“Is it a situation you would wish to return to?”
Looking back at Sophie, Christina had no choice but to nod. “Fool that I am, I would,” she admitted, hoarsely. “One word from him and I would fling myself back into his embrace, as if all the pain and confusion were never truly there to begin with.”
Sophie smiled gently. “I do not think you a fool but one who is still in love,” she replied, softly. “And love is one of the strongest forces in this world, I think, so it is little wonder that you are not freed from its grip as yet.”
Christina said nothing to this, but her mind immediately ran to Lord Coventry, back to the moments they had shared and the whispers of love upon their lips. If she was still tangled in the threads of love, then was there any possibility whatsoever that he, too, might be caught there?
Sophie was quiet for a long moment, her gaze drifting to the carriage window where the first trees of Hyde Park had come into view. When she spoke again, however, her voice hadchanged. The softness of a comforting sister had given way to something sharper, more purposeful.
"Christina, you still have the letter? The one you believed was from Lord Coventry?"
She nodded, her brow creasing. "Of course. I could not bring myself to destroy it."
"Good. Keep it safe." Sophie turned back to her, her jaw set with quiet determination. "If neither of you wrote those letters, then someone else did — and that someone left traces in the handwriting, the paper, the ink. When you speak with him, ask whether he still has the letter he received. Compare them side by side. If the same hand wrote both, the proof will be there."
Christina stared at her sister. It was the first practical suggestion anyone had made since the revelation — the first step from bewildered grief toward something that resembled a path forward. Something loosened in her chest, a thread of purpose winding itself around the ache that had settled there.
"You are right," she said, slowly. "I had not thought of it."
"Then it is well that I am here." Sophie pressed her hand once more, then straightened in her seat as the carriage slowed. "Now — dry your eyes, my dear. We are about to enter the park, and the ton will be watching. Let us give them nothing to remark upon but two sisters enjoying the afternoon."
Christina drew in a steadying breath, tucked her handkerchief away, and lifted her chin. The questions that had circled through the long, sleepless hours were still there — unanswered, relentless — but they had shifted, ever so slightly, from torment to purpose.
8
The noise and the bustle of Hyde Park did nothing to quiet Isaac’s mind. He had come here in the hope of putting an end to his many conflicting thoughts by distracting himself through company and laughter, but alas, thus far it had failed. Instead of drowning himself in conversation, he stood silently and failed even to listen well to what was being spoken around him. His eyes were darting from one face to the next, hope in his heart that one of them might be Miss Oldham – although quite what he would do or say should he see her, Isaac did not know.
The realization that it was not all as he had believed it had been a shocking one. His body had rebelled at the idea, throwing up one argument and then the next against what she had said, trying to tell himself that she was lying or speaking only half the truth… but he had not been able to forget the shock that had thrown itself into her expression when they had spoken. There was very little doubt in his mind that it had been genuine.
Sighing, Isaac looked down at the ground and then squeezed his eyes closed. If she had not written to him, then it meant that their separation had come from some cruelty or another,something that was deliberately setting them both apart but without explanation. It made very little sense to his mind, for he could not imagine who would want to break them apart, especially when their connection had been hidden from the eyes of the ton.
Mayhap we were not as careful as we believed.
Letting out a long breath, Isaac lifted his head and looked over the crowd again. These last few months, he had decided to resign himself to the fact that he and Miss Oldham were never to step out together, had concluded that there was very little point in allowing his heart and his mind to throw up question after question about what she had done and why she had done it. He had determined to come to London and find another young lady to care for her in her place, but now, all such resolves had been shattered, leaving them like ashes in the wind.
Without warning, his heart slammed hard against his ribs, and his breath curled up into a heap in the center of his lungs. His eyes fixed on the one person who had been the object of his affections for so long, the one who still was seated in his heart, should he permit himself to admit it. She was walking arm in arm with her sister, only for another young lady and her companion to greet them both. When she smiled, that gentle, unhurried smile that was so familiar to him, all the air in Isaac’s lungs was thrown out in an instant. He could only stare, rooted to where he stood as his heartbeat thudded wildly, his pulse thrumming in his veins. If he believed that the letter had not been penned by her hand, then there was no need for anger or sorrow to be directed towards her. It was as if a veil fell away, leaving him in clear view of her… and aware of just how much his heart yearned for her still.
Her gaze shifted, running over the crowd as her sister and the other ladies spoke. Isaac dragged in air, his body jolting violently as her eyes settled on him. Her back straightened, andher chin lifted, as if she were bracing herself against memories that were now, undoubtedly, assailing her just as they were him. The crowd swirled between them, but she remained fixed in his sight as he beheld her.
His heart roared.
Hesitating, Isaac let out a long, slow breath, sensing the fight beginning to grow within his mind. Part of him wanted to turn away from her, to break their contact and set his back to all they had shared and the confusion that now bound them. These long months, he had built a foundation of belief that she had cast him aside, and he was now settled upon it, but now that foundation had cracked, no longer able to bear his weight.
He took a step forward but then stopped, waiting for her response.
Miss Oldham’s eyes flared. Then, she looked to her sister, leaned towards her, and whispered something in her ear. With a nod, her sister then looked directly at him before returning her attention to the conversation at hand.
Isaac’s breath trembled as he walked towards her, his hands in fists as he battled the tension that bit down hard upon him. Miss Oldham clasped her hands in front of her as she walked, her head lifted but her expression wary.
“Miss Oldham.” Bowing, Isaac cleared his throat, finding it difficult to look into her eyes as the noise of the park continued to hum around them. “I – ” He frowned. “Good afternoon to you.”
A smile flicked across the edge of her mouth, but it was gone the very next moment. “Good afternoon, Lord Coventry. It has been some time since we spoke, has it not?”
He nodded, a response stuck in his throat as her eyes finally seared his. He had imagined this moment on many an occasion, but it was not with this confusion lodged in his chest. Instead, he had thought of the harsh words he would say, the bitterness hewould express, and the regret he could offer her. All of that was gone now with the steadfast awareness that she had not betrayed him.
“I – I am glad to see you.” When he did not speak, she did, her eyes darting away from his. “I should like to talk a little more about all that has taken place between us, Coventry.” Something flickered across her face, her eyes closing as she released a slow breath. “Forgive me. Lord Coventry, of course.”
“There is nothing to forgive.” His voice faltered, hating the formality between them but recognizing that he had been the one to put it in place. Regret, thick and heavy, sank into his frame like ballast, weighing him to where he stood. “My mind, however, is in much confusion.”
