“What is it then?” She demanded.
Tristan looked back at up her, a cacophony of emotions pouring through his brilliant blue eyes.
“I know you need to marry. But do not choose Weavington.”
Ophelia gaped at his audacity. She was not good enough for him to dally with, but he was making demands on the choice of her future husband? She had already decided against Weavington’s advances, but she decided then and there that she would not ease Tristan’s mind by telling him so.
“You have no right to ask me for such a favor,” she said icily, gathering up her crate and unfinished canvas.
“Ophelia,” he called as she swung open his office door.
“Goodbye,Lord Perfect,” she said pointedly, and as he started striding toward her, she slammed the door shut, and fled the club with a broken heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Is it your father?” Theo asked, her tone timid.
Ophelia glanced up from her untouched tea and cake. She found all four of her friends looking back at her with worried expressions. She sat up a little in her chair, not realizing she had slouched down in it, and picked up her fork and nudged a bit of the crumbs off of her cake. They had dropped in for an impromptu visit, but Ophelia had not been surprised at all. It had been days since she’d left her home or responded to their letters or invitations. She knew it would have been only a matter of time before they arrived to check on her.
“Papa is making progress,” she said, trying to keep her tone light and free of sorrow. “He is regaining some of his strength. The exercise and diet change seem to be helping finally.”
“Ophelia, that is wonderful news,” Rose replied.
“Truly,” Seraphina agreed.
“We are so relieved to hear so,” Amelia added.
Ophelia attempted to offer her friends a smile, but her lips dropped back into a straight line not even a second after she lifted the corners.
“Thank you all so much for your support and your prayers,” she replied quietly, “It has meant much to me through this difficult time.”
“Always,” Rose and Amelia replied in unison.
A somber minute of silence ticked by before Theo cleared her throat and asked, “If it is not your father that has you so despondent, then what is, darling?”
Ophelia watched all of her friends lean a little more toward her in their chairs, giving her expectant looks. A lump suddenly formed in her throat as her eyes misted. She wanted to tell them. There seemed to be so many secrets between them now, and she hated it.
“I will be fine,” she promised. “The act of searching for a husband just has me feeling afoul. It is…more difficult to give up my dreams than I expected.”
“I will overcome this glumness, though, I promise you,” she added quickly when their faces filled with sympathy, “Just, please, do me a kindness and shift the subject away from me. It would raise my spirits to hear of your lives.”
A flurry of talk soon filled the room, quieting Ophelia’s heartache a little as she heard of the joy unfolding in their lives. Amelia and Dominic were expanding her aviary. Seraphina and Hugo were building a small cottage in the woods of their property; a quaint little place just for them now that their children were getting older. Rose and Everett were planning a trip to the islands; research, Rose explained, for possible expansion into the rum market.
“All is well for Alistair and I as well,” Theo said when it was her turn, patting her swollen belly, “We are just making preparations for this little one.”
This time when Ophelia smiled, it was genuine.
“I am so excited to be an auntie again,” Ophelia replied, eyeing up her friend’s small baby bump.
Theo laughed softly as she looked down at her bump with pure affection.
“You are excellent at it,” Theo noted.
Then Ophelia noticed how Theo’s smile faded as she lifted her head and looked away.
“Is something wrong with the baby?” Ophelia asked.
“Oh no,” Theo quickly assured, though her troubled expression did not change. “Not with the babe. He or she is doing wonderfully.”
