“Yes, quite right,” Enid agreed. “It is my favorite part of the day.”
“Mine, too,” Lord Rushcliffe confirmed.
As Lord and Lady Rushcliffe continued on the path, Fredrick turned his attention towards Octavia and he had a solemn look on his face. “I think it would be best if you stayed away from Harred for the time being.”
“Absolutely not!” Octavia exclaimed as she squared her shoulders. “I do not abandon my friends, especially when they need my help the most.”
“Be reasonable,” Fredrick attempted. “What could you do to help him?”
“I don’t know, but staying away from him cannot possibly be the answer.”
Fredrick ran a hand through his hair, making it terribly disheveled. “You are infuriating. Why can’t you just agree with me for once and we can avoid this fight?”
“I will when you say something that I want to agree with,” Octavia responded. “Besides, there is no one else I would rather fight with.”
“Regardless, someone has attempted to hurt Harred twice now. What happens if that person doesn’t stop with just Harred?” Fredrick asked.
“Then I shall carry a pistol in my reticule like Anettedoes,” Octavia said. “I am a good shot when I practice on the targets.”
Fredrick gave her a knowing look. “Do you honestly think you could shoot someone?” he asked. “You are far too tenderhearted for that.”
“Given the right circumstances, I think I could, especially if that person was hurting someone that I loved.”
The moment the last word slipped out, Octavia wished that she could take it back. Why had she said such a thing?
Fredrick studied her. “You don’t love Harred, do you?”
“Of course not!” Octavia declared as her cheeks grew flushed. “I care for him, as a friend would, but I do not love him. We hardly know one another. It was just an expression.”
She ducked her head, attempting to evade Fredrick’s searching gaze. She didn’t love Harred. She couldn’t. But she did hold him in high regard. Which was a far cry from being in love. Her emotions were just muddled. That was all it was.
Thankfully, Fredrick didn’t press her and looked up at the sky. “We should return home before our breakfast gets cold.”
“I will race you back,” Octavia said before she kicked her horse into a run.
She was relieved to be done with that ridiculous conversation. All she wanted to do was just pretend it had never happened. If she was lucky, Fredrick wouldn’t bring it up again.
They raced their horses until they arrived at the south entrance. It wasn’t long before they were walking alongside each other down the street towards their townhouse.
The silence seemed to stretch on for far too long so Octavia asked, “Do you intend to visit Mother before breakfast?”
“I haven’t decided,” Fredrick admitted. “I grow tired of having the same conversation with her every day.”
“But she is our mother.”
“That she is, but it is still tiresome to pretend that all is well.”
Octavia grew silent. “I know that feeling. I just wish I could fix this, but I know I can’t. Which makes it that much harder.”
Fredrick’s eyes held compassion. “We will be just fine when Mother passes.”
“Will we?” Octavia asked. “I don’t think Father can live without his wife and I don’t want to go a day without seeing Mother.”
“You will always have me and Roswell,” Fredrick said. “And Freddy.”
Octavia knew that her brother was attempting to lighten the mood by bringing up Freddy, but she found it difficult to summon even a hint of a smile. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes and she blinked them back. It would do her no good to cry, especially in public. That could cause a scandal, and that was the last thing she wanted.
With remarkable composure, far more than she felt inside, she confessed, “I am most grateful for that, but I am not ready to say goodbye.”
