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Luncheon with my aunt, cousin and their friends was pleasant enough, and I wasn’t lying to Harry when I said I wouldn’t have time to meet him afterward. The event went late, as they often did, and by the time I returned to the hotel, there was only enough time for a cup of tea with Harmony in my suite, followed by a bath before I had to get ready for dinner. Considering I shared Harmony with Flossy, I had to have my hair done first to give her time to do both.
After stewing all afternoon, talking to someone was a relief. She listened to me babble on about Harry without interruption. When I finished, I watched her closely in the reflection of my dressing table mirror.
“Did I overreact?” I asked. “I mean, I did apologize for my mistake, but not for my reaction to his interference. Should I say sorry for that, too?”
She twisted my hair up and checked the effect in the mirror before releasing it. She watched the honey-brown tresses tumble past my shoulders. “I can see you’re still cross with him.”
“I suppose I am. It was condescending of him to think I couldn’t take care of myself, but to go behind my back was devious.”
“He explained why he did it.”
“Yes. And he apologized.”
“Then it comes down to one thing.” She twisted my hair up again and dug a comb into it to hold it in place. “Do you want this to come between you?”
“No. Definitely not.”
“Then you have to make a conscious decision to accept his apology. It’s the only way to move on.”
She was right, as always. “Very well, Iwillaccept it. I’m quite sure he won’t do something like this again, anyway. He seemed genuinely sorry.” I reached up and patted her hand. “Thank you, Harmony. You’ve been a great help.”
But it wasn’t the answer to every facet of the issue standing between Harry and me and she could see I wasn’t completely satisfied. “And yet?” she prompted.
“And yethe’scross withmenow, because I falsely accused him of going to Uncle Ronald. He says he accepts my apology, but I don’t think he does, deep down.”
Harmony tapped another comb against her cheek as she thought. “Is he cross, or just disappointed?”
I whipped around to face her. “Why would he be disappointed?”
“Because you leapt to the wrong conclusion. It means you misjudged him, Cleo. He probably thought you knew him better by now, and is disappointed that you don’t.” She clasped my chin and faced me forward again. “To be quite honest, I’m surprised you jumped to that conclusion too. You’re an intelligent woman and I think you do know him well enough to know he wouldn’t go to your uncle. So the question is, why did you accuse him?”
I stared at her reflection in the mirror, my head suddenly feeling as though it was stuffed with wool. “I… I don’t know.”
She thrust the comb into my hair, followed by hairpin after hairpin. “Were you sabotaging something, perhaps?”
“Sabotaging what?”
Her gaze met mine. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” I said again.
She pinned a silk bow in the same shade of blue as my gown to the back of my head to complete the arrangement. “I meant about your hair. I think it looks very fetching.”
With my mind preoccupied,I wanted to enjoy an evening with simple conversation that I didn’t need to follow too carefully. Unfortunately, the one person I needed to be most careful with my comments was there, and he made a point of talking to me the moment I found myself on my own.
I smiled politely. “Good evening, Mr. Miller.”
He bowed. “Good evening, Miss Fox. You look well. Very well, in fact.”
“Thank you.” I looked around the drawing room for one of my cousins or a friend, but they were deep in conversation with other guests. I caught sight of our hostess watching us, clearly unaware that my family didn’t want me associating with Mr. Miller. She seemed to think we’d make a good match, if her secretive little smile had anything to do with it.
Oh dear. I hoped she hadn’t seated us together.
“I see from the panic in your eyes that you believe them.” It was to Mr. Miller’s credit that he didn’t shy away from the reason for the awkwardness between us.
“You’re brave speaking to me with my uncle nearby.”
“And your cousin.” He nodded at Floyd, his back to us as he chatted with a young lady. “Do you think they’ll intervene here or is the famous British politeness too ingrained?”
