“Tonight, Lady Tremberley—well, she let something fall.”
He grunted.“Of course she did.”
He had not been granted an irritating little sister in the natural way.It appeared, however, as usual, that Henrietta Breminster would gladly fill that role.
“Pray tell me what horror she revealed to you.”
Beatrice let out a small laugh.“She said thatyouwere the reason Lord Montaigne and his wife were parted.The first time they fell in love.”
Even her saying the word—love—sent a strange bolt of awareness through him.
He sighed.He couldn’t glory in her finding out such unflattering details about his conduct.
“It is one of the great shames of my life.I was twenty—a rather young twenty—but that is no excuse.I reduced myself to a terrible subterfuge because I thought I knew better than Monty and, in doing so, caused great pain for him and Olivia.”
“He was heartbroken when she left?”
Leith’s chest seized, just a little, at the memory.
“It was horrible.I realized very quickly that I had erred terribly.For a year, I do not think he was sober for twenty-four hours straight.We were all gravely concerned about him.And the scandal sheets were vicious.Not that he cared.”
“How dreadful.Did you tell him what you had done?”
“No.I should have.I see that now.I even tried to find out where Olivia had gone, but there was no trace of her.As it turned out, she had left England altogether.”
“Was it terrible for you?Keeping such a secret from him?”
No one, of course, had ever asked Leith that question.He hadn’t reflected on it much himself.After all, he was not a victim in this matter.
Nevertheless, there was only one possible answer to the question.
“Yes.Monty and I had always had this perfect intimacy.John and Trem were the same.The four of us, together, we are all best friends.But there was always a special sympathy, between me and Monty and between John and Trem.”
“You and Lord Montaigne seem like two very different personalities.”
He nodded.“We are.It’s one of those curiosities of life, I warrant.In temperament, I am, perhaps, most like John.He has a tendency towards resentment, just like myself, and he likes order, as well, although in his own way.”
“Hewas a proper rake before his marriage, according to the scandal sheets.”
“Well, so was Monty, but that ended up being far from the truth.In John’s case, though, the scandal sheets were right.He was wild.Like Monty with Olivia, he fell in love with Catherine years before he married her.But, when they first met, he thought he would never be able to marry her, that he could never have her—her family had nearly destroyed his.And so he dealt with it by glowering and bedding his way across England.”
“Lady Edington is very kind.”
He gave a soft laugh, remembering John before he married Catherine.Sometimes, he forgot how unhappy that man had been.“She is the only one who has ever been able to make him listen.”
“So why is John not your best friend?And Trem and Monty—with their easy natures, they seem more suited.”
“I—” he began, and then was unsure of what he was going to say.It was a good question that she asked him.He had to consider it.“I am not sure.”
She said nothing, however, and he appreciated her silence.
“Trem has a very generous nature,” he began, “and he does not easily take offense.He and John only ever truly quarreled over Henrietta.John never means to be unkind, but he can be.Trem never is affronted in the way that Monty and I can be by John.In truth, John has always needed a best friend who wouldn’t be knocked back by his surly nature.
“Monty, though, he is more than generous.He is extraordinarily kind.He always was.And I—I needed that.I was always anxious.Frightened of things.Myself most of all.And my desires.”
She laughed beside him.“Your desires?”
“My friends always seemed so at home with what they wanted.But what I wanted scared me half out of my wits.”
