Wretched girl.
I’ll teach you not to steal another woman’s property.
“Come, sit by me,” Miranda said, smiling sadly up at Felicity, patting the sofa seat beside her. “This is such a darling, comfortable library, isn’t it?”
Felicity sat down with a graceless thump that made the sofa bounce. Miranda bit back an exclamation.
“It’s very soothing in here,” Felicity admitted.
There was a long pause. Miranda let the silence draw out as long as possible. Silence was always good. People moved automatically to fill the silence, and that was when they were most likely to say something they ought not. Something useful.
“So,” said Felicity at last, as Miranda had known that she would, “You said you had something to say to me? Something about Lord Lanwood?”
Aha. There it was. The almost imperceptible hitch in her voice, the tremulous hesitation when she mentioned Lord Lanwood.
It’s Arthur to me,she thought smugly.
Sighing again, Miranda reached out, taking Felicity’s hand.
“I hope you don’t consider me to be overstepping, but I really felt that I must say something.”
The air in the library seemed very heavy and cold. Miranda regretted throwing off her blanket, but then it was very important to look her best at the moment. She had to seem regal, beautiful, confident, and most importantly, in control.
It wouldn’t do for the girl to call her bluff.
“I have known Lord Lanwood for a long time,” Miranda said at last, with just the right touch of reluctance. “He is a dear,dearfriend of mine. I knew him when he was simply Arthur. To be frank…” she added a wistful, half-laugh, “… to be frank, I’m not sure he would be anything to me besides plain old Arthur. We know each other entirely, inside and out.”
“Like brother and sister, I imagine.”
That was a careless jab on Felicity’s side, and Miranda almost grinned at it.
“Notentirelylike brother and sister,” she said, adding a touch of bashfulness. “The fact is, Felicity – and I don’t know whether you knew this or not – but Arthur and I were once engaged.”
She was looking out for a widening eye, a touch of dismay, or something similar, but she was disappointed. Felicity’s mouth tightened a little, but she only nodded.
“Yes, I am aware. I believe it was Lord Vincent who told me.”
That threw Miranda off a little. She conjured up Lord Vincent’s smug, handsome face, and felt a powerful urge to slap him, or throw something heavy at him. Unfortunately, that would not become a woman who was nigh dead from drowning, so she’d have to resort to more subtle methods of revenge.
Felicity was telling the truth, she could tell. The girl couldn’t lie if her life depended on it, which was always pleasant. There was nothing better than questioning a terminally honest fool.
Miranda smiled, patting Felicity’s hand. “I daresay you’ve heard all sorts of stories about why our engagement ended.”
“If I had, I wouldn’t pay any attention to them. It’s not my business, after all.”
Miranda pretended not to hear. Pushing aside Felicity’s hand, she bounced to her feet, pacing up and down the room.
“It was all such a mess,” she said, as if speaking to herself. She was not, of course. Miranda had planned this interaction almost to the world. People were difficult to control, she knew that better than anyone, but notimpossible.Say one thing, and people would feel themselves obliged to respond in a certain way. While it didn’t cover every possible response, naturally, it was better than nothing.
She spun around to face Felicity again, letting her skirts swing dramatically around her. The candlelight in here was flattering, and Miranda was pleased at the picture she must make, surrounded by buttery candlelight and the impressively decorated library.
That’s right, you plain little thing,she thought spitefully.Take a good look at me. I’m beautiful, and charming, and fascinating. How on earth could he love you, when he could haveme?
“I loved Arthur more than my own life,” Miranda declared, letting her voice pitch. “And he adored me. Oh, we were going to be so blissfully happy. And then…” she let her voice crack artfully. “He returned from war. You can imagine the sleepless nights I spent, the panic, the prayers all spent for his safe return. I hardly closed my eyes all the time he was away. And then when he came back, he was…”
“Scarred?” Felicity interrupted, throwing Miranda off her stride.
It was one of the great regrets of Miranda’s life that she had never been able to learn to cry on command. Imagine how powerful it would make her, if she were able to summon tears whenever she felt like it!
