Page 94 of Waiting for Love

“Stop saying you can’t!” Her heart split in two. “Do you want me to have to marry someone else?”

“It isn’t what I want. It is what has to be.”

“It doesn’t! It doesn’t! I don’t care that you are a steward. Benjamin, you are—”

“You have no idea who I am! What I am.”

“I do! I do know. You are kind and strong and—”

“Olivia…” he sighed and groaned and laughed all in one sound. “I am a man who nearly defiled an innocent in a public garden. I am a liar. A fortune hunter. A criminal.”

“Benjamin!” She felt as though he had struck her. Why was he lying like this? “You aren’t any of those things.”

“Throw in kidnapper for good measure.”

“Stop it!” She put her hands over her ears. “You can’t make me believe any of that. It’s absurd.”

“No. Maybe you won’t. But Jasper will have to. I can’t take advantage of his trust any longer. Look at me.” He held up his hands. One gloved. One not. “I am not a gentleman. I’m the worst kind of cad.”

He dropped his hands and pulled his glove on. Taking her elbow, he marched her back toward the lighted path. She didn’t resist. If he was going to behave like a madman there was no point resisting. As they reached the junction, he held her back and looked beyond to be sure the way was clear, then looked back at her in the better light.

“Bloody hell,” he swore, then yanked on her dress to straighten it and flicked a few leaves from her hair.

They had just started down the path and turned the next corner when Hazard and Alice came hurrying toward them.

“We thought we lost you!” Alice exclaimed.

Hazard’s eyes shot daggers at them. No, at Benjamin.

“You walked right past us. We were there,” Benjamin pointed vaguely, “and you two stormed by, arguing. We’ve been waiting for you to come back.”

Hazard looked skeptical, but lowered his gaze and chewed his lip, giving Benjamin the benefit of the doubt.

Olivia stepped up and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Come along, Haz. Let’s let Benjamin bicker with Alice while we go find the others.”

“We weren’t bickering,” he said in a snit.

Olivia made herself laugh. “Oh, now you are bickering with me, too.”

*

She wanted to go back to the house, but there was dancing, and she didn’t know how to cry off.

She danced a reel with Hazard. He still seemed peeved, but perhaps not with her or Benjamin. He looked as though he had a headache. And in the lamplight, his eye was definitely blackened.

When the music ended, Hazard brought her back to the table. According to the program, a waltz would be next. They would all want to dance unless Alice and Hazard were still at odds.

While the musicians retuned their instruments, Olivia leaned against the table rather than taking a seat, and tried not to look at Benjamin. Would he pretend he didn’t remember he was supposed to partner her?

“Good evening, Iversley. I had not known you would be here.” The Duke of Lythe strode up.

“Your Grace,” Jasper replied. “On such a pleasant evening, we thought we should bring Lady Olivia.”

“Indeed.” He smiled. “Lady Olivia, I hope you will join me.” He gestured to the platform. “We have not yet had an opportunity to waltz.”

She shot a frantic glance at Jasper, whose face had gone white.

Vanessa said, “Your Grace, that is very kind of you, but we wanted to give Lady Olivia a reprieve from the whirlwind. Tonight is just for family.”