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"And why should you doubt?"
Nora felt her voice waver on the edge of tears as she replied. "Because Arthur is friends withthat man."
"A concern I'll grant, but does he know his friend is a scoundrel and a bastard of the first rank? And does a dishonorable friend make him less a man worth consideration?"
Nora considered those two questions.She did not even know the name of the man who had once seduced her. She certainly did not know how closely he and Arthur were acquainted. Perhaps they were not close.
And in any case, might not marriage and settling down influence Arthur in a different direction? He had already said that his feelings for her had encouraged him to a rare month-long period of celibacy. Might not the natural course of things cause his friends to either reform their most egregious faults or drift away from him?
She took a deep breath. "You make an excellent argument, and I own that you are not wrong. But… there is still the matter of Lydia."
Scarlett clicked her tongue sympathetically and rubbed a hand along her arm in a comforting manner. "That's a tangle, I'll grant you. But it's early days yet. And three weeks or more till the wedding can happen! Time enough to manage that matter." Her expression firmed and took on a distinctly fierce look. “And if he’s the man you think him, then that matter shan’t be such a problem either.”
“You are right.” Nora exhaled, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her. “Thank you, Scarlett.” She clasped her friend’s hand in gratitude, and Scarlett returned her gentle grip with a firm and reassuring squeeze. “Whatever would I do without you?”
“I’m sure I don’t know, but that’s nothing to worry about. It’d serve you better to think how you’ll do your hair tomorrow.” Scarlett smirked.
Nora allowed Scarlett to change the subject with a soft sigh of relief and a sense of fragile calm. Her worries were by no means gone, but Scarlett’s matter-of-fact response had drawn her back from the edge of the panic that had threatened to overwhelm her.
There was still every chance her heart might yet get broken, but there was no sense in worrying over it until it happened. And perhaps Arthur would surprise her as pleasantly as he had this morning.
* * *
Arthur sighed as he studied himself in the mirror. He had changed his outfit for an informal evening suit, more suited to remaining at home, but only after spending a pleasant interlude relieving his tension to the memory of Nora’s expression as she came apart around his fingers. However, he was not of a mind to spend the remainder of the day in his rooms.
Besides, even had he wished to do so, he had the official invitations to send for the dinner and needed to assure everyone was paired appropriately in terms of partners. He rather thought he might invite Annabelle Norburn to partner David with.
He straightened the fresh cravat he’d tied in a simple knot at his throat and turned his steps toward his office. Within the clarity that sometimes followed the languid warmth of afterglow, he had come to a number of realizations.
The first was that Nora had a deep distrust of men of the ton, one that was certainly affecting their fragile new bond, but he had not the slightest idea where this distrust stemmed from.
And she had deftly diverted his attention away from further inquiry. Her arguments, her deflections, the way she redirected his questions to focus on his actions, putting him on the defensive and causing him to forget his queries in his efforts to defend himself… she had done well in distracting him.
He knew she did not trust any noble but no details regarding why. She had a family, but she had avoided telling him who they were or any true details beyond her estrangement from her parents. He had not even gotten the name of the woman who had accompanied her, the woman he’d thought was her sister.
She was well-spoken and well-educated, but he had no idea how a serving girl might have had a chance to acquire such an education.
He wanted to know the answers with a desire that itched at him like the desire for a brandy at the end of a long day. He was determined to find a way past Nora’s barriers while still respecting her independence and spirit.
One way or another, he was determined to prove himself to her and convince her that he was worthy of accepting him and his courtship in truth.
I wonder what Father would have thought of her.
The thought startled him. He had not thought of his father in some time. He had, in fact, avoided thinking much about him since the man’s sudden passing in a hunting accident two years prior. At first, he’d been grieving. Then he’d been angry, unwilling to take up the position his father had occupied and his duties as the Duke of Bedford.
His mother had been right that his father would have disapproved of his wastrel ways prior to becoming interested in Nora. The older man had never voiced his disapproval at Arthur’s refusal to settle down with one woman, but he had made his feelings known in his cool silences.
Another thought surfaced in the form of a memory. His first attendance at Almacks.
‘He’d secured partners for almost every dance, and he was looking forward to the evening, matchmaking attempts aside. He had been surprised when his father came over to speak to him.
“You have chosen your partners for the evening?”
“All but the last.” He had shown his father the card, hoping the elder Lord Russell would approve his choices, or at least his first one, the daughter of a close acquaintance.
Lord Russell had hummed low in his throat, a noncommittal sound, and handed the card back. “It is well enough.” His gaze had turned to the figures scattered throughout the large salon. “Remember, Arthur, that your partner makes a statement to others in Society. It is true of your partners now, and someday, it shall be true of your wife.”’
A statement. What statement would his father have seen in Nora? Someone independent, strong, outspoken, yet reserved and often quiet. Not a noble lady of theton, but educated and as well-mannered as any woman of Society. A lady of contradictions.
