AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I take it you are not a fan of needlework,” he said, amused by her admission.
She snorted indelicately, then had to dab at her nose again, and William had to stifle the urge to laugh. Such a faux pas seemed out of character for her—and yet also completely in character. What a delightful creature she was.
“I can do needlework competently enough, and I’m not terrible on the pianoforte—although I’m not a great performer,” she said, responding to his comment. “I can dance, stand, sit, and walk with deportment and even a touch of elegance. I made my curtsy to Her Majesty without tripping on my train.”
“Well done.”
“I thought so too. That entire day was a horrible ordeal and also a truly fascinating study in politics and protocol—and the queen spoke to me, which is quite a coup, you know.”
“I do not doubt it,” he said.
They had reached the end of the rose garden, where an arched trellis covered in climbing roses stood. Underneath it was a bench.
“Would you care to sit?” he asked her.
“I’ve been rattling on again, haven’t I?” She removed her hand from the crook of his arm—William missed her touch the moment it was gone—and sat.
He sat next to her, as closely as he thought she would allow. She was like an open book, and he’d learned a great deal about her in the past few minutes—more than he’d expected to know in such a short amount of time. He actually liked everything he’d learned—even her tendency to “rattle on,” as she’d put it. He hadn’t planned on any of this when he’d first learned of the vowel.
“Lady Louisa,” he said, “I brought you outside where we could have some privacy for a few minutes, but I fully expect one of your brothers to come looking for us shortly. Therefore, if you’ll forgive me, I’ll come right to the point.”
He instantly felt her withdraw into herself.
It was a strange, empty feeling—to have been surrounded by her words and her open expressions and then to have them all suddenly closed off from him. It was like being a starving man who’d tasted a banquet and then had it snatched away before he could be filled. He cleared his throat and began again. “With your permission, I would like for us to discuss the matter of a wedding date. I have procured a special license—”
“No!” she cried, startling him into silence. “No special license. Please! Only yesterday I was expecting to marry someone else. I need time to think and adjust to everything that has happened. Just because I am trying to be polite and agreeable this evening doesn’t mean I am anywhere near ready to marry you. It is too much! Can we not have banns read instead? That would give both of us time . . . to get to know each other, at the very least. The marriage would not appear hurried and give rise to gossip. Wouldn’t that be a good thing? You have not even been in Town for people to get acquainted with you or to see us together before our marriage is announced. There will be talk. Three weeks is all I ask. You cannot deny me that. Please, I beg you.”
Her words stung his conscience. He wondered again about her attachment to Lord Kerridge. She would have been seen on Kerridge’s arm the past couple weeks, and people would have understood that they had been courting. Kerridge may have even told a few acquaintances that a betrothal was in the works. There was logic in her request, he knew it, and yet he didn’t want to give her the three weeks needed for banns to be read. It was too much time, and too many things could go wrong during those three weeks.
But how could he not allow it when he’d taken so much from her? “Very well. You have your three weeks,” he said reluctantly.
She squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands together. She was so young—unspoiled by the harshness of the world, a beloved daughter and sister, doted on and protected. He longed to put his arms around her and comfort her, assure her that he would do all in his power to keep her from regretting her decision to marry him, but he couldn’t. How could the person who was causing her such pain now be her source of comfort? He remained unmoving at her side.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She rose to her feet and briefly laid her hand on his shoulder before rushing back to the house, leaving him alone in the garden.
