He slammed the door on his departure.
***
THE TEARFUL SOBS THATFanny had so desperately tried to hold back now flowed freely. The look of pure disdain on Jonathan’s face, along with the cold edge to his voice when he’d left made her wonder if she’d done the right thing, for her heart no longer felt broken.
It was crushed.
She reminded herself that nothing she did was of consequence to him, yet he had almost seemed...disappointed in her. Surely, she was mistaken, for how would a known wastrel like Lord Castleford dare to judge anyone’s actions?
Then again, everyone was so quick to put him in the category of a worthless rake, when she knew it wasn’t completely true. She had seen his good deeds firsthand. Not only had he reopened the mine in St. Austell and claimed it wasn’t purely for personal gain, but what of the work he’d told her about in London? She believed that he was an advocate for those less fortunate, so why had it been so easy for her to think he was a licentious libertine when she had never seen any signs to prove it? If he were a true reprobate, wouldn’t he have been chasing about anything in a skirt during his time in Cornwall?
In truth, he’d only paid court to one lady —her.
And there were other signs that she’d ignored too. The way those green eyes seemed to snap to attention when she walked into the room, as if she were the only thing that mattered. The way he smiled that made her feel as though it was reserved wholly for her. And, of course, the way he held her in his arms, as if she was the most precious thing on earth.
Fanny gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.Dear God. What had she done?
She jumped to her feet and ran to the door, intent on finding Jonathan and begging his forgiveness yet again — when she nearly ran into Lady Marwood on the other side.
“Oh!” Fanny offered a curtsy, and began to brush past her hostess. “Forgive me, but I must speak with Lord Castleford—”
The lady’s words stopped her. “That’s what I was coming to tell you. He just left. Rather abruptly, in fact.”
Fanny spun back around, dread filling her chest. “Where did he go?”
“He said that he needed to return to London right away.” She sighed. “Oh, I do hope that he might return for the ball.” For the first time, she seemed to finally take note of Fanny’s tear-streaked face. “Oh, dear. Something has happened, hasn’t it?”
Fanny reached out and put a hand against the wall. She closed her eyes against a sudden wave of dizziness. “Did he say when he would return?” she whispered.
“I’m afraid not,” the lady returned softly. She walked over and threaded Fanny’s arm between hers. “Come on. You look as though you could use a cup of tea.” Evelyn glanced at her. “On second thought, perhaps some sherry is in order.”
Chapter Nine
“YOU’VE BEEN RATHERmelancholy since your return to London.” Jonathan turned away from the window at the sound of his elder brother’s even tone. “Any particular reason?” His brow lifted as he turned a page of theTimes. “I daresay Cornwall would make anyone a bit reticent after being in seclusion for so long. Especially a man of your particular... constitution.”
Jonathan snorted as he regarded Edward. “Yeah. I guess that’s what you would think.”
