Her lips quirked upward. And here she was about to eat ice cream outside. Then again, she’d rarely followed the norm, and as long as James was not about, she could relax and enjoy her outing. The band still played despite the cold, and a number of people danced about below them. Since her school would be open in the coldest times of the year, she would have to devise some outdoor activities to engage her ladies in relevant exercise.
She turned toward her mother to ask her opinion on the subject and froze. Monsieur Armand walked toward them with James. She had an immediate urge to run but where could she go? Turning her head, she found her father’s brows lowered as he looked at her. He was clearly not happy with the appearance of James and for that she was grateful.
Monsieur stepped up to their table. “Mes amies, I have brought a lone monsieur who needs company, might he join you?”
Her mother spoke. “That will be up to my daughter.”
She swallowed hard, not even daring to look at James. If she did, she was sure she’d start crying again and probably rail at him like an unbalanced person.
“Lady Joanna, would you walk with me?”
The deep tones of his voice made her shiver with both dread and remembered passion. She shook her head, unable to speak.
“If you prefer, I could join you for ice cream instead.”
She didn’t want that either. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Why did he keep trying to talk to her?
Her mother’s hand grasped hers behind the table. “Perhaps it is best to hear what he has to say so that you can stop avoiding him.”
The logical side of her brain agreed, but her heart didn’t want to hear it. She raised her gaze to her mother’s. There was sympathy, but also pride. Finally, she forced herself to look at James. He was as handsome and commanding as the last time she’d seen him. His blue wool greatcoat made his eyes seem lighter in the lantern’s light and her chest tightened. She’d been strong enough to confront him, she could stand to hear what other torture he had in mind for her. At that thought, she straightened her spine. “We can walk.”
“Are you sure?” Her mother’s hand squeezed hers again.
“I’m sure.” Rising from her seat at the table, she stepped down from the dais and moved toward him.
He held out his arm, but she refused to take it. Finally, he dropped it and motioned toward the main walkway, where but few people meandered. “It is good to see you.”
His voice flowed over her, but she kept her eyes on the lit path. She despised the fact that she felt the same about seeing him. She wanted to hate him. He deserved that. “Why did you come here?”
“I have been trying to talk to you because I’ve discovered what happened at Elsbeth’s ball.”
She snapped her head around to stare incredulously at him. “Discovered? Was not being there and manipulating your plan not clear enough for you?”
He winced at her attack, but instead of making her feel good, it just made her feel worse and even more angry. “What could there possibly be to discover?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Finally, he gave his usually truncated nod as if bracing himself. “Like you, I accepted what occurred that night. I had not spoken to anyone about your school, so when you accused me, I was angry that you could think I would do something so cruel.”
She opened her mouth, but he held up his hand. “Please, allow me to explain.”
Snapping her mouth shut, she crossed her arms over her chest, hoping it would help her hold her tongue.
“As you are aware, I did not call on you immediately afterward because I was angry that you, whom I respected, would lay such insulting allegations at my feet.”
She squeezed her arms tight to keep her mouth closed, but her body now burned with a need to yell at him.
“It wasn’t until a fortnight past that I discovered the source of the problem. It was Lady Caroline.”
She couldn’t keep quiet any longer. Stopping she faced him. “Lady Caroline? How you can blame Lady Caroline, the perfect lady. She didn’t even know about my school.”
“Until that night.” He stared at her as if trying to figure out what she thought, but there were few lanterns where they were, and for that she was thankful.
He sighed. “You are correct. Lady Caroline did not know at the start of the ball, but Elsbeth assumed the lady knew because she was aware that I planned to ask her to be my duchess.”
Hearing the words aloud had her stomach rolling over in pain. Why should she care?
“Lady Caroline did not disabuse Elsbeth of that and proceeded to ask questions. Elsbeth told her of all the young women who would be attending with her. She had no idea that Lady Caroline had become jealous of you and wanted to undermine your plans, so as to make you less appealing to me.”
She took a step back. “Lady Caroline was jealous of me? I find that difficult to believe.”
