seeing that it was already occupied by a couple of pairs of lovers, tussling on
most uncomfortable-looking benches, he led her past them and out through French
windows onto the terrace beyond. Then he turned and shut the doors behind them,
so that she could scarcely hear the music from the ballroom any more.
She clasped her hands at her bosom, her heart pounding as she
prepared to give him the little speech she had prepared in which she planned to
tell him that she had mistaken her feelings, beg his forgiveness and urge him to
forget her.
But then he seized her hands and said, ‘I cannot bear sneaking
around like this. Give me the right to call you mine. Marry me. I know it will
mean eloping, but…’
‘Harry, no…’
‘Darling, yes. We could just walk out of this ballroom, get
into a cab and run away together.’
‘No, we could not…’
‘Ah!’ He smiled at her fondly. ‘You are thinking of the
practicalities. You are right to do so, my clever darling. We must have the
money to pay for a licence and so forth. You will have to go home first, and get
hold of whatever you can…’
She could not help it. She snorted.
‘Well, my pin money is not going to get us very far.’
‘But surely your grandfather does not keep you short? You dress
so well. And your jewels alone must be worth a fortune.’
‘I dress well because I have accounts all over Town and the
bills are all sent to his man of business to settle. I have very little actual
money to spend. But let us not talk about money. Harry, I have something I need
to tell you…’
‘It will be different once we are married, though, will it not?
There must be some kind of settlement which will mean that your husband will
have charge of your fortune?’
‘What fortune?’ she scoffed. ‘If I marry a man of whom my
grandfather disapproves I shall be cut off without a penny.’
‘I am sure he would not be so harsh…’
‘That’s because you don’t know him. He has already cut off his
own daughter without showing a single sign of remorse. How much easier will it
be to do the same to me?’
‘Daughter? What daughter?’
‘Oh. Well, it is not known outside the family. And even within
it we only speak of my aunt Aurora in whispers. But she ran off with a penniless
local youth, and Grandpapa not only banished her from the country but forbade
anyone to speak her name in his presence.’
A look of confusion flashed across his face. ‘But surely your father must have settled something upon you. You
cannot be entirely dependent upon your grandfather?’
‘I suppose we could live on the pittance that he set
became particularly crotchety with her.
According to Milly, he got crotchety with her, too. Apparently,
during the year she’d acted as his nurse, they had frequently bickered. Though
Lady Jayne found that hard to believe. Milly was such a sunny, good-natured
person that it was hard to imagine her bickering with anyone. Even Lord Ledbury.
Although admittedly she was never in his vicinity for long before something he
said or did annoyed her.
‘You feel it, too, don’t you, my darling?’ Harry murmured into
her ear, bringing her back to the present with a jolt. ‘Being forced to meet
only in secret is breaking your heart, is it not?’
‘Oh, er…’ Far from worrying about Harry, she had just spent the
entire dance thinking about another man.
Lord Ledbury was invading her thoughts far too often. She would
be glad when this evening was over and she would be free of him, as well as
Harry. She would, she told herself sternly as her
spirits inexplicably plunged at the prospect of seeing him heave a sigh of
relief as he realized that he could bow out of her life for good.
Harry slid his arm round her waist and towed her from the dance
floor. ‘Enough of this. Though it is delightful to hold you in my arms, I need
to talk to you.’
He took her along a short corridor and into a conservatory.
Seeing that it was already occupied by a couple of pairs of lovers, tussling on
most uncomfortable-looking benches, he led her past them and out through French
windows onto the terrace beyond. Then he turned and shut the doors behind them,
so that she could scarcely hear the music from the ballroom any more.
She clasped her hands at her bosom, her heart pounding as she
prepared to give him the little speech she had prepared in which she planned to
tell him that she had mistaken her feelings, beg his forgiveness and urge him to
forget her.
But then he seized her hands and said, ‘I cannot bear sneaking
around like this. Give me the right to call you mine. Marry me. I know it will
mean eloping, but…’
‘Harry, no…’
‘Darling, yes. We could just walk out of this ballroom, get
into a cab and run away together.’
‘No, we could not…’
‘Ah!’ He smiled at her fondly. ‘You are thinking of the
practicalities. You are right to do so, my clever darling. We must have the
money to pay for a licence and so forth. You will have to go home first, and get
hold of whatever you can…’
She could not help it. She snorted.
‘Well, my pin money is not going to get us very far.’
‘But surely your grandfather does not keep you short? You dress
so well. And your jewels alone must be worth a fortune.’
‘I dress well because I have accounts all over Town and the
bills are all sent to his man of business to settle. I have very little actual
money to spend. But let us not talk about money. Harry, I have something I need
to tell you…’
‘It will be different once we are married, though, will it not?
There must be some kind of settlement which will mean that your husband will
have charge of your fortune?’
‘What fortune?’ she scoffed. ‘If I marry a man of whom my
grandfather disapproves I shall be cut off without a penny.’
‘I am sure he would not be so harsh…’
‘That’s because you don’t know him. He has already cut off his
own daughter without showing a single sign of remorse. How much easier will it
be to do the same to me?’
‘Daughter? What daughter?’
‘Oh. Well, it is not known outside the family. And even within
it we only speak of my aunt Aurora in whispers. But she ran off with a penniless
local youth, and Grandpapa not only banished her from the country but forbade
anyone to speak her name in his presence.’
A look of confusion flashed across his face. ‘But surely your father must have settled something upon you. You
cannot be entirely dependent upon your grandfather?’
‘I suppose we could live on the pittance that he set
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