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“Back to the ball before someone finds me alone, in the dark, with you. Then you will have something to report to father, won’t you? And your fiancé. And your mistress in the hallway.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond and left the room without backward look. The urge to cry was strong, but she refused to allow tears to fall just yet. Instead, she hurried through the house blindly, and heaved a sigh of relief when she entered the main hallway and found Adelaide waiting for her.
“Oh, there you are, Ursula. I was just looking for you. Are you ready to go?” Adelaide asked as soon as she saw her. “Is everything alright dear?”
“Yes, everything is fine. I am more than ready to leave,” Ursula replied fervently.
She daren’t glance toward the darkened hallway behind her. Thankfully, there was no sign of Trenton in the hallway yet, but that wasn’t altogether a bad thing. At the moment, she wasn’t sure what she would say, or do, if she ever saw him again.
“Are you alright, dear?” Adelaide asked as the carriage lurched into motion.
“Yes, just tired, that’s all,” she replied absently as she stared out of the window.
It was only when the carried pull to a stop outside of Adelaide’s house that she remembered she hadn’t danced with Brampton, or the rest of the men who had marked her card. With a sigh, she climbed down and hurried off to bed, wondering what she was going to say to any of them the next time she saw them.
Trenton remained in the sheltered confines of the conservatory for several moments to allow his body to cool. The last thing he wanted was to meet the rather forceful Barbarella again, especially given the state he was in. He rested shoulders against the wall and allowed the silence to settle around him while he considered what had just happened. Not only had he just kissed the woman who had owned his youthful fantasies for as long as he could remember, but they had had their first argument too.
“Not bad for a night’s work,” he murmured ruefully, wondering how on earth he was going to put things right now.
The minutes ticked by. The longer he remained there, thinking of ways to get Ursula to speak to him again, the more the feeling that he was being watched grew and he realised he was no longer alone. Before he could investigate, the door beside him suddenly began to open. Hidden by shadows, he remained perfectly still and watched the silhouette of a man glide silently into the room. He shook his head and bit back a curse as Brampton sidled into the room. Rather than enter, he paused, studied the area, most probably in search of Ursula and then quietly left again.
“Damn you, Brampton,” Trenton growled aloud once the door had closed and silence had fallen over the conservatory once more. His fingers clenched against the urge to yank the door open, storm after Brampton, and warn him to keep his distance from Ursula. However, he realised that with someone like the disreputable rogue, he had to tread carefully. To threaten someone like Brampton would only make him worse and he would be likely to pursue Ursula just to spite Trenton.
Setting that problem aside for now, he turned his attention back to the foliage around him. Although the feeling of being watched remained, he still couldn’t see anyone. Without crawling through the various shrubs and plants there was no way of knowing for definite if anyone was there or whether it was just his wayward imagination.
With a sigh, he quietly let himself out and made his way into the main body of the house. He arrived in the main hall just in time to watch Adelaide’s carriage disappear into the darkness. Disgusted that he wouldn’t get the opportunity to put matters right tonight, he sent for his cloak and, with one eye on the rapidly approaching Barbarella, left for home.
Deep inside the darkened conservatory, the shadows moved and parted. The silent figure stared at the door for several moments before stealthily moving to the French doors that overlooked the garden. Fingers tightened in agitation, but not a sound was made as the figure slipped out into the gardens.
The only sign he had been there at all was the gentle swaying of the plants.
CHAPTER FOUR
“That’s a deep sigh, my dear,” Adelaide declared from the opposite end of the breakfast table.
Ursula dropped the letter back onto the table and glared at it. She had been so busy reflecting on what had happened with Trenton the other day that she had completely forgotten about writing to her father.
“It’s from Papa,” she replied. “I forgot to write to him. He has informed me that my month is nearly up and is pushing me to make a decision.”
“Then you must endeavour to inform him that you have yet to make your choice, and shall do so in your own good time. Tell him that you have decided to remain in London for the time being at my request. He can hardly demand you return to Yorkshire so he can marry you off, now can he?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did,” Ursula retorted tartly. “I shall endeavour to write to him today.”
“Oh, dear me,” Adelaide burst out. The rattle of her tea cup hitting her saucer was loud in the quiet of the breakfast room.
Ursula looked up in surprise. “Whatever is it?” She studied her aunt’s scowl and wondered if she too had received a letter from her father.
“It’s an invitation to take tea at The White Dove Tea Rooms.”
Ursula’s brows rose. “Is that bad?”
Adelaide looked up at her. “It’s from that Sinnerton woman.”
“Ah,” she sighed with an understanding nod.
“Did you see Alfred at the ball?”
“No, I didn’t, although I was aware that the mother was there with her daughter. I am sure he must have been there somewhere.” She smiled somewhat naughtily at her aunt. “We just didn’t cross paths.”
