And sometimes, that was all a lady required.
You Poor Thing
“Wait.” Bethany’s eyes widened. “You mean to tell me you are involved with Greystone’s butler?”
Diana glanced between Violet and Bethany, looking confused. “But I thought that he was—”
“Mr. Cockfield.” Bethany supplied.
In searching out one friend, Violet instead found herself in the company of four sympathetic ladies: Bethany, Collette, Diana, and Bethany’s younger sister, Lady Tabetha Spencer.
Upon Violet’s arrival, Bethany took one look at her, invited Violet into her private drawing room, and immediately ordered an early tea.
Violet had not divulged all the details of her involvement with Simon, and before they pursued that line of questioning, she added, “Lord Captain Thompson presented himself this morning.”
“Your dead fiancé?” Tabetha asked.
“But no wonder you are a wreck!” Collette patted Violet’s back.
“And then to hear that you’d been lied to by not only a man you have feelings for, but your cousin as well?” Bethany asked. “You poor thing!”
Violet covered her face with both hands. When she’d listened in on that dreadful conversation, the numb feeling from the night before had returned. She’d not allowed herself to give in to self-pity.
But now, experiencing the support and agreement of these ladies broke something. Holding back tears was no longer possible. Kindness and compassion, it seemed, were going to be her undoing.
“If a gentleman is pronounced dead but then is discovered to be alive, is he even still her fiancé?” Collette asked the room in general.
“I don’t think so,” Diana answered. “Perhaps there is something written in Debrette’s or in Burke’s Dictionary that applies to that sort of thing.”
“I think it must be up to the two people involved,” Bethany settled the matter.
“I very much understand how tempting it must be to accept Lord Captain Thompson’s offer. You would eventually become a duchess.” Tabetha took one of Violet’s hands. “But trust me on this, in the end, it is love that truly matters. Right, Beth?” She turned to her sister, who nodded and then turned back to Violet.
“Do you love the captain, Violet?” she asked.
Violet shook her head almost violently. “No! I’m not in love with Christopher at all.” And then she squeezed her eyes closed and cried, “It’s so much worse than that.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ve fallen in love with Greystone’s butler!” Simon. She loved Simon but he didn’t want her. “I’m in love with a butler!”
“Oh my.” Lady Tabetha’s brows shot up to her hairline.
“Mr. Cockfield?” Diana whipped her head around, grinning.
“What’s wrong with falling in love with a butler?” Collette asked.
“I need a moment.” Bethany silenced them all and then burst out of her seat, her fingers frantically tapping against her thumbs on both hands.
“But when Greystone demanded that Simon offer for me, he refused!” Violet added, lest anyone think this was romantic.
“Mr. Cockfield refused? Are you quite certain of that?” Bethany halted, looking considerably more distraught than Violet would have expected.
“He said it was the last thing he wanted.” Saying the words summoned more tears. Such an admission was more than a little humiliating. But she’d come this far…
“What else, exactly?” Bethany asked.
“I would have stayed to hear all of it.” Collette was shaking her head. “In for a penny, in for a pound, and all that.”
