“That woman did not strike me as the callous, coldhearted shrew I have been led to believe she was,” Dimity added. “And I’ll tell you something else, Nathan.”
“I can hardly contain my excitement.”
“She and her mother were scared, and I understand meeting you would do that to the younger Miss Carlow, but why her mother?”
“You spent a total of ten minutes at the most in her company, Dimity. I fail to see how you could have ascertained anything in that time.”
“I know what I felt and saw, and those women are not happy.”
He refused to acknowledge that she may be right. He had seen Beth, and now he could get through the season without having to speak with her again. He’d ensured that they were not gossip fodder for society by doing what he had, but he would be distancing himself now.
“It matters not, as that woman is nothing to me and never will be again. I would be grateful going forward if you did not discuss her with me, Dimity.”
She slid her arm through his and pressed to his side, but thankfully said nothing further.
Chapter Two
“I’m sorry, my love.”
“’Tis all right, Mother,” Beth said, her voice sounding wooden. Pain stabbed at her tight chest as she forced herself to breathe slowly.
“He was the man you gave your heart to, and due to the horrid circumstance we were thrust into, you were unable to wed him. My heart breaks for you both.”
Beth’s mother was of a dramatic nature; the smallest issue could turn into a calamity for Lady Carlow, but when she stated the words “horrid circumstance” in regard to the situation their family had been in for the last few years, she was correct.
Horrid did not begin to describe the hell they were living.
“It no longer matters. My feelings for him have dwindled, and as you just saw, he feels little for me. It was a passing flirtation. We are both older and wiser now. Perhaps I learned something by leaving London and not marrying Mr. Nathanial Deville. Mayhap we did not love each other after all.”
Dear Lord, I’ve seen Nathan.
“Don’t belittle what you felt for him, Beth. I know what your father’s youthful indiscretion has cost you.”
Youthful indiscretion. The words had her wanting to laugh, but if she began, there was every chance she may not stop until someone slapped her. Her father’s “youthful indiscretion” had resulted in their mother’s abduction and the ongoing blackmail of the Carlow family.
“If you wish to leave then we shall.”
“We cannot leave, Mother. You know that.”
Lady Carlow slipped an arm around Beth and squeezed her gently.
“Forgive me, of course I know what you must do. I just loathe that you are hurting and afraid. A mother’s instinct is to protect.”
“I know,” she said, swallowing down the tears. “Just as I know you are suffering as I am.”
The Carlow family had been ripped from the life they’d always known and forced to live with fear and uncertainty. Beth was terrified nothing would ever be normal again.
They stood in silence watching the guests, and she battled the urge to search for Nathan. Seeing him, every hope and dream she’d ever had about their life together had resurfaced.
Others had thought him arrogant with a fiery temper, but not her. When she and Nathan were together, he’d been a gentleman. Not once did he raise his voice to her as he had with others. She’d wanted his love desperately, and to ensure he gave it she’d been the perfect lady, as her mother had schooled her to be.
Her fingers clenched into fists as she remembered the time they’d spent together. Reading, laughing, and talking. Her love for Nathan Deville had been a powerful thing, and when she’d been torn from him, Beth had wondered if the pain would destroy her.
It hadn’t, because she’d learned strength. Learned to hide her pain and do what needed to be done to survive.
“For all we have been gone three seasons, there is not much change,” Lady Carlow said, attempting to distract Beth.
“Yes, some of the faces are the same.”
