I scowled at his attempt at humor. He likely thought me an arrogant, emotional woman too caught in her feelings to see reason. “Think of me what you will, Graham, but you cannot possibly understand.”
He took a few steps near, until we were less than an arm’s length apart. “Believe it or not, I have endured my fair share from the gossipmongers over the years. Tell me.”
His eyes bored into mine, searching for answers, like he truly wanted them. All I wanted was a friend, someone to understand how I felt, to tell me when I was wrong about a person or a circumstance, even if I did not wish to hear it. Someone I could trust.
And Graham had trusted me.
He’d sat at every table in our house at one point or another. I’d given him my very worst in every way—the sharpest words, cruelest looks, most hateful snubs. And, yet, he’d told me everything about his past. If Society found interest in this ridiculous upheaval between Mr. Lennox and me, they must have been relentless over Graham starting his life anew. I’d been so newly out in Society, I must have missed it all.
Indeed, he could have offered to take me home, put me in my bed, tell his mother and sisters what a dramatic, overindulged thing I was.But he’d given me privacy. He’d stayed.
His gaze did not wander from my face.
I trusted him. I did.
Warmth splotched my cheeks, and I looked away. “Half of what they say is true. But they do not have the whole of it. Mr. Lennox and I ... We were on the cusp of a courtship until I learned he was secretly engaged to another.”
Graham’s jaw flexed, and his nostrils flared. “The scoundrel. Does your father know?”
“No. I’ve yet to tell him, and I’d appreciate being the first to do so. Mr. Lennox’s uncle paid the woman off, but I refuse to make amends.”
He nodded once. “I am sorry to hear how terribly he has abused you.”
“Fortunate timing, though. Can you imagine if I’d discovered his true nature later? After I’d given him my heart? I’d have surely lost my wits and marred him with ...” I let my imagination wander, then chose the most fitting of weapons. “His lion-headed cane.”
Graham’s eyes widened. He shook his head, a blend of terror and humor on his face. “Not the lion-headed cane. You ruthless woman.”
I smirked. “Do not cross me, Graham.”
He held a hand to his chest. “You have my word. And allow me to apologize again for every time I’ve wronged you.”
I rolled my eyes, and he feigned terror for another dramatic moment. We listened to the gentle hum of voices and distant melodies carrying from the music room.
I huffed out a breath, less shaky than before, but I still buzzed with the shock of Mr. Lennox and the cruel wave of gossip that had followed. “I think it best to forget about all this. To pretend no one knows that anything is amiss,” I said. “We should finish the day you’ve planned.”
Graham nodded, watching me like I might shatter. I did not want him to look at me like that, though perhaps I deserved it after such a humiliating display.
“For what it’s worth, Anna ...” Graham seemed to hesitate, then shrugged. “Fear and hairpins aside, no matter what lies they spread about you, I’m a friend for as long as you’ll have me. You know the truth, and that is all that really matters.” Then he offered his arm.
It was such a simple offering. So honest and good of him. I laced my arm through his, then teased, “Ah, the promiseevery man of my acquaintance has offered ... until my father walks in the room.”
Graham groaned and tugged me toward the music room.
“What?” I asked sharply.
He gave me a sideways glance. “You truly believe the only reason a man shows interest in you is because of who your father is?”
I pondered his question. “Seventy-five percent of the time, at least.”
“Seventy-five—?” He scoffed, then half laughed. “Where does that belief come from?”
“Men pretending to be my friend, and then abandoning me for my father’s attention. Jesting about my dowry with their friends when they think I am not listening. When they smile more broadly and talk more enthusiastically with him than with me.” Alexander Lennox had done every single thing. “I wish I could stop the spread of it. I am such a fool.”
“You were trying to follow your heart. There is nothing foolish in that.”
“Well. I am quite ready to follow it elsewhere.”
“Come,” Graham said. “Let us see where it leads you.”
