“A little bruised? Cherish, will you listen to yourself? Your wrist is swelling…and there is blood pouring from your elbow.”
“It is not pouring. It is hardly worth noticing.” She had stopped most of the bleeding by now, she hoped. It still required proper tending, but Fiona was already seething over the incident and Cherish did not wish to add more reasons to inflame her.
“My head groom saw it all and confirmed what happened. I confronted that witch before coming to see you. I told her if she is not out of my house within the hour I shall burn all her belongings, and her along with them.”
Cherish grinned. “I’ll help you light the bonfire.”
Fiona laughed as she sank onto Cherish’s bed. “I am so sorry for my part in it. Gawain begged me to toss her out before she caused trouble, but I was enjoying watching him squirm and thought it would help our matchmaking cause to keep her here. I thought it would push him toward you that much faster.”
“It hasn’t. If anything, it has turned him off to any serious relations with women.” She sank onto the bed beside her friend. “I did not help matters either. I was so upset, I told him I never wished to speak to him again.” She flopped on her back atop the mattress. “Oh, Fiona! I said terrible things to him. He will never have me now. Perhaps it is for the best. He was never going to propose to me. We were all wrong to hope he would. And now I’ve fallen in love with him.”
“You have?” Fiona’s eyes widened, and she cast Cherish a smile of pure delight. “I’m so glad. He is not immune to your charms. In fact, I have never seen him so taken with anyone as he is with you. I cannot say for certain, but I think he may be falling in love with you, too.”
“No, he isn’t, and will never be.” Cherish sighed and sat up again. “I told him that if Lord Fellstone proposed to me, I would accept his offer. What a stupid thing for me to say. But I was overset.”
Fiona patted her hand. “I am sure he realizes it. He will not allow matters to remain this way. I would not be surprised if he sought you out within a few hours. He does not dare do it now while you are still riled.”
“He won’t ever.” Cherish took several deep breaths to keep from crying. “I’ve ruined my chances with him, assuming I ever had any in the first place.”
“Well, there’s always Reggie.”
She laughed. “Oh, the poor fellow. No, not Reggie. He likes Margaret, and she adores him. I will do all I can to encourage that match. She is a sweet girl, and I hope Reggie’s feelings forher turn into love. But I’m not sure he takes her seriously yet. He has been quite attentive to her recently, have you noticed? And do you know what Margaret asked me?”
Fiona shook her head. “No, what?”
“She asked if I would help make her smarter. Being deprived of an education, even the most rudimentary knowledge of history, politics, the arts and sciences, has left her ignorant and feeling stupid. Are we not guilty of dismissing her for this very reason? But she is aware of her limitations and is afraid Reggie will never propose to her while he considers her nothing more than a charming peahen.”
“Oh, the poor thing.”
Cherish nodded. “I said I would help her out.”
“Good, I will do the same. She has a kind and compassionate heart, and I am so sorry we may have hurt her feelings.”
“She is too sweet ever to blame us. Well, I hope one of us ends up happily matched by the end of this week, and I would not mind at all if it were Margaret.”
Fiona patted her hand again and then rose. “I agree. But if it is to be only one of us, then I would rather it be you. Well, I had better see what Lady Albin is up to now. Hopefully, she is packing and will soon be on her way. She certainly came prepared with a complete change of wardrobe for every occasion. I never saw anyone bring so many clothes for what should have been a mere dinner party and a possible overnight stay. I feel as though I allowed in the Trojan Horse. It was a completely calculated ambush on her part.”
“Fiona, do you think she truly loves him?”
“Who, Gawain? Honestly, I don’t know. In my opinion, she does not. I am not sure she ever loved him or was ever capable of loving anyone other than herself. Are her actions not revealing enough? She could not have married Lord Albin and abandonedGawain the way she did if she was a girl in love. No one coerced her, and her family was not in dire straits.”
“I see.”
“Cherish, she did not even approach Gawain after Albin’s death. So why is she suddenly desperate to do so now? No, the lady is a schemer and wants something from him.”
“I suppose we’ll never find out the reason now that you’ve kicked her out.”
“Well, thetonis rife with gossip. I may hear something within the next few months.”
“I suppose it does not matter. Come knock at my door once she is gone. Not that I am afraid of confronting her, but I dare not risk another outburst from her that spoils your party. Besides, I think I need to clean out my scraped elbow and see just how badly the rest of my body is bruised.”
“I knew you were hurt worse than you let on. Why won’t you admit it?”
Cherish pursed her lips, knowing she was being stubborn. But everyone already knew she was afraid of horses, and to now make a scene of having to leap out of the way as one bore down on her… Well, she did not want them to think she was a helpless weakling.
Fiona sighed. “I’ll send my housekeeper up to you with clean cloths and brandy for those wounds. But have her fetch me if it turns out to be something more serious than a few bruises and scrapes.”
Cherish shut the door after Fiona and then sat at the edge of the bed to steady herself, for she was feeling a little dizzy. The pins holding her chignon in place had loosened and her hair was looking quite a mess. Since she did not care to lie down with pins poking her head, she took them all out and let her hair tumble loosely about her shoulders.
