He had locked himself up? Why? Nothing made sense. Why was he putting them both through this meaningless torture?
Chapter 32
Some talk in hushed whispers but we do not do that at The Londoner. Many condemn us for our honesty. ‘Ungraceful’ they call it. Nevertheless, we will be watching the Duke of Amsthorne and Lady Natalie Reeves. This ball will tell us whether or not Miss Gilmore told us the truth.
Two days after Phoebe’s visit, they received a second invitation for a ball from Jasper, but she was certain that this courtesy had come from Phoebe, because firstly, he was still playing his game of silence, and secondly, Phoebe wanted a chance for them to reconcile, and this invitation was as much a reminder as it was an encouragement.
“I am not attending,” Natalie said on the morning of the ball. George and Hannah were also aware that something had gone wrong between her and Jasper, but they did not talk to her about it.
"Hiding would only give credence to those lies, Natalie," George said, and Hannah nodded in agreement. “We must keep our head up and face society.”
Shedidwant to see Jasper, if only to hear the true reason for his actions from his mouth, but she was also pained. After considerable thought, she decided to attend the ball.
Thus, at sundown, they departed for Amsthorne Manor. The exterior was bright with sconces illuminating the beautiful scopes, and the ballroom would have taken her breath away had she been in a better disposition. Phoebe and Jasper had gone to great lengths to host such an event, and she was sure that it would be talked about for a while.
Wessberg asked Hannah to dance as soon as they arrived. George was reluctant to leave her, but after Natalie's encouragement and reassurance that she would be fine, he went to investigate the reason his investors had withdrawn their interest. Many of the gentlemen were present tonight, and he must use the opportunity.
None of them had seen Jasper, and Phoebe had been too occupied with her hostess duties for Natalie to ask her any questions. It was as though he was not at his own ball. Ignoring the curious and even accusing glances and whispers directed at her, Natalie placed herself in one corner of the room, plucking a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing footman. After all the weeks of rebuilding her self-esteem, it had all shattered once more and she found herself in the place she had been for a long time.
The atmosphere suddenly changed, and she did not need to look up to know that Jasper had made an appearance. All the way from across the room. And while he was unaware of her, and she was not looking at him, he commanded her heart to long for him.
Jasper seemed all but pleasant as he made rounds greeting his guests. He smiled, and even laughed with some of them. He seemed to have mastered appearing untroubled. When he turned and their gazes finally met, her heart pounded violently. His eyes narrowed briefly before he turned his attention back to his guests.
She would have been happier if he had not seen her, for the coldness and lack of acknowledgment bit her like the deadliest of frosts. Natalie forced the bitter taste of hurt down her throat just as a shadow appeared before her.
God, help me!
She raised her eyes to meet Oliver's smug smile. "I must confess that I did not think you would have it in you to show your face in society, Natalie. But then, it takes a shameless person as much as a naive one to do what you did ten years ago." He laughed derisively.
"I suppose one can say that we are alike in that regard," Natalie returned, watching his face color with anger. He brushed a lock of blonde hair from his forehead and sneered at her.
"I assume your first dance is reserved for Amsthorne," he suddenly said with a knowing and mocking look in his eyes.
“It is no business of yours to whom I give my dances.” Natalie's gaze inadvertently swept the ballroom, searching for the man in question, but Jasper had, once again, disappeared.
"I doubt he would ask you to that dance." He leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper, "You see, Natalie, little by little, everyone around you is discovering your true nature, and very soon, you will be deserted. Believe me, my dear, it will be worse than your spinsterhood." He straightened quickly and said in a rather loud and unnaturally cheery tone, "It is indeed a pleasure seeing you here, Lady Natalie."
This drew curious glances in their direction, most of them full of judgment. Natalie felt an unpleasant chill run through her, while Oliver grinned in victory. He turned on his heels and left her there, to be skinned raw by theton’sdisapprobation.
Unable to bear it, she found the first door that led out of the room, then she walked down the hallway without direction, seeking sanctuary. She saw a door that looked familiar and opened it. When she stepped into the room, she realized it was the same salon that Jasper had brought her to the night he hosted her family for dinner.
Closing the door behind her and resting against it, she closed her eyes, willing her racing nerves and warring emotions to calm down. Tinkling across the room made her stiffen, and she opened her eyes to see Jasper holding a tumbler with some liquor in it.
His surprise was a reflection of hers, but something shadowed his features. Natalie stared at a cold man whom she barely recognized. There was no trace of the man she had shared much warmth and tenderness with in the past weeks, the man she loved.
"I did not know the room was occupied," she heard herself say, her chest tightening. Natalie took a tentative step forward.
"You can make use of it," Jasper replied before walking past her to the door.
"Jasper, wait!" She reached for his sleeve, grasping it and stopping him. She needed answers so that her heart may stop aching.
There was no life in his eyes as he regarded her. "What more do you want, Natalie?" he asked impatiently, and for the first time, she saw movement in his eyes. Pain.
"I do not understand, Jasper—"
"Of course, you would not," he scoffed, and she endeavored not to wince at his palpable sarcasm.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.
