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“He is an arse, and he does not deserve your tears. Please, do not make hasty decisions now.”
“I can’t watch him parade a line of women before my eyes, Jo!” Selena cried, her lips trembling. She bit her lip and looked away.
Jo’s heart squeezed for her friend. It was the most painful thing when the person you chose didn’t choose you back. “Do you love him?” she asked softly.
Selena chuckled bitterly. “No. But it still hurts.”
“I wish I could make the pain go away,” Jo said. “You deserve a man so much better than that scoundrel. You need someone who will be gentle with you, who’ll realize the treasure that you are.”
One side of Selena’s mouth kicked up in a smile. “And until then?”
Jo pursed her lips. “Until then, you’ll have me to rely on.” And Jo meant every word. Through every heartbreak and misfortune, she wasn’t about to let her friend suffer alone. Decision made, she nodded to herself. “And if you’re certain you want to leave the house party, then I am coming with you.”
Selena frowned. “But you are enjoying yourself here. Don’t leave on my account.”
Perhaps she wasn’t. Perhaps she was trying to escape something, too. Escape before she got too entangled with a certain viscount. “Selena, I am not leaving you on your own. So either you are staying or we are both leaving.”
Selena grumbled something indecipherable under her breath.
“What did you say?” Jo frowned.
“I said you are such a good friend,” Selena said tightly.
Jo let out a chuckle. “Somehow I doubt that’s what you said!”
Selena smiled at her softly. “But I meant it. Thank you for being here for me.”
Jo squeezed Selena’s fingers. “I love you, dear. No need to thank me for that.”
After a few minutes of just sitting there in silence, both women stood and went up to their room. They ended up spending the entire night chatting, laughing, and dreaming about a better tomorrow.
Selena told Jo all about her romance—although Jo was not certain that was an appropriate word for their relationship—with Mick, and Jo shared her escapades with the viscount. With all the secrets out in the open, it was as though it became easier to breathe. It gave them room to communicate freely, to tell each other foolish stories and their frivolous dreams.
They didn’t even notice when the dawn broke and both of them fell asleep right after Selena decided that she would stay at the house party for just a few more days.
* * *
“You want to travel to the Continent and leave me to care for my estates on my own,” Richard reiterated his brother’s words two days later as they sat in the Marquess of Vane’s study. The man had let Richard use it from time to time for his business during the house party. “I swear, everybody is trying to leave this damn place. First, Alan. Now you?”
Adam fidgeted in his seat in front of Richard. “I never got to travel. I studied hard, and then I immediately sought a position at the Secretary at War to be closer to Benedict. After he died, I… It took me a while to find the courage to look for something else. But even then I chose a safe route and just stayed at home. Now I want to experience something more.”
“Then get married,” Richard said darkly.
He had been in a sour mood for a few days now. After the night when Jo had left him in order to comfort her friend, he had barely seen her. She was not joining the guests for meals, and she barely left her room. He had inquired after her health in the notes he’d sent her, but all she had said was that she felt under the weather, but it was nothing serious and she would join the party soon.
Well, soon had passed. It had been over two days, and Richard was getting restless. On top of that, Adam now sought to leave him behind to travel the world.
“Yes, thank you. If I do get married, then I never get to explore this life. I want to do something of meaning before I shackle myself to a wife and children.”
“You are doing something of meaning. You are helpingme.”
“Ah, and is that my fate?” Adam answered on a tired sigh.
Richard ran a hand through his hair. “Adam, our holdings are vast. Ineedhelp.”
“You have a steward, managers.” Adam waved the issue away.
“And I’d rather have you by my side.”
