“I must find my brother and mother,” she said, and set off in search.
It was the end.
Chapter 13
Neither her brother nor her mother was in the drawing room, so they went downstairs. Because she couldn’t ignore the subject forever, she added, “My brother is probably with your sister.”
“I hope they haven’t been in one another’s pockets all evening.”
“And if they have?”
“It’s as well she’s returning home with me tomorrow.”
Ariana paused at the bottom of the stairs. The people around were taking farewells, finding coats and cloaks with the help of servants, and waiting for carriages. All the same, some came over to assure her of their disbelief and best wishes, and she had to respond appropriately. When she had the chance, she led the way into the small library.
“There’s no one here,” Kynaston said, turning to leave.
“Wait.”
He did so, warily.
“My brother and your sister are truly in love,” she said.
“They hardly know one another.”
“How long did it take for you to know you loved Seraphina?”
He flinched. “We won’t speak of her.”
She wouldn’t give way. “Not long, I suspect. The daughter of an Italian musician? Not the most suitable match for an earl.”
“Don’t, Ariana.”
“I merely ask that you remember the truth of love. Would your devotion have melted away if she’d returned to Italy?”
“I can’t possibly know. I won’t forbid Phyllis to marry. I might want to do so, but I’m not so unbalanced as that. But not yet. She’sseventeen! It won’t hurt either of them to wait. It’s your obsession with the inheritance that drives you. You want her in childbed within nine months, and I won’t permit that.”
That truth sent heat into Ariana’s cheeks, but she said, “For the most part, I want them happy. Are you prepared for years of unhappiness as they wait?”Will you be unhappy away from me, as I will be unhappy to be apart?She dare not ask, for the true answer might be that he’d find separation a blessed relief.
“Let’s find them,” he said, and left the room.
Ariana sighed and followed, to see him being given a note by a maid. She hurried to his side. “Who is that from?”
“Phyllis,” he said. “She developed a headache and Langton offered to escort her back to the Weathersteds’.”
“How odd.”
“Isn’t it? She says she couldn’t ask me, as it was important that I be here.”
“But to go off with Norris...”
“They took a chaperone,” he said.
“Mrs. Manners?”
“She’s not here. Your companion, Miss Burgis.”
“Ethel! Even odder, but she’ll make sure your sister is safe.”
