“I had forgotten that part.”
“Yes, well, he will not have. I made sure of it.” The sharp irony of that wasn’t lost on me.
“She is two and twenty. She can wed without his permission.”
“She’d never wed without it. She’s terrified of him.”
“Has it occurred to you that she may be expecting your address? You say you compromised her, even if not irrevocably—whatever that means.”
“She’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she’s smart, Hugh. She knows this isn’t anything real, just stolen moments before she weds the man of her dreams.”
“Rosehill is the man of her dreams? Are you certain?”
“He’s the man of every woman’s dreams. Your own wife stated so at dinner the other night. Remember?”
“That was Kate being Kate. I did not hear Juliet rhapsodizing on her fiancé’s merits.”
“She didn’t deny them either.”
“No, how could she? As you stated, she’s engaged to the man. She can hardly disparage him publicly at the dinner table. That does not mean she would not make a different choice if it were presented to her.”
“Even if she wanted to, I could never ask it of her. She would not understand what a life with me would mean. She would be ruined. Never to be accepted in polite society again. I couldn’t do that to her.”
That was the inescapable truth. Even if she wanted to be with me, the price was too high for her to pay.
“You are determined then? Nothing I can say will convince you?”
“I won’t drag her to hell with me.”
“Very well then. I must ask you to refrain from engaging with her unchaperoned. No more strolls to places unknown. No more cards in the drawing room without Kate or myself present. The strictest proprieties must be followed.”
I couldn’t manage it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to be so close to her and not have her. Not after this afternoon.
“I’ll leave.”
“What?”
“I’ll go back to London.”
“That is not what I said, Michael.”
“I can’t stay here. I can’t be this close to her and not be with her.”
“Are you certain?” His words were more sigh than speech.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow, first light.”
After a too-long pause, he agreed. “I will have the carriage readied for you. I just have to say one last thing, then I will never mention it again. I think you are underestimating her. I think you should tell her how you feel and let her choose. She deserves the truth.”
“Are you finished?”
