Mr. Campbell’s features lifted in a look of mild surprise. I had never seen anything but boredom on his face. Was he shocked that I was finally facing reality? I was too. Perhaps he enjoyed watching ladies chase him for his money and crushing their dreams publicly. But what he didn’t understand was that acquiring money was not adreamfor me. It was a necessity.
Before he could say another word, I curtsied and walked to an isolated corner of the room. I wasn’t prepared to face Kate and Aunt Julia in the wake of my failure. I needed a moment to breathe and study the rest of the room for my next target. Preferably a more realistic one.
When I reached my corner of blue wallpaper, I turned to face the other guests.
I jumped.
Mr. Campbell was right on my heels.
“You think I’m intent on avoiding you?” he asked in a sardonic tone. “Why would I wish to do that?” He must have been enjoying our game, probably because he felt that he had the upper hand. His pride was being fed by the spoonful at the sight of my discomfort.
Anger bubbled under my skin. I did not have time for these antics. He seemed to want a confession from me. In my isolatedcorner, we were no longer being overheard by the other guests, though we were certainly still being watched.
Mr. Campbell’s reputation could afford to withstand nearly any blow, but mine was much more fragile. If anyone speculated that he was interested in me and then he withdrew his attention, I would suffer for it. He had nothing to lose by toying with me. I probably deserved such treatment, given my misguided intentions toward him. Mr. Colin Campbell was nothing more to me than a walking promissory note, one that could save my entire family from a dreadful fate. I was certainly not innocent. But I had been taught that when caught with ill-intentions, it was more respectable to own them confidently than to deny them.
I examined his arrogant face for a long moment and deduced that there was no possible way he would ever court me. He was extremely vexing, actually, now that I thought about it. Proud, lazy, and disagreeable.
So I decided to tell him the truth about why he would wish to avoid me.
I lifted my chin. “Because I am indeed contriving to be wherever you are. I should very much like to acquire your fortune though marriage, and I suspect you might be avoiding me because you don’t want to offer it to me or anyone else.”
The shock on his face was rewarding. My satisfaction was too fresh for me to regret a single one of my bold words. In fact, it made me want to say more.
Mr. Campbell scowled down at me. “I can’t claim to be surprised by anything but your ill-mannered honesty. To confess your intentions without any remorse is astonishing.”
I released a bored sigh, suddenly caring very little for his opinion.
His scowl deepened. I seemed to have struck a sensitive subject. “Your suspicions are correct,” he said in a low voice.“I don’t intend to marry, and even if I did, I would find it imprudent to court a woman of your desperate situation and repulsive manner.”
I exhaled slowly, allowing his words to sink in. It was safe to say I would have to cross him promptly off my list. “Well then. If you will excuse me, I have much to do and very little time to waste. I must find a new gentleman to pursue.”
I didn’t wait for Mr. Campbell’s reaction. Instead, I marched casually back toward Aunt Julia and Kate. The potential consequences of my honesty would surely hit me later, but at the moment, I was quite proud of myself. Mr. Campbell might have thought he was catching me in some wicked scheme, but the truth of the matter was that nearly every lady in England was hoping to secure a fortune for one reason or another. What was the point in skirting around the subject?
Kate gave me a cautious look as I approached. Her attentive eyes missed nothing. “Oh, dear. What did you say this time?”
I brushed a curl from my forehead with a light laugh. “Nothing consequential.” I swallowed. “But I no longer have any interest in Mr. Campbell.”
“Arabella!”
“No.” I lifted a hand. “I have put the matter behind me.” My skin felt flushed, and I wanted to snatch Kate’s fan from her grasp. “Who is the next wealthiest gentleman here this evening?” I whispered quickly.
Kate narrowed her eyes at me, but thankfully she didn’t press the subject further. Since the moment I had confided in her about my family’s plight, she had been nothing but dutiful. For a friend I had met just two months before at the Pump Room, she was extremely devoted and trustworthy. She had come to Bath alone while her husband remained in London. She preferred the smaller scale of Bath to the chaos of Town, but her boredom had demanded that she obtain a friend. We had swiftly connecteddespite the difference in our stations, and she had taken me under her wing. I knew that if I had put Colin Campbell behind me, then Kate had too…even if she did look slightly vexed.
She straightened her posture and examined the room.
And then she directed my attention to Sir William, thesecondwealthiest man at Lady Benton’s party.
CHAPTER 3
CLARK
My carriage stopped at the center of the Circus shortly after midnight. Candlelight still flickered through the partially curtained windows of Colin’s townhouse. Had he delayed his sleep for my arrival? That would have been thoughtful.
And out of character.
Stepping down onto the cobblestones, I stretched my back and surveyed the enclosed circle of townhouses. The golden stone surrounded me like a gilded cage. At any given moment, how many prying eyes could be peering out from all those windows? Anything that occurred in the middle of that circle would be thoroughly observed by the neighbors. Perhaps that was why Colin had asked me to arrive late in the evening. He had seemed quite intent on erasing me from existence over the past three years.
As a new solicitor, I had little to recommend me, and my own brother refused to use his connections for my benefit. He had cut me off after the scandal I had caused in Derbyshire, and I hadbeen scraping up my dignity and any pennies I could find ever since. Coming to Bath hadn’t been part of my plan, but I had already exhausted my efforts in London to acquire new clients. Asking to join Colin in Bath had wounded my pride, but I had been surprised to find that he was willing to assist me.
