“Not a big drinker?”
“No offense, Lord Grundon, but if I was to drink with you, I fear I might throw it up before it reached my throat.”
Her words had no effect on the man. If anything, they seemed to excite him. His eyes lit up, showing the first sign of emotion he’d given her all night, and a mirthless chuckle vibrated from his lips.
“You are a lioness, aren’t you. But like all wild animals, they can be tamed. In fact, taming them is half the fun.”
She couldn’t get away from him fast enough. As soon as the dance stopped, she pulled her hands away and did not waste time with a curtsey or a word of thanks as she turned and stormed away.
Her mother saw her coming and waved her over, which had Celestine stumbling to a halt. This night had hardly begun, and it was already turning into a travesty. And if not for Lord Grundon, it would be Lord Ironvale or another. She was trapped, a victim of her circumstance, and there was nothing to be done.
“No…” Celestine took a backwards step, and then another.
Her mother frowned at her.
Celestine shook her head, offered a look of apology, then turned and hurried in the complete opposite direction. She was sure to dart between the crowds, needing to vanish from her mother’sline of sight, just as she needed somewhere to escape and hide until this night was over.
Thus, she made for the ballroom’s exit, ducking into a wide hallway that led back toward the foyer. Down its end, she spied more lords and ladies, all of whom looked up and saw her coming.
She felt trapped. Utterly without agency. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. This was her fate and there would be no escape.
Desperation took over and Celestine took note of a door to her right. It was cracked open and while she did not know where it led, she knew it had to be better than where she was. So, she leapt for the door, she pushed it open, she slipped inside, then she shut it tight behind her.
“If you tell me that Lord Grundon is about to join you, I think I might be sick.”
Edward was seated on a couch across the room. There was little light in the room, just a single candelabra standing in the corner, so he sat in darkness as if it grew from his body.
Celestine started in surprise when she saw him and she clutched her chest. “Edward! What are you…”
“I am hiding,” he said, his voice almost cold as if he was angry with her. “Or I am trying to.”
“Hiding from who?”
“Everyone.” Even in the dark, she saw his blue eyes, just as she saw the way they narrowed. Once again, she got the distinct sense that he was angry with her.
“Shall I…” She half turned to leave, even if she did not want to. “I would hate to disturb you.”
“But then how will Lord Grundon know how to find you?” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, I am sorry. Is it Lord Ironvale who you wait for? Truly, the names I have heard this week are so many that it is hard to keep track.”
“I am not…” She frowned, confused by the way he acted. “I am not waiting for anyone. Is that really what you think of me?”
He shrugged. “I do not know what to think, which leaves me to assess what I have heard, as well as seen with my own two eyes.”
When Celestine had first seen Edward sitting alone in the room, once her surprise passed, there had been a short burst of excitement that flooded through her. Despite everything, she realized in those few seconds how much she missed Edward, and to have found him here and alone…it felt like fate.
But that feeling left her quickly.
For whatever reason, he was being rude and mean and cruel. He looked at her as if she was an enemy. And as for the things that he said? Well, he ought to have known her better. She thought that he did.
I was right all along. We never could have worked, nor should we have wasted our time in trying.
“I see I have caught you in a most charming mood,” she said coldly, glaring at him across the room. “That is to say, a horrid one. So, rather than finding myself on its end, let me do us both a favor.” She flared her nostrils in a sneer. “Goodbye.” She turned to leave.
“Running away, are we?” He was off the couch and crossing the room.
