Page 103 of A Single Obsession

She glared at him.

“What did you say to her?” His forceful tone mirrored his mother’s so closely that it almost made him shudder.

“I reminded Elizabeth of the duty you both have to keep your troth to each other.”

Beau closed his eyes in frustration and then opened them again. “That was not helpful.”

“It was necessary.”

He did not have the patience to stay and argue. He needed to talk to Eliza.

“Please excuse me,” he said with a brief bow, turning on his heel to search for his missing partner without looking back.

After much manoeuvring past dancers and chaperons alike, he found her at the opposite end of the room, fanning herself to reduce the raised colour in her cheeks.

He handed her one of the glasses he still held in his hands. “You appear to need some refreshment, madam.”

“Thank you.” She took the glass and drank some orgeat.

“My mother has just informed me you have been telling her we do not suit,” he said in a low voice, so that none but she could hear.

“It would appear you have been planning my future with her,” she whispered back, her eyes blazing with anger.

Beau’s nose twitched. It was impossible not to smile. Eliza was talking to him. Yes, she was angry, but at least they were having a conversation.

“Why are you still letting her dictate your life? You can make your own choices now, but you are so used to submitting to her wishes, you can’t break free. She impresses upon you your duty to the bride she has chosen for you, ignoring the fact that I broke off our engagement. And she promises me her help—help that threatens what little confidence I have in myself.

“Do you intend to let her overwhelm your wife with advice and correct all the things she gets wrong? Will she even determine how many children you should have? For some unknown reason, she deems me suitable, though I have told her I am not fit for the role. Perhaps she does not know I ride racehorses in my spare time?”

Beau flinched at every accusation, but his smile refused to fade until she mentioned the race. His eyes clouded over as all his fears for Eliza’s life flooded back to the forefront of his mind. Why had she risked herself for him? He was not worth it.

“If you ever do anything so foolhardy again, I will—”

All the colour drained from her face, and she recoiled as if he had hit her.

“You seem to have forgotten our engagement is over, my lord,” she said, annunciating every word so he could not misinterpret her meaning, “and what I do has absolutely nothing to do with you. I don’t wish to marry you. Please do not try to persuade me otherwise.”

With this withering speech, she left him. Beau stared after her as she disappeared into the crowd.

It was too late to take back his angry words, but he must apologise for them. Why couldn’t he control his temper? She thought he was angry with her, when, in reality, he was furious with himself.

For allowing her to believe riding Romeo to victory was what he wanted. That winning the race was more important to him than her reputation, her safety, her love.

He reflected on Eliza’s complaints and agreed it might appear as though he was still under the maternal thumb.

But how could he convince her his choices were his own when they coincided with his mother’s?

Chapter 45

Beau turned Eliza’s accusations over and over in his mind, knowing he deserved every one of them. He could not help wondering whether their conversation would have ended differently if he had not lost his temper.

Which was why he stood in the entrance hall of Warren House the next morning, waiting to discover if Eliza would see him, so he could apologise.

He was disappointed, but not surprised, when the footman returned with the message that the ladies were not at home to visitors, but it left him in a worse position than he had been before he’d talked with Eliza at Almack’s.

How could he beg her forgiveness if she would not even speak to him?

He desperately needed wise advice, but who could supply it? His thoughts drifted back to his time with Eliza’s family, and he wished he had parents like hers. His stepfather was distant, and his mother cared for no one but herself.