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Chapter 16
Mary was enjoying more conversation with Lady Beatrice. It had been wonderful getting to know her throughout the evening. Mary believed that her dance with Lord Hanbrooke had secured what she had hoped for. It seemed as though he was dedicated to the possibility of courting her and she could hardly believe how fortunate she was.
If he was going to move forward, they would be married soon enough, and she would be able to spend the rest of her life with him as she so desperately wanted. Everything was coming along swimmingly and that was precisely as she might have hoped.
“Oh, I saw the way my brother looked at you. Tell me, do you think you would like to be courted by him?” Lady Beatrice asked, quite boldly.
Mary laughed uncomfortably. She was enjoying Lady Beatrice’s open and somewhat brash nature, but she had no idea how to properly answer this question. Now that Beatrice was no longer looking at her as if she were a specimen in a jar, she found that it was really quite easy to be around her.
There was no reason to be uncomfortable with this woman who evidently loved her brother enough to push for a chance to get to know Mary better.
But Mary didn’t know what to say without being shocking in reply.
“Lady Beatrice, surely you must know that I cannot possibly answer that question in a way which would not get me into trouble,” she said, chuckling.
“Yes, I know,” Lady Beatrice said with a playful sigh. “But I thought I might as well ask you. You ought to know that I am not the sort of woman who deals with the delicate niceties of society. I much prefer to enjoy myself with honesty and we live in a world where honesty is met with shock and horror because politeness is so…well…polite.”
“Yes, and I understand that the confines of politeness are utterly restrictive, but I do also recognise that they are in place for a reason. And for the moment, they are in place so that I might be spared questions such as the one you just asked me,” Mary said in amusement.
She and Lady Beatrice continued to chat, and Mary wondered where Sarah had gone. Worrying that she had abandoned her dearest friend for the sister of the man she cared for, Mary quickly scanned the room. But she saw Sarah with Lord Woodhall, dancing, and Mary smiled. She was glad that they were spending time together and began to wonder if he might have genuine feelings for Sarah.
“Have you seen my brother?” Lady Beatrice asked, quite suddenly.
Mary looked around, not having noticed that he was now missing. She could not see him anywhere and was quite surprised that he might have disappeared when she wasn’t paying attention. For most of the evening, she’d had her eyes upon him and knew at once where he was.
But in that moment, she had been so caught up in her conversation that she hadn’t been paying his any mind and now that he was gone, she was quite dismayed.
“I do not see him. Perhaps he needed a moment?” Mary suggested, trying to be delicate about the fact that he may have gone to use the privy.
“He has been gone for longer than that,” Lady Beatrice said. “I noticed him speaking with your stepmother and stepsister once more and I assumed that he was going to end up dancing with the latter, but he is not.
And I thought for certain that he would return to come and ask you for another dance this evening. I am not sure where he might have gone,” Lady Beatrice said, sounding worried.
Mary didn’t think there was any reason to be concerned, however. Although she wished she knew where he was at, there was no reason to think that anything bad had happened to him. Perhaps Lady Beatrice knew something that Mary didn’t. Was he ill, for instance? Did she fear that he had come down with something and was unwell?
No, that was not the sort of worry in Lady Beatrice’s face. Rather she seemed more like a sister who was suspicious that something was going on, something Mary might not want to know about.
Regardless, Mary went along with her as they began to wander the room and make their way towards the door so they could look elsewhere in the estate. After a moment, Sarah came over to them.
“Mary, are you all right? You look worried,” she said.
“My brother,” Lady Beatrice said, speaking up first. “We cannot find him.”
“Oh, I saw him going for air. Perhaps fifteen minutes ago?” Sarah said.
“Going for air? Well, I suppose that is not too much of a surprise. He does not enjoy events such as this one. It would make sense for him to wish to go out for a bit so that he might be able to get away from all the people for a short time,” Lady Beatrice said.
Mary nodded, thinking it perfectly logical. He had expressed many times that he did not enjoy the crowded environment of a ball. Why should he not go out for a moment and catch a breather when there was so much going on inside that he simply needed a moment to himself? It was probably a good thing for him.
She didn’t want to bother him. After all, she had seen how he disliked balls already, and even at the picnic when things were open and not too crowded, he had been uncomfortable. Mary was sad that she wasn’t spending more time with him that evening, but she didn’t want to get in his way or make him feel smothered.
“Shall we give him a moment? I would not wish to disturb him,” Mary said.
“Oh, hush. He would not be disturbed by you. We may all go out for a bit of air, and he will be perfectly fine with it,” Lady Beatrice said.
Mary followed, thinking that she would be unwise to ignore the ideas of Lord Hanbrooke’s sister. As they made their way out into the garden, however, it was a shocking sight that stood before Mary.
Lord Hanbrooke and Charlotte were standing close together, as if in a sincere confidence. For a moment, Mary was overcome by the horror of it, feeling a wave of betrayal wash over her. What was going on? Had he chosen to pursue Charlotte after all? Was he interested in her? More than he was interested in Mary?
