Page 56 of The Earl and the Reluctant Lady
“Then you are no worse a choice for her than any other man.” Benedict leaned forward. “If you want the girl and she’ll have you, you should marry her. It’s as simple as that.” He stood. “Now I shall leave you to it. Try not to throw my decanters at anyone. They’re expensive.”
If you want the girl, you should marry her. Simple.
He was ridiculous. Nothing was ever that simple.
…
With the exception of Fletcher’s midnight visit to her the other night, Agnes hadn’t spoken to him in days. She knew he was here; that he’d followed her to Brookhaven. She’d seen him at the previous night’s ball. He’d stood, on the perimeter, watching, but he’d made no move to engage with her.
She’d figured out why he was avoiding her. They’d been intimate, though her virtue remained intact, he’d touched her, kissed her. He’d made her want things she knew she couldn’t have. Perhaps now he was worried that she would try to force his hand to marry her.
She needed to speak with him, assure him she’d never do such a thing. She glanced down at her breakfast plate and pushed it aside. Harriet, who sat next to her at the table, was staring blankly at her own untouched plate of food.
“Harriet, are you all right?” Agnes asked.
“Of course,” Harriet said, her tone uncharacteristically sharp. She met Agnes’s gaze and slowly exhaled. “My apologies. I’m afraid I didn’t get much sleep last night. I shouldn’t have been cross with you.”
Agnes hadn’t gotten much sleep herself, but then she often didn’t like staying in a new place. “You do look a little flushed. Is that headache still pestering you?”
“Sorry?” Harriet asked, her brow wrinkled in confusion.
“Last night,” Agnes said. “You left the ball early because of a headache.” Though now that was seeming an unlikely reason for her departure from the party.
“Yes, yes, my head has been aching terribly.” She rubbed at her temples. “So much so that I’m afraid it’s affecting my cognitive abilities this morning.”
Harriet was behaving strangely. Agnes was almost certain her friend was lying, but about what, she had no notion. She could pry, but if Harriet wanted Agnes to know something, she would simply tell her. More than likely this had to do with Lord Davenport’s proposal.
Harriet smiled. “Were you able to ask Justine and Tilly anything last night about whether or not they’d received any messages from Lady X? Lady Somersby informed us in the most recent meeting that she had gotten one.”
“Yes, neither of them had. I didn’t mention mine.” Agnes shook her head. “I trust them, truly I do, but until this mess is cleaned up, I want to be certain before divulging certain information.” She did trust her friends so much so that she didn’t want to burden them with anything new. Fletcher had called them in to help identify her secret suitor. Harriet wanted to investigate the mysterious Lady X. Agnes could manage it all—divide her focus, as it were.
Her life had nearly revolved around the Ladies of Virtue for the last few years. They were as much a family as her blood.
“That’s perfectly understandable. They haven’t been members as long as we have.”
They were just leaving the breakfast room when a servant came to them and bowed. “His lordship has requested you meet him in the armory.”
“Me?” Harriet asked.
“Both of you,” the footman said. “You are Lady Harriet and Miss Watkins?”
They nodded in unison.
“His lordship instructed,” he said. “Please follow me.”
They followed the servant to the opposite end of the house. They had all been instructed, upon arrival, that the wing was under construction and would be off-limits to all guests. It would seem that such rules did not apply when the lord of the manor wanted to wed you.
The servant stopped once they’d reached a pair of double doors. “Inside. But this is where I leave you.” He bowed, then left them.
“How intriguing,” Agnes said.
Harriet took hold of the door handles and pulled. They entered a small outer chamber and found another group of doors. Once inside, Lord Davenport turned from the window where he’d been standing.
“Splendid. I’m glad you both were able to come,” he said. He leaned on his cane as he walked toward them.
Agnes scanned the room and saw that Lord Davenport had done to this room what Harriet had done to a makeshift meeting room for their group. Once Lady Somersby had put the Ladies of Virtue on hiatus, Harriet had felt strongly about them having a place where they could still practice their skills. Remain physically fit.
All of the women in the group had been taught various fighting skills, with the primary goal of them being able to defend themselves should the need ever arise. It was something that had motivated Lady Somersby when she’d created their group. The women taking on petty thieves had been an aftereffect.
