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“I know, Livvie, dearest. You are very clever but extremely unobservant.”
“Yes, this is a fact I am quite aware of.”
“I am not talking in hypothetical terms, dear.”
Olivia bit on her lip in thought. “All those feelings you were telling me about. The ones I am supposed to feel in order to know that I am in love. You feel all that for someone.”
“Yes, I do,” Lavinia said with a sad smile. “But he doesn’t feel the same. And there is an added complication of his currently being betrothed.”
“Then why would you think that you still have a chance to ensnare him into marriage? Betrothals are binding. Gentlemen are not able to break them.”
“No, gentlemen aren’t… But ladies are.”
“Why would a lady willingly give up a suitor?” Olivia was becoming more confused by the moment.
“Because she doesn’t want to be married.”
“That is absurd,” Olivia sputtered. “No lady would ever give up a fiancé. We are all helpless without a husband in this world. The only lady I know who is against marriage is Caro—” Olivia halted mid-sentence and stared at Lavinia’s down-turned face. “—Caroline. You’re in love with Kensington!”
Lavinia grimaced and turned away.
“Why didn’t you say something earlier? Oh, but Annalise was about to marry him too!”
“Yes, I know, and I was all right with it—”
Olivia got up and started pacing the floor. “How could you have been all right with it if you felt for him that which you described? If you hurt thinking about other women in his arms. Oh, Lord, this is such a mess… Lord Roth insisted on this arrangement for Caroline; she will not defy him… Mayhap if he was alive, but not since it was his last wish!” Olivia halted and looked at Lavinia as another thought occurred to her. “Surely you are not about to ask Caroline to willingly give up her suitor?”
Lavinia looked guiltily at her hands. “You know Caroline. We all do. She doesn’t want to be married. I would be saving her from an unfortunate fate.”
Olivia shook her head. “That is absurd. You cannot think that by asking Caroline to give up potentially the most powerful peer in England, you are saving her!”
Lavinia grimaced and turned away. “Then it is obvious you have never been in love.”
“I have not—”
“What if the man you fancy, the one you are after, was betrothed to marry me?”
“I would let you have him.”
“What if you knew I did not want him but was forced into this betrothal? Would you say nothing?”
Olivia sat back down and bit on her fingertips, too nervous to contain her unfortunate habit. “I suppose.”
“Shouldn’t I at least try?”
“Try to ruin your friendship with Caroline? Put her in a difficult position?” Olivia replied instantly. “No, you shouldn’t. Not for a gentleman.”
Lavinia hung her head and started playing with the folds of her gown.”
Olivia grimaced. “I am so sorry. I did not mean to be harsh.”
“I know, dear. I apologize for putting you in a difficult position now that you know how I feel. But without Annalise, I have no one to confide in.”
Olivia heaved a sigh. “The truth of the matter is, I know nothing of love and affairs of the heart. Caroline is very generous and understanding. But she’s been through a lot.”
Lavinia nodded. “Perhaps you are right.”
There was silence as both ladies sipped on their tea. Olivia frowned, thinking through everything she’d just said. She’d been too eager with her advice, too harsh. She should have taken a moment to think before replying.
“Now that I told you a secret,” Lavinia said, “would you divulge the name of the gentleman you are after?”
Olivia bit her lip. “All right, since you told me who you are in love with, I shall tell you the name of the gentleman I fancy. It is the Earl of Bradshaw.”
Lavinia’s brows lowered in a frown. “Bradshaw? I would have never thought.”
Olivia shrugged. “I am adept at keeping my feelings secret. And apparently, so are you.”
