“I wish she would take him back to the country.” Adeline still shivered over the close escape she’d had. If it had not been for Littleton—Lord Littleton. Lately every time she thought about him, which was far too often, she forgot to use his title—she would have been ruined. “Better yet, a dungeon.”
“You might want to know that it is being put about that he fell and hit his face on the fountain.” Adeline was glad she had told Georgie everything that day. Well, almost everything. She had much more access to gossip than Adeline. “No one knows you were present, and because of the boat incident, no one remembers you being with Lord Littleton, or not being with the main group.”
“That is helpful.” Adeline had still debated telling her mother what had occurred, but could not take the chance. Wivenly had been furious that Lord Anglesey even danced with her. Her brother had also been angry with himself that he had not seen Lord Anglesey for the bounder he was. Not that she didn’t want the scoundrel punished, but she did not want her name associated with his at all. And there was Littleton. She had not seen him since the party. What was she to make of his kiss?
“Speaking of Lord Littleton,” Georgie said. “Have you decided whether he interests you?”
“I think he must. I have been unable to think of much else other than him.” And not for lack of trying. A footman had brought lemonade and biscuits. She took a long drink. “But I am not sure I can trust him, and I do not wish to betray Dorie.”
“Both of those are valid concerns.” Georgie ate a biscuit and took several sips of lemonade before saying, “I believe you must speak with Dorie. She cannot tell you to trust him. Lord knows she does not. But perhaps you can get a sense of how she would feel if you and he acted on this attraction you have.”
That would be one fence cleared. “You are right. I must have more information before I can decide what I want to do.”
“Excellent.” Georgie stood. “Now it’s time for us to go shopping.”
Shopping? Adeline had completely forgotten. She wondered if she would run into Littleton again. “Give me a few minutes to change.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The next day, Adeline arrived at Huntingdon House as early as was polite. After what had occurred the other day, she was almost sure her feelings toward Littleton had increased. She might even be close to falling in love with him. Yet she had to know from Dorie’s point of view what had happened between the two of them. Then, depending on what Adeline heard from her friend, she would ask him for his side of the story. Hearing it from Humphries was not good enough. At least not for her.
She was welcomed, bowed to, and led into what looked to be a morning room.
“My lady, would you care for some tea?” the Huntingdon butler asked.
“Yes, please.” Tea was helpful for all sorts of things, including passing the time when one wanted to just get on with it.
Fortunately, the tea tray arrived just before Dorie did.
“Adeline.” Her friend held out her hands. “Please do not tell me that we made plans and I have forgotten.”
That was a fair question. Other than for a ball, she had never been here before. “Not at all. There is something I must discuss with you, and I do not wish to do it with our other friends present.”
Dorie sat next to Adeline on the sofa and poured the tea. “What do you wish to discuss?”
She took a sip of tea, then set the cup down. “Lord Littleton.” She waited for the expression of shock to pass from Dorie’s face. “I have . . . rather, I am developing feelings for him, and I know he has affection for me. What I do not know is whether I can trust him with my . . . my, er, feelings.”
Dorie rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I do not know if I can give you that particular answer. What I can tell you is that, after much thought, I have decided he and I would not have made each other happy.”
That had been clear to Adeline for weeks now. But it did not answer her questions. “What did he do to attach your affections?”
Dorie smiled a little. “He paid attention to me. We danced and went on carriage rides. He would occasionally send flowers.” Adeline always had fresh flowers from him. Was that simply his way of getting a lady to notice him? “He was so handsome and charming that I was very taken with him.” Dorie stared down at her hands, which were twisted together. “I thought I was in love. Yet lately, I have realized what I felt was infatuation.”
“What did you discuss?” Adeline and Littleton always found things in common to talk about.
“Not pigs!” Dorie smiled. “We did not discuss much at all. Thinking back on it, I did most of the talking. At the time, I thought it was charming that he wanted to listen to what I had to say. Now, I have the idea that he did not speak much because what I was discussing was not what interested him.” She picked up her cup and took a sip. “Then one day he was gone. A few days later, my mother received a letter from his mother saying there was an urgent problem at one of the estates. Naturally, I could not write to him, nor could he write to me. And for a while I thought he would return to Town, but he did not. Not even for the autumn Season.” She glanced at Adeline. “That was when I was certain he had not left Town, he had left me, and it hurt.”
That had not been well done of Littleton. “He was a coward.”
“I suppose one could say that. I recently mentioned it to my brother, and he said he would have acted in the same manner. Of course, you see, my expectations had been raised. Still, we all know how miserable Kitty Pakenham was for accepting Wellington when he proposed only because he had raised her expectations and not because he cared for her. Truthfully, I would not have believed or accepted it if he had told me he thought marrying me would be a mistake. I can see that now.” She shrugged. “He did not even kiss me. For which, I suppose, I should be grateful. Although it made me sad at the time.”
Adeline slowly let out the breath she had been holding. He had been telling the truth. “If it means anything, I do not think you would have been happy together.”
“No. It is the whole thing about pigs.” Dorie took Adeline’s hands and squeezed them. “I do think that you and he might be perfect for each other. I have also recently learned that one should not ignore one’s feelings about a gentleman. Your heart is your true guide. Trust it.”
That was what she needed to hear. Not only to trust her heart, but that Dorie no longer thought Littleton had deliberately hurt her. “Thank you.”
Tears filled Dorie’s eyes. “One of us should be happy. I believe I have missed my chance.”
