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‘I hardly think Haryo would welcome me wooing her.’
‘And why is that?’
‘She told me it would not be welcome, quite explicitly, in fact.’
‘And why might she do that?’
Lord Granville opened his mouth and shut it again. He took a breath. ‘Because she knows about us. For the avoidance of doubt, she did not hear of it from me. She… saw us embrace about ten years ago.’
Bess nodded sadly. The air was suddenly thick around them. Thick with the memories of a love long passed, of the passion they shared, the adventures, the laughter, all with the incalculable sadness of its passing.
‘She thinks that you are still in love with me.’
Granville hardly knew how to reply. ‘I will always love you,’ he murmured.
‘And I you. But not in the way we once did. We must move on. You must move on.’
‘And how does one do that, pray?’
Bess glanced up at him, then looked away. ‘By falling in love again. Fall in love with Harriet, darling. She will hold your heart safe.’
She patted him on the chest, and his throat closed.
‘What of this business with Eliza Courtney?’ she said, changing the subject completely.
‘What of it,’ he hedged.
‘Come now. I can’t see that any of this is wise, but Haryo, Gee and Hart seem to have leaped into the fray and are all suddenly championing her. Do they know?’
Granville shook his head. ‘They do not, and they should not. She will have her moment, find a husband, and disappear back into obscurity.’
Bess sighed and nodded. ‘I miss plotting with you,’ she murmured, before wandering away.
He bowed his head, then turned to see Haryo watching him carefully from the other side of the room. He met her gaze, and just as before, she did not look away. He was the first to do so. When he turned back, she was approaching him.
They greeted one another and then she stood beside him, watching the assembled company. ‘I’m sorry. I let the cat out of the bag with Aunt Bess,’ she said quietly, not looking at him.
That made him smile. The thing with Haryo was, she rarely responded how one imagined she might. ‘So I gather,’ he murmured.
‘In my defence, she was pressing me again to consider your suit. I explained you had not made any suit for me to consider. I told her we are now friends, but she continued pushing and…’ She shrugged. ‘I apologise.’
‘No need to apologise.’
The look she gave him was long and tinged with sadness before she appeared to shake herself. Haryo put back her shoulders and smiled brightly. ‘But we are here to support Eliza, are we not? Not maunder about over lost loves. Tell me, how you are keeping? Will you be attending Carlton House?
He admired her fortitude and rallied to meet it. ‘I will indeed. As your newfound friend, I expect you to reserve me at least one dance.’
‘But of course,’ she murmured with a coy look.
‘And you? Now that you have rejected the suit that I never offered, will you seek to capture other hearts?’
‘Who knows, my lord? Who knows? I believe we have a good many highly eligible men this season, so it might just be the right time for me to find my… love.’
Granville’s smile was less than genuine, and he refused to name the sensation that prickled none too gently in his chest. He was saved from replying as the procession of young ladies to be presented began in earnest.
Chapter 27
ELIZA
