She was about to leave her room and search for her husband, only to hear a knock at the door.
Her eyes widened in shock. She gasped and spun about, the door still closed, but she could almost see through it. No need to guess who was on the other side. After a week of waiting, Hudson had come to see her.
“Florentia...” He knocked again. “Are you decent?”
She almost said nothing. Stupid, she knew, but the fear took her once more and the seriousness of the situation dawned on her like the rising sun. Her breath caught. Her heart began to race. She stood frozen, until...
“Florentia...” Another knock on the door. “We need to talk.”
“Co—coming,” she stammered. She glanced at her reflection once more, confirming that she looked as beautiful and elegant as ever. And then, with nothing else for it, she strode across the room and opened the bedroom door.
He was standing back from the doorway. Not a good sign.
He’d dressed in what looked to be traveling clothes. Her eyes flicked from his boots to his coat, brow furrowing because she could tell immediately that he was about to go somewhere.Is he here to invite me to a day out? Is that what this is?
“He—hello,” she stammered nervously, only to swallow and stand herself up straight. “This is unexpected.”
“I have been looking for you,” he said, his posture stiff. “I was told that you were still in your room, despite the hour.”
“It is not late.”
“Is it not early either,” he noted. “I would have thought you’d be outside. Perhaps on a ride.”
She tilted her head with confusion. Did he really not know that she had spent every single day in her room? Was he so ignorant to what had been going through her head this past week?Or is he simply that uncaring?
Doubt flooded her... “I...I was just about to,” she lied. “Although I am glad that you caught me before I did.”
“Oh?”
“I was thinking—in fact, I was going to come and find you.” She looked up at him, meeting his dark eyes while ignoring how distant they were. “I was wondering if you might...” Her heartraced. “If it would be convenient...” Her body trembled. “If you might like to join me?”
“Right now?”
“Unless you have somewhere that you need to be?”
He did not speak at first. Brow furrowed, he looked down at her in assessment. From her eyes to her dress, and then quickly into her room. She could feel her heart thundering in her chest, praying he could not hear it also. Whatever decision he was coming to, she could see the struggle it was causing him.
But he came to see me! Surely, there is good reason...
“I am afraid that I cannot join you,” he said eventually, ever so formally and without emotion. “Which is why I am here—I had hoped to tell you this sooner, but I am afraid that I lost track of the time.”
“Tell me...” She swallowed, her throat suddenly pained.
“I will be leaving for a few days,” he said with such simplicity it was as if he was describing the weather. “Heading north to Wales with Elias where?—”
“Leaving!” she blurted before she could help herself. “What? Why?”
“On business,” he answered, ignoring the outburst. “Mr. Andrews has secured some contracts which I must inspect before signing. Contracts that cannot wait and would be best if I saw to them in person.”
It was akin to a slap across the face. Or perhaps a dagger to the heart? And not just the words, but how coldly he spoke them.
She remembered weeks ago now, at the Turncott ball, when he had commented that he might start taking her on business trips, so well had she handled herself, and that she might be able to help him navigate through the social nuances of those he was forced to interact with. She had thought little of it at the time, but was now forced to consider what such an offer might have meant.
He was leaving her. Not forever, although that was not the point. For a week she had hidden away in her room, praying that he might come to her, wondering if he was thinking about her, if he cared enough to realize the hurt he was causing—if he felt the same!
He does not care for me. He does not see what he is doing. All this time I believed that he was lying to himself because of who he is. Ironic that I am the one who has been lying to herself…
Florentia stumbled as her stomach knotted. “I...how long?”
