“My nerves?” She sounded incredulous and rightfully so. Apparently Mr. Townsend had no common sense at all if he supposed her nerves were the issue.
“Well, yes. You are clearly distraught.”
Caleb groaned and proceeded to pull the sharp little pieces of crystal from his hand.
“Of course I'm distraught,” Miss Clemens said. “To be anything else after learning that a man with whom I was once well acquainted has recently died would be inhuman, sir.” She glared at Mr. Townsend before pinning her gaze on his sister. “And you, to speak of the matter and my indiscretion with so little sympathy is galling.”
“Miss Clemens,” Mr. Townsend said with a note of warning. “I would ask you to speak to my sister with respect. After all, you and I are to be—”
“What?” Miss Clemens's eyes were blazing now. Mr. Townsend leaned away from her as if deeming her unpredictable. “Married? You have not asked me to be your wife, and yet you assume that I will be even though you and I would make a terrible match.”
“Surely you jest,” Mr. Townsend declared. “The shock you sustained just now has addled your brain.”
“Indeed it has not,” Miss Clemens insisted. “If anything, coming here this evening has only strengthened my resolve. I will not attach myself to a man who looks down his nose at others and insults my friends.”
“Miss Clemens—”
“No, Mr. Townsend. The answer is no.”
Caleb wanted to cheer in response to her brazen bluntness. Instead, he winced as he pressed the napkin Mr. Townsend had given him to his wounds, blotting at the pebbling blood.
“The nerve,” Miss Townsend said, earning a withering glare from Miss Clemens.
“Indeed,” she muttered, prompting Caleb to smile even as he wondered if Miss Townsend and her brother had registered the subtle barb. “If you would be kind enough to escort me, I would like to return home now, Mr. Crawford.”
He immediately straightened in his seat and rose. “Of course, Miss Clemens. I would be delighted.”
He followed that statement with a swift halfhearted farewell to his hosts, who remained at the table, most likely too stunned to stand, while he escorted Miss Clemens out of the house.
“Good grief,” she said when she was back on Apollo and heading for home. “What awful people.”
“At least you got to see the real Mr. Townsend,” Caleb said.
“It astounds me to think how badly I have misjudged him.” She made a wretched sound. “My parents told me I was naive to think a marquess would want to marry me. I insisted they were wrong, but apparently I do have a tendency to think the best of people. Even when they don't deserve it.”
“How could you know what either of these men was truly like before they chose to show you?” Guilt spliced its way through him because he knew he was just another case of what Miss Clemens described: a charlatan taking advantage of her goodwill. But at least if he could make her feel better, then some good would come from the mess he'd created. “Did Lady Cassandra or Miss Howard ever tell you Mr. Townsend was unworthy of your friendship?”
“No. They were actually in favor of him courting me even though I made it clear to them I wasn't interested.”
“You see? Everyone was seduced by his charisma. Even I must admit that I never expected him to be quite so insulting. In hindsight, however, the comments he threw my way during his visit last week should have given some indication.”
They walked on in silence while dusk turned to night. Overhead, a blanket of stars glittered like an endless collection of diamonds haphazardly strewn out on navy-blue velvet. The moon, a luminescent disc in the sky, glowed bright across the crisp autumn landscape. Winter would likely sneak up behind them and when it did, the house would have to be ready to withstand the cold.
“Thank you,” Miss Clemens said, startling him slightly.
He’d been so busy making a mental list of what remained to be done he'd forgotten he was trying to navigate a dark dirt road while leading a horse along with him.
“For what?” he asked
“For making me feel better.”
“It is the least I can do,” he murmured.
“You’re a true friend,” she said, adding to his guilt. “I’ll be sorry to see you go. As will everyone else. The children have all taken such a liking to you. Is there really nothing we can do to convince you to stay?”
His heart ached with the longing to simply abandon his duty forever and live out the rest of his days in a house with three spinsters and five lively children. And if George were still alive, he might have been able to do so. But fate had put a limit on his options.
“My mother needs me, Miss Clemens.”The dukedom needs me, Parliament needs me, my estates, servants, and tenants all need me. “As it is, I fear I’ve been gone too long.”
