AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Six
“Good evening, Lady Olivia.”
Phillip smiled to himself as Lady Olivia turned around quickly, her expression rather startled. He had spoken low and close to her ear, for the simple reason of wanting to see her reaction. He was not disappointed. Her grey eyes flickered with sparks of silver as she looked up at him, her cheeks touched with a little pink. Her smile did not appear, however, but rather more of a contemplative look that had him feeling a little abashed.
“Good evening, Lord Monteforte,” she said quietly, clearly not as disconcerted as he might have first thought. “Are you enjoying the theatre this evening?”
A small shrug lifted his shoulders. “It is not entirely dull,” he said, being careful not to reveal to her that he had not been paying any sort of attention to the play but had instead been looking surreptitiously about him to see who else from the beau monde were in attendance. A part of him had hoped that Lady Olivia would be present, but he had not been able to see her in the gloom of the theatre. Now, however, he felt his heart leap just a little at the sight of her.
“And you?” he asked, glancing about her and seeing Lady Dayton and her daughters standing nearby, talking with another lady and her daughter. “Are you enjoying the theatre thus far?”
She allowed herself a small smile, which Phillip took to be an encouraging sign. “It is not to my particular taste,” she said, most likely referring to the tragedy that was being performed that evening. “But I appreciate the acting at the very least.”
This he could agree with, nodding whilst wondering just how he was to break down this strange wall between them. A wall that was invisible to the naked eye but present nonetheless.
Perhaps a direct approach was what was required.
“Lady Olivia,” he said, taking a small step forward and seeing how her eyes darted to his face, rounding just a little in surprise. “I must speak honestly with you for a moment, if you will permit me.”
She seemed not to know how to respond, for some moments went by without her saying a single word, her expression almost entirely blank as she blinked up at him.
“What do you wish to say, Lord Monteforte?” she asked eventually, speaking each word with great slowness so as if to give him time to work out what precisely he wanted to extend to her.
“I–I want to apologize profusely for our first meeting,” he said, aware of the heat that climbed up his spine and into his face as he spoke. “I know that I did so at the time, but I do not feel as though it were at all adequate.” He sighed, closed his eyes, and dropped his head. “I was rude, callous, and entirely improper,” he said honestly. “You had every right to be furious with me, Lady Olivia, but I will confess that, in that moment, I did not recognize myself.”
Lady Olivia was frowning now, the lines on her forehead deepening as she watched him speak. There was no sign in her face as to whether or not she was to believe him, nor if she would accept his apology, but regardless, Phillip continued on, determined to say all that was required.
“I am never usually cruel, nor am I particularly angry,” he said, lifting his head to look at her. “The night you remarked on my rather stalwart presence at the side of the ballroom, I was lost in thought. My mind was troubled, Lady Olivia, which, whilst not an excuse, is a reason for my behavior. I should not have reacted so, but I did and I was wrong.” Holding her gaze, he prayed that she could see his sincerity. “I humbly beg your forgiveness.”
The expression on Lady Olivia’s face did not change. The frown remained, the flattening of her lips still present. Her grey eyes searched his, reminding him of thunderclouds as they poured into each other, almost malevolent in their darkness.
“You were very rude indeed,” Lady Olivia commented, a little wryly. “You spoke very poorly and made me very cross.”
Nodding, Phillip spread his hands. “I am aware of that, Lady Olivia,” he answered quietly.
“And yet you have made a very pretty apology,” Lady Olivia interrupted, before he could say more. “You say that your mind was troubled, Lord Monteforte. Is that true?”
Nodding, he looked at her. “It is,” he answered, truthfully. “My thoughts were heavily occupied.”
“On what matter?” she asked, rather too boldly. “You were watching my uncle, I think, and now I must wonder if it has something to do with him.”
Phillip did not know what to say in response to this, for his mouth o
pened but no words came out. Lady Olivia was very observant indeed to have seen such a thing, for he had been watching Lord Dayton but, he had thought, with very great care so that he would not make himself too obvious.
Perhaps he had been wrong in his assumption that no one had noticed his study of Lord Dayton that night.
“If I am to be honest, Lady Olivia,” Phillip told her, wincing inwardly at the lie that must now be spoken, “my mind was caught up on matters regarding my own heart.” Seeing how she stared at him, how her eyes flared and her cheeks began to burn hot, Phillip quietly tried to remember that, for future discussions, Lady Olivia could be removed from a particular topic of conversation if one began to mention matters of the heart.
“You have feelings for someone, Lord Monteforte?”
Now, a heat rose in his own face. “You are rather bold, Lady Olivia, to be asking such a thing!” he exclaimed, lowering his voice only when he realized he was catching the attention of other gentlemen and ladies around him. “Indeed, such a thing is a private matter of the heart, and I have no intention of sharing it with anyone.”
Lady Olivia smiled, shrugged, and made to step away, clearly not at all embarrassed by the reproof he had sent her way. “I do hope you enjoy the rest of the evening, Lord Monteforte.”
“Will you take a ride in the carriage with me, Lady Olivia?”
The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it, for his heart, upon seeing Lady Olivia turning away from him, moving to stand apart from him, had forced him to act. She was enchanting, even with her bluntness, and Phillip felt the urge to know her better begin to grow.
