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“Nothing…and everything,” Ana replied, her gaze on her lap. “He loved me, Victoria, touched me, kissed me—he made me reach heaven, but then he pulled away, and I don’t know…” She bit her lip. “I think I may have lost him which is ridiculous because I neverhadhim atall. He was doing me a favor to stick by me and clear my name after we were discovered at the ball, and now…”
“You’ve fallen in love with him,” Victoria sighed heavily.
Anastasia swallowed, “Yes.”
Holding Ana’s hand, Victoria’s face was laden with sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry for,” Ana breathed heavily. “This is my foolish heart that got me into the mix, and I’ll pull myself out of it.”
“Can you do so when you see him tonight?” Victoria asked skeptically. “He will be at the Dame Knighton’s ball.”
“I know,” Anastasia replied. “And it’s a prime opportunity for me to break the courtship, and I know he will be relieved.”
Reaching over, Victoria embraced her tightly. “It might be for the best.”
“I hope so,” Ana replied quietly.
Her door pushed open before Margaret squeaked, pulled the door back in, and knocked. She then peeked her head around it and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry to bother you, but mother asked if you would like some tea?”
“Yes, thank you,” Anastasia replied.
After her cousin ducked out, Victoria asked, “Do you think she overheard us?”
“It wouldn’t matter,” Ana shrugged. “It wouldn’t matter anyhow. Soon, Gabriel and I won’t be together.”
“I wish you all the luck tonight,” Victoria said kindly.
To Anastasia’s disappointment, Gabriel did not show that night. He was not at the other ball two nights after or at any of the engagements in the continuous week— two musicales, another ball, a garden party— and people were starting to talk. Heavy regret had rested on her chest for five straight days, but Ana could not bring herself to go to his home.
The height of the season was slowing, and Ana found herself mired in misery, so with no other option, she sent him a note one morning telling him that she would be at yet another ball that night, and if he didn’t come, she would send him the necklace and a formal writ to dissolve the courtship.
Maybe it was for the best— after this, she would move on with her life.
“Williams!” David snapped as he barged into Gabriel’s darkened study, his face heated. “Why are you hiding?”
Seated in a chair at the far end of the room, clad in a silk banyan and sipping a glass of wine, Gabriel looked up annoyed. “Who the devil told you I am hiding?”
Before plopping himself into a chair, David yanked the drapes apart, making Gabriel flinch. “Yes, you are. A few days ago, I’d thought to hold my peace and not say anything, but I cannot do so anymore. No one has seen you in a sennight or heard from you, not even your betrothed.”
“She is not my betrothed,” Gabriel replied as his mind reflected on the note Anastasia had sent him, and his spirits had plummeted to his feet. “And don’t call her that anymore.”
“You’ve broken this fake courtship then?”
“Not…directly,” Gabriel replied.
Rolling his eyes, David replied, “My point. If this doesn’t stink of cowardice, call me the Prince Regent and give me a gold carriage.”
Seething, Gabriel said, “I am not hiding.”
“Yes, you are.” David leaned in. “Why else would you have vanished from social engagements for a sennight, and you are now hiding in your study, away from the light like a leper? As your friend, I will tell you the truth, even if you do not wish to hear it. You’re in love with Miss Porter, and she is in love with you. Perhaps you have not admitted as much to yourselves, but when we were the last ball, it was obvious to us all.”
“You all were seeing a mirage,” Gabriel snapped as his heart roiled in his chest.
“If that is true, tell her then,” David dared him. “Stop running away from your fears and face them. Sowhatif one of your rules is not falling in love? Did you think that you could go through life alone?”
Bitterly, Gabriel said, “My parents showed me what love is. Why would I want to follow that?”
“No, Gabriel,” David said kindly. “Your parents were trapped in a destructive cycle made from unforgiveness and pain. They showed you what love is not. I am damn sure you know how to see what is wrong and take the right. Stop letting your parents poison you, and go and claim your happiness. Go to the ball tonight, and if you feel the same way about letting her go, then say it to her. You’re not a coward, Williams; don’t let fear run your life.
