Harriet, whose gaze was firmly and bravely on the carpet, let out a strangled, “Philippa.”
“An engagement? To my sister? I was unaware that you two had spoken. Or had even been introduced!” Philippa trilled, gaining momentum.
“Philippa,” Harriet implored.
“And, Harriet? How could you keep such a thing from me?”
“Lady Ellerton!” Lord Alexander growled, finally cutting into her rant. Something about his voice warmed Harriet from the inside, even as it terrified her. Which was absolutely not the thing to be fixating on right now. Her apparently impending nuptials to the son of a duke ought to have been her sole focus.
As if his own outburst snapped him back to reality, Alexander dropped Harriet’s wrist, pocketed his handkerchief, and abruptly left the room, with a simple bow of his head.
Harriet remained planted where she was. As soon as she moved, she knew the situation would become permanent. It would havehappenedin the past tense, and the past tense was dangerous; there was no changing things that had already happened, only things that were still happening. And as long as she stood in the same spot on the carpet, she felt as if all of this was still happening.
“I think perhaps it’s time to go, my dear,” Philippa gently implored. “Why don’t we head out from the garden, then I’ll return to the ballroom to gather Caroline and meet you in the carriage?”
Harriet nodded and slid her glove back over her wrist, determined to ignore what was on it and howwordshad led to this. For the first time in at least an hour she remembered something.
“Mr. Dawkins didn’t happen to show up tonight, did he?” she asked Philippa as her sister led her down a blessedly empty corridor. The look that Philippa gave her was full of pity. “I suppose it doesn’t much matter now, does it?”
Philippa shook her head, agreeing with the sentiment. They walked the rest of the way to the carriage in silence. Harriet climbed inside in silence. Then she waited in silence for her sisters to return.
She felt thoroughly done with silence by the time they arrived.
The feeling lasted only a moment.
“You’re engaged? To Lord Alexander?” Caroline asked, uncharacteristically upfront. Silence clearly had its benefits.
“I don’t rather know, do I?” Harriet responded, suddenly more exhausted than she’d ever been in her life. “The blasted man left the blasted room before I could bloody well talk to him! And don’t say ‘language,’ please don’t say ‘language,’ Caroline. I will wring your neck and then I’ll wring my own neck.”
“He left the room?” Caroline asked.
“He left the room,” Harriet confirmed. Then she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“Caroline, dear, let’s give Harriet some time.” Her two sisters had, in the face of this crisis, seemingly switched roles—Caroline becoming blunt and Philippa softening into an almost comforting figure. Even more bizarrely, Harriet herself was the onecausingsaid crisis. Surreal. No one was playing their correct part in their usual family play.
“Does shehavetime?”
Harriet’s eyes snapped open. “What do you mean bythat?”
“Well, just that—” Caroline demurred at the trained attention of her elder sisters, one warning, one murderous.
“Let’s talk of something else until we arrive home. How was the ball for you, Caroline? Anyone of interest?”
Harriet did not want to hear about anyone of interest. She didn’t want to hear about balls for the rest of her life and certainly nothing about this particular ball. She leaned back against the squab again, eyes closed, and allowed herself to think of the only comforting thing her brain had the capacity to think about: She knew a new word.
Chapter Four
“IRUINED AN INNOCENT TONIGHT,” ALEXANDER ANNOUNCED,settling in the sitting room of his mistress’s town house, a glass of brandy in hand. He hadn’t known precisely where he intended to go until the direction to his driver was leaving his mouth. Tonight wasn’t their usual weekly appointment, but things were rather dire.
Giuliana thought about this a moment, before answering, “That doesn’t sound like you.”
“I do have quite the reputation as a debauchee.”
“Yet not as a despoiler of virgins.”
“I didn’t despoil her.”
