She looked up at him. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the wall just behind her.
"And how would you know what I need in a husband?" she asked quietly.
His gaze snapped to hers. For one unguarded moment, the careful flatness in his eyes was gone, and what she saw underneath was—longing. Or maybe just pain. Whatever it was, it was deep and dark, and it made her breath catch and her fingers curl into fists.
Then it was gone. His expression was once more shuttered. "Andrew wanted you to be happy."
Andrew. The name hung in the air, a bridge and a barrier between them. But right now, Andrew’s name felt like an excuse as well.
Or no, rather…a deterrent.
"Miss Hale, there you are." The duchess appeared in the doorway of the hall. "Do come and be introduced."
Estella allowed herself to be steered away. She did not look back at Sebastian. And really, she didn't need to.
She could feel his gaze on her all the way across the room.
11
By Tuesday, Estella had concocted roughly fourteen different interpretations of that moment at the musicale.
Sebastian had looked at her and she'd seen…something. She was certain of it. But what, precisely, had she seen? That was the question she carried with her to Hatchard's bookstore.
"You're distracted," Thea said a little later, upon Estella's arrival at their usual shelf. "You've been staring at the same page for two minutes, and it's the index."
Estella closed the book. "I need to talk to you about something."
Thea adjusted her spectacles and gave Estella her full attention. In the short period of time they’d come to know one another, this was one of the many things Estella loved about Thea. When she listened, she listened completely. No polite half-attention, no wandering gaze. She fixed you with those sharp dark eyes and waited.
Estella told her everything. The arrangement with the duchess and Sebastian. The promenade, the rain, the way he'd called her Little Ella. The dinner, Lord Alderton's kindness, Charlotte's dramatic arrival. And then the musicale. How Lord Alderton had paid special attention to her, and Sebastian’s interruption. Their conversation, the confusing emotions. All of it.
By the time she was done, Estella was no more clear on anything, but she felt a good deal lighter for having shared her stories with someone. Thea was silent for a long moment.
"So," Thea said slowly. "A marquess has agreed to escort you, protect you, and vet your suitors. As a brother."
"Yes."
"Even though he’s not your brother. Not, in fact, related to you in any way?" Thea arched a brow as if confirming this fact.
Estella nodded.
"And you believed him." It was phrased as a statement, but it clearly held a question.
"It's— He said—" Estella faltered. "He was Andrew's closest friend. It stands to reason that he'd feel obligated to—to help."
For some reason, her words felt ridiculous under Thea’s blatant scrutiny.
"Mm." Thea pushed her spectacles up her nose. "And this brotherly marquess. He called you by an old intimate nickname?—"
"I wouldn’t say intimate."
"In the rain." Thea continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. "While shielding you with his coat."
Estella shifted from one foot to the other. "He was being considerate."
Thea folded her arms. "He was being something."
Estella felt a telltale heat in her cheeks. "He sees me as a duty. He even said?—"
