“Nobody you know, I am sure,” the Duke spoke over her. “Now, Lady Redgate, if you do not mind…” He looked at her with warning, and Lady Redgate shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Yes, yes, very well.” She looked at Octavia a final time, still with abject curiosity, before walking away.
“Ignore her,” the Duke said. “She is a known busybody and not worth your time.”
Octavia said nothing. She offered a thankful smile and looked ahead as the Duke led her into their private box. There, she pretended to focus on the stage as the crowd below them settled. But there was something about the way that Lady Redgate had looked at her just now that was odd… not in judgment like everybody else. It was almost as if she knew her.
Which is impossible. Likely, the old woman is just confused.
The show started soon after, which Octavia was grateful for as it allowed her to forget what had happened and to focus on the show.
Nonetheless, she struggled to dismiss the feeling that those in the other private boxes along the wall were eyeing her, as wellas judging. She was not one of them and never had it felt so obvious.
Even the Duke, seemingly unaware, could not save her from torment. She caught him glancing at her from time to time; she saw him smiling and admiring her. While that should have brought her some relief, it only made her feel worse.
Whatever the Duke did or did not want with her, it made little real difference. Tonight had proven that Octavia did not belong here, just as she did not belong in the Duke’s affections, and nothing would change that.
She was a fool for daring to think differently.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Are you going to join us today, Father?” Aaron asked Evander. “Please, you must say yes.”
As was becoming tradition, Evander had joined his son, Miss Finch, and Aaron for breakfast. So common was it now that when he entered the breakfast room earlier, he saw that the three of them had not started eating yet. Rather, they sat patiently, and when he entered the room, none of them looked surprised.
Aaron, of course, beamed with delight, and it was a sight that warmed Evander’s heart in ways that he once thought to be impossible but was now growing used to. This is what it meant to be a father, and it was a feeling that he wanted more of.
What was I so afraid of… why did I spend so long resisting what is a perfectly natural thing?
Even his son’s request that he join them today, while once anathema to Evander as he was busy and could not condone wasting time like that, was not nearly so egregious. He wanted to join them. He wanted to continue down this path. He wanted to be the man he believed that he could be.
“I… I am not sure,” Evander said, as if on instinct. His mind immediately went to his office, the mounds of work piled on his desk that he needed to get to.
“You should do,” Miss Finch pointed out. “In fact, today is a perfect day for it.”
“As opposed to all the others,” he responded dryly, which saw her roll her eyes in response.
The Opera last night had been a tremendous success. Miss Finch had thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and Evander had managed to get through it without doing something foolish or falling back into old habits that would have seen the moment ruined.
If anything, he had been too comfortable with her on his arm. Even the noticeable judgment from his peers did little to persuade him from this course. As strange as it was, their objections only galvanized him further, wanting him to prove that they were wrong about her.
There was, of course, that niggling feeling in the back of Evander’s mind, a warning that this could not go on. When his relationship with Miss Finch had been purely about his physical attraction to her, it was easier to ignore reality and claim thatall he wanted was to sate his desire and enjoy her temptation. It was shallow, it was easy, and it left him free to do as he wanted without the added guilt.
However, the more time he spent with Miss Finch, the closer they became, and the more dangerous the future appeared.
Where can this even lead? Nowhere, and she must know it as well as I. But does that make it better? Or am I only setting us both up for future pain…
What Evander should have done last evening was take Miss Finch into his room once they returned home. He should have made it clear what he wanted from her, dismissing these concerns and establishing clearer boundaries between them.
Evander did not do that… and while he was not ready to admit to why, deep down, he knew the reason.
“Make your jokes,” Miss Finch said to him. “But my meaning is, I am planning on taking the boys into London today, and while I was going to ask for a chauffeur to join us, I cannot help but think you might be more suited.”
“Into London?” Evander frowned. “For your lessons?”
“That’s right.”
“And the reason…”
