Page 47 of Courting Miss Lancaster
Harry looked away from his sister, his eyes sliding over the garden, though not seeing anything in particular. “I could not bear it any longer,” he said.
Jane was silent beside him. After a moment she spoke, her tone soft and gentle. “You care a great deal for her, I daresay.”
“I cannot imagine ever loving anyone else.” It was nothing but the truth, though he’d never spoken his feelings out loud before.
“Oh, Harry.” He felt Jane squeeze his hand.
The discussion had grown too serious for Harry’s taste. He had left London to escape heaviness and depression. “So I have come here to be pummeled by your unscrupulous offspring.”
“I am certain they will oblige you with fervor,” Jane replied, obviously catching on to the hint in his forced-jovial tone. “I could even provide them with sticks and such.”
“Weaponry will be unnecessary.”
He helped her to her feet, and they walked back toward the house in silence. Being with Jane’s family would help, to a degree. With four young children, there would be ample distraction. But seeing her loving and growing family would only serve as a reminder of what Harry would never have. And he had discovered nearly a year earlier that nothing ever entirely pushed thoughts of Athena from his mind.
Chapter Nineteen
VW
Adam had quite adamantly refusedto join Persephone and Athena for tea, despite knowing Mr. Dalforth was expected. His visit had been discussed that morning over breakfast.
“Suppose Mr. Dalforth wishes to speak with you,” Persephone had said rather urgently.
“Then you can give him directions,” Adam had replied. “I will be in my book room. I have absolutely no intention of altering my schedule for something as mundane as an afternoon tea.”
Athena had instantly stiffened. Adam disliked everything that was essential to her having a Season. She could not expect him to endure a second round. She would simply have to accept any offer that was forthcoming if she wished to make a match.
“Mundane?” Persephone had replied. “And suppose Mr. Dalforth is coming with every intention of whispering passionate words of love to me?”
“I would shoot him through his black heart,” Adam had answered with every appearance of seriousness. “And then return to my book room.”
“It is a very good thing Mr. Dalforth’s attention is quite universally directed toward Athena,” Persephone had answered. Their exchange had shifted from a little tense to playful so quickly that Athena was at a loss to explain when the change had occurred.
“For both of you,” Adam had confirmed.
“Both of us?”
“After putting a ball through Mr. Dalforth’s chest, I wouldhave found it necessary to lock you in the West Tower of Falstone Castle,” Adam explained, eating his breakfast as though nothing untoward was being discussed.
“The one overlooking the gibbet?” Persephone had smiled as she’d asked the question to which she quite obviously knew the answer.
“To discourage any would-be suitors, my dear,” Adam had answered. “You are, it seems, far too tempting for your own good if any man would even consider crossing me in his desperation to secure your affections.”
“And it does not say much for this hypothetical gentleman’s powers of observation,” Persephone had added. “That my affections are not obtainable by anyone other than my husband should be obvious to even the thickest of individuals.”
Adam gave Persephone a look that made Athena blush, though she was still at a loss to say precisely why. Persephone, Athena had noticed, was blushing as well. Adam had that effect on his wife.
Athena did not believe Mr. Dalforth had ever brought a blush to her cheeks. Harry had on more than one occasion—a look, the tone of his voice, that time he had held her hand in the theater. Athena felt her face heat at the reminder. Not only had she blushed but her heart had pounded and raced. It was the sort of reaction she ought to have been having to Mr. Dalforth if he was, indeed, to be her future husband.
A speeding pulse and a flushed countenance had always been part of her imagined courtship. When the butler announced Mr. Dalforth, Athena concentrated on her reaction, ready to analyze every minute change. Except there was no change. Athena had absolutely no discernible reaction to him. It was a depressing realization. She was conceivably on the verge of receiving an offer from a gentleman she was little better than indifferent to.
The tea was interminable. The excellent food provided byAdam’s highly skilled chef tasted vaguely like air and water, tasteless and unnoticed. Athena tried to calm the almost frantic pulse pounding in her head. How had she come to be in such a situation? What was she going to do about it? She had difficulty imagining herself married to Mr. Dalforth, but what other prospects did she have?
“Might we take a turn about the garden?” Mr. Dalforth requested after the nerve-racking tea had been consumed.
Persephone gave her approval of the suggestion, though Athena thought she seemed reluctant. Why was that? Or had Athena imagined the hesitation?
She and Mr. Dalforth walked to the garden in what felt to Athena to be a very awkward silence. He seemed uneasy, nervous even. Could he be planning to propose?
