Felicity sat in the library, a cup of tea going cold by her side and a book sitting unread in her lap. She found herself staring out the window, watching the leaves turn from summer green to autumn gold and red. Such beauty should have been a succor to her soul, but it wasn’t.
Probably because her mind kept turning on her encounter with Asher the day before. He’d nearly kissed her, and no matter how she told herself that was not all right, she still found herself wishing she’d let him.
But she hadn’t, and instead had hidden in her room with a false claim of a headache. She had skipped lunch, supper and breakfast, all trying to avoid him. Trying to avoid her own heart and all the silly things it insisted on desiring.
“Felicity?”
She jerked her head up in surprise at the sound of her name. It came from inside the room. She hadn’t even heard the door open, so lost in her reverie was she. She found it wasn’t one intruder on her hiding spot, but three. Rosalinde, Elise and Celia now stood at the door, all watching her.
She got to her feet. “Goodness, I was so engrossed in my book, I didn’t hear you.”
None of the women looked that convinced by her words. Not that she could blame them considering she hadn’t even had her book open and she had no idea how long they had been standing watching her.
She blushed. “Come in. Join me. There’s tea on the table by the window. Taylor brought enough for a small army. Apparently even the servants are bound to treat me like I’m a broken child.”
Elise’s brow wrinkled as she moved to the table and began to pour the tea. “No one thinks you’re broken, Felicity.”
“Please,” Felicity said with a sigh. “I see the looks on all your faces when you think I’m not aware. I can practically read your thoughts.”
Celia leaned forward. “You lay your own thoughts on us, then, for none of us pity you or see you as damaged.”
“On the contrary,” Rosalinde said with a shake of her head, “I personally consider you the strongest woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.”
Felicity blushed at the kind compliments and watched as the ladies each took a place near her.
“You’ve been hiding,” Elise said, meeting her gaze evenly.
Felicity sighed. Leave it to her best friend, the one who knew her better than anyone else, to get straight to the point. “Have you all come to intervene and convince me to come out and face the world?”
Celia and Rosalinde exchanged a look and Felicity saw communication flow between the sisters. Rosalinde was the one who responded, “You are too clever for your own good. Those were almost the exact words we were going to say.”
“I have heard them all over the years, I assure you,” Felicity said.
“Facing Asher is harder than facing the world, I would wager,” Elise said softly.
This was not a topic she wanted to broach, though she doubted she’d be given much of a choice in the end. These women were like beautiful bulldogs, they would not release now that they had a bone to chew. It was all meant kindly, of course, for her “own good”.
“Well, I know whatyouthink of our Mr. Seyton, Elise,” Felicity said. “But I’d be curious what Rosalinde and Celia think.”
Celia smiled immediately. “I like him,” she said. “He’s very handsome, isn’t he? And intelligent. He and John are going to be great friends, I can see that already.”
“It’s more than just that, of course,” Rosalinde continued. “There’s a kindness to him, as well. He seems almost…”
She trailed off, and Celia picked up where she left off. “…familiar.”
“Did you get that sense, too?” Rosalinde said, turning toward her sister. “How funny that we both felt it, without realizing the other had the reaction.”
Elise laughed. “It is because I swear you share a heart. You’re like twins.”
Felicity smiled, too, partly because the friendly banter felt so comfortable, partly because it distracted from the topic she didn’t want to broach.
“I can see why you loved him,” Celia said.
And there was the subject, rearing its ugly head. Felicity got to her feet and walked away to the window where she said, “It seems Elise cannot keep her mouth shut about that secret to anyone.”
When Elise caught her breath, Felicity turned back to spear her with a glare. Elise opened her mouth to defend herself, but Celia was the one who responded. “Elise told us nothing,” she said, and Rosalinde nodded.
“It isn’t hard to guess,” Rosalinde said softly. “From the way you spoke to me about Mr. Seyton last week and from the fact that you’ve been in hiding since his arrival. Clearly there wassomethingbetween you once.”
