Lydia held her breath.
“But—do forgive me if this comes out muddled; I never was much of a wordsmith—but I do not believe I am ready for marriage.”
All the air whooshed out of Lydia, bringing a wave of relief in its wake. Had Lord Berkeley convinced him of this? Thank the heavens if he had.
Lord Charles continued, speaking rapidly. “I am terribly sorry to have led you to believe anything contrary, and I assure you, I hold you in the highest of esteem, but I feel it would be a disservice to you were I to... ah... I am not managing this well. Lucas told me this would happen, and I ought to have believed him, you know. It is aggravating how often he is right.”
“Your brother?” Lydia could not help herself from clarifying. It was as if her brain had joined her heart in waiting for just such a moment to speak of Lord Berkeley.
Again, a chagrined look crossed Charlie’s face. “Yes. He agreed to accompany me in visiting you so that my attentions would not be so overt in case I determined that I did not want to court you after all. But blast, forgive me, that came out wrong. It is not that Idon’twant to court you. It is that I do not believe I want to court anyone. As I said, I—”
She had stopped listening halfway through his speech. Lord Berkeley had only come as a favor. That made a great deal of sense. She likely could have guessed that possibility had she given it much thought.
Yet it made her feel as if she were falling.
She grasped hold of reality and forced herself to focus on the man in front of her. It was generally rude to cut someone off, but in this case, it seemed imperative. “Lord Charles, I understand completely. You have not offended me in the least, I assure you.”
His pinched expression softened, and his hands, which had been lifted in explanation, fell to his lap. “Truly?”
“Truly.”
He heaved a sigh. “Thank goodness. You cannot know the extent of my concern.”
“I think I have a fair guess.” She could not help the lifting of her mouth.
He grinned at her, his joviality quickly returning. He slapped his thighs and came to a stand. “Well, I will not take up more of your time than I already have.”
She came to a stand as well, smiling at him. “It was a pleasure to see you, Lord Charles. I hope you get the adventure you are craving.”
“As do I, Miss Faraday. And I hope we might remain friends.”
She affected a stern look. “I expect nothing less.”
With another smile, he took his leave, and she settled slowly onto the couch and allowed the feeling of emptiness to fill her.
Lord Berkeley had joined his brother in calling on Lydia as a favor to Lord Charles, not because he wished to get to know her or enjoyed her company. Only to keep the gossips from learning that Lord Charles was considering courting Miss Faraday.
My, but that was a sobering thought. Her mind had been pushing back against thoughts of a future with Lord Berkeley for days now, but her heart had evidently remained steadfast. Wretched feelings—acting without her say-so. She was pained to learn that nothing but necessity had brought him to her side time and time again. Could she hope that at any point they’d grown a real friendship? Or perhaps he was as grateful to hear that she did not want to marry his brother as she had been to hear Lord Charles call off their courtship. Perhaps Lord Berkeley had just been seeking out an excuse to rid himself of her. After all, she’d turned out to be far more than he bargained for.
She bit the inside of her cheeks, trying to push aside the unhappy feelings. Everything was as it should be. The two men she might have been most concerned about ruining her chances at receiving her inheritance were, of a sudden, not a problem.
She would convince Lord Tarrington to send her home. She would not take no for an answer this time.
Chapter 20
Lucas scanned the contents ofColin’s letter again—trouble with the canal operation, new prospects in need of jobs, and the monthly financial reports of the club—but though he really needed to pen a letter back, or, better yet, visit the man, his eyes kept straying to the other papers on the desk.
Finally, he gave in, setting down Colin’s letter and picking up the newspaper, a scowl burning his face. It would seem his brother’s attempts atsubtlycourting Miss Faraday were not working so well. Though, maybe they were, since the several features in the gossip columns had more to do withLucasand Miss Faraday rather than Charlie and her. Dash it all.
“I went to see Miss Faraday today,” Charlie announced, sauntering into the study without any greeting and throwing himself down into a chair by the window.
Lucas’s scowl stayed upon his face, and he did not even care about the outward show of emotion. “Without me? I thought you required one more outing.”
“I came to the realization while I was sick that I did not need another outing.”
And he hadn’t thought to share that realization with Lucas? “Have you declared an intention to court her then?” Lucas ground out. Lucas had not even had a chance to convince Charlie to stop courting Miss Faraday, as she’d asked.
Charlie shook his head. “The opposite.”
