Leaving Miss Blackwell and me to follow behind the two of them.
Neither of us moved for a moment. We simply watched the two of them stride forward, speaking one on top of the other as they went.
In unison, Miss Blackwell and I turned our heads and faced each other. Sounds of churchgoers mingled about us, but they faded into all the other noises of nature surrounding us.
“I had nothing to do with this,” Miss Blackwell finally said, her hands in the air, palms facing me. “Not this time.”
I grimaced. Sadly, I believed her.
“Would you rather take the carriage?” I asked.
“Not on a day as lovely as this. Would you?”
I sighed, because the correct answer to that question was yes, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I may not be able to walk home with Harriet, but I wasn’t going to leave her to walk home with Brookhouse alone, either. I shook my head and put my arm out for Miss Blackwell. “Don’t you remember?” I asked, mentally trying not to wince at the particular poignancy of that phrase between us. “I get terribly ill in carriages.”
Another smile blossomed on Miss Blackwell’s face and my lungs expanded with a sense of achievement. She took my arm with a wink and a grin. “That’s right. You do.”
We started off well. I only received a few barbs disguised as thoughtful discussion of the sermon, but the longer we followed Brookhouse and Harriet, the quieter we both became. Nothing about this house party had gone to plan, and now that Miss Blackwell was no longer an antagonistic force, I was left with a sense of loss and no one to blame for it.
Harriet’s bright and joyful laugh bubbled up around us more often than our own words did. It was hard to believe the woman in front of me was the same one who’d faithfully waited for me for over six years.
She was so changed from the woman I remembered. This version of Harriet laughed more often. At Eastmoor she’d spent most of her time with me, while she spent time here with everyone but me. Had she changed or had I? And if both of us were so changed, where did that leave us?
It was a question that, had I asked it two weeks ago, would have made me feel misplaced and forgotten.
After a night of thinking far too much about another woman, that question gave me a spark of relief. Not because I felt my future would be better without Harriet—that was impossible. But at least in the smallest way, I would be less of a scoundrel for not only kissing Miss Blackwell, but for being completely preoccupied by her ever since. Miss Blackwell’s boot scraped against a rock at our feet and I pinned her hand to my side to steady her. “Thank you,” she said with complete civility.
My nearness had no effect on her. Which was good. Excellent. I wasn’t a fool who would chase after a woman who had no regard for me. Ihadkissed her when she had no regard for me, but that was a different matter. I’d been weak and subject to my baser nature at the time. I snuck a glance in her direction.A few strands of her dark hair tumbled down from underneath her bonnet.
I whipped my head forward, making the stupidest sound of frustration in my throat.
From the corner of my eye I caught the sight of Miss Blackwell’s bonnet turning in my direction. She gave me a short squeeze on my arm. “Don’t despair, Captain. There are nearly two weeks remaining in this house party.”
“I’m not certain anything will change in those weeks. I thought she’d asked me to walk home with her.”
She grimaced. “The truth is, that may be partially my fault.”
I slowed my steps and turned to her. “What do you mean?”
“Not long after we all arrived, I told Harriet she needed to give every man here a fair chance, and since she already knew you, I asked her to wait until she knew the others better before spending time with you.”
I pulled her to a stop. “You are the reason she hasn’t tried to speak to me?”
She lowered her head. “I’m afraid so.” She slid her hand down my arm and gripped my hand in hers. Her touch sent a most unfortunate current of sensation zinging from my wrist to my shoulder. “The first chance I get, I’ll remedy that. I’ll tell her to stop avoiding you.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. None of the information I’d gathered about Harriet was untainted by Miss Blackwell’s meddling. Harriet might feel as strongly for me as she had the day she left her glove at our meeting spot. I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“I’m terribly sorry. I shouldn't have interfered.” She kept touching me, a hand on my wrist, then my elbow. I stepped away from her and her hands dropped.
I’d thought for a moment my future was uncertain, but now I didn’t know if it was uncertain or not. I needed to know one wayor another so I could start filling my thoughts with Harriet and our future again or stop feeling like an unfaithful cad.
Either option was better than not knowing.
Another burst of laughter came from in front of us, and like the miserable, base man I’d become, I cursed at the sound of it.
Miss Blackwell tugged me forward. “We can catch up to them now. And don’t worry about all of her laughter. You know how Harriet is.”
I wasn’t certain I did. “How is she?”
