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This was proving difficult for many reasons. One being that he hated parties of any kind. Another being that he was currently trapped in conversation with his distant cousin Jeremy—Jay—Orton. A third being that his heart was breaking. And a fourth being the sight of Pea standing hesitantly on the far side of the room.
She was wearing a long, backless dress of dark green satin, and golden sandals that tied around her ankles. Her hair was twisted up, showing the curve of her neck and shoulder. She would have looked stunning if she hadn’t looked so trapped and miserable, like a songbird in a cage.
She was leaving tomorrow.
His aunt had told him when he returned to the house after burying Kipper. “I thought you should know before you see her,” she had said, catching him in the corridor outside his room as she adjusted the pearl bracelets on her wrist. “In case it changes what you say.”
Well. He had already seen her, when she hugged him and told him it was OK to love. And she had already started to pack, even before that, because he had driven her away in his weakness and his need. She had come to Thornley to hide, to shelter, to paint, and he had…fucked her.
He relaxed his grip on the champagne glass before he accidentally smashed the damn thing. Or threw it in Jay Orton’s face.
“The Curdle Girdle, eh?” Jay was saying with a malicious glint to his smile. He was several years younger than Leo and had the sort of flawless patrician features—straight dark hair, straight dark brows, fine straight nose—that made him look like one of those rarified Oxbridge boys who could play classical piano, get their hockey colours, captain the rowing team, and gain their medical degree all without breaking a sweat. Jay, however, had dropped out of Oxford in his first year, finding it interfered with his flourishing career of pure hedonism. Rose had once described him as having the face of a fallen angel, and it was a widely held opinion that only his looks let him get away with half the atrocious things he did and said.
“The Curdle Girdle?” Leo found himself asking, and immediately regretted it.
“The exquisite Sophia Clements over there,” said Jay with an unsubtle nod that the lady in question apparently noticed, her already stiff posture stiffening further as she shot them a cool glance.
Leo had barely noticed Sophia until now, despite knowing his aunt’s hopes. She was in a frosted silver dress that clung to slender, athletic curves. Her skin gleamed, her hair the colour of spun gold, her eyes a rich shade of brown that should have reminded him of melted chocolate but…didn’t.
“The most beautiful woman in the world,” said Jay, almost gleefully, “and zero sex appeal. Fascinating, isn’t it?”
“I would hate to live in your head,” said Leo, drinking most of his champagne in one go.
“That’s why they call her The Curdle Girdle,” continued Jay, entirely undeterred. “As soon as you get near her, every fluid in your body curdles. From navel to knee, your body shuts down.”
“Jay, can I make a suggestion?” said Leo, swapping his glass for a fresh one from a passing server. “Next time my aunt invites you to Thornley. Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Come. Breathe. Exist.”
Leo crossed the room and went to greet Sophia, like the good host he was supposed to be.
Jay, being Jay, just laughed.
Pea
Pea accepted a glass of champagne from a server and tried not to fidget. She knew plenty of people here, so in theory it should have been easy to mingle and make conversation. But there was a difference between knowing people and knowing what to say to them.
She had briefly seen Edward and his stunning new girlfriend when they arrived at Thornley. But they still hadn’t made it downstairs from their room. She suspected they were…occupied.
Leo she had spotted the moment she walked into the room. It was hard not to when he was taller than everyone else. And when he was, well, Leo.
He was glowering even more than usual and looked positively murderous, though that could easily be explained by the fact he was talking to the insufferable Jay Orton. Burying Kipper had probably been preferable.
Now though, he was looking across the room at Sophia Clements. Pea hadn’t been introduced, but she had known immediately who the young woman was. She stood out. And not just because she was beautiful, but because… Well, it was hard to put a name to it. Maybe it was the rigidity in her posture or the stillness of her face. Pea hadn’t seen a single emotion cross her perfect features.
Even as the Count approached, the golden-haired woman remained entirely impassive. Leo too looked equally grave, though he smiled politely enough in greeting.
Perfect. They would make the perfect dispassionate couple and have perfect dispassionate children and never develop a single laughter line even when they were old and grey.
As if to highlight the contrast, a familiar warm laugh caught her ear. She was already smiling as she turned and saw Edward enter the room, hand in hand with his grinning girlfriend. They looked like Hollywood royalty, Edward in his tux, the woman in a long red dress. Leo was closer to them, and they spotted him first, Edward clasping him in a hug that Leo actually returned. They made polite chit-chat with Sophia and her mother for a few moments before the two men drew away to talk about whatever it was those two wildly different old friends found in common.
Edward glanced her way and smiled, with a small wave of greeting, the gesture promising he would come her way soon. Leo almost looked at her too but didn’t quite manage it. She felt a ridiculous hope that maybe Leo was even now telling Edward about what had happened, seeking the permission and absolution he so clearly required.
But no. They weren’t talking about anything important. Edward continued to look entirely unperturbed, smiling slightly, his eyes wandering often to his girlfriend who was now chatting easily with Rose.
Pea put her champagne down on a side table, the taste of it sour in her mouth, and left the great hall.
