Chapter 18 #2
“You.” He pointed at Carrowell. “Up. Now.” Alistair strode across the room.
“Yes, yes…” Carrowell kicked off his feet and groaned as he climbed from the seat. “Just keeping it warm for you.”
“And I thank you for it.” Alistair sat down as Carrowell stepped around the desk. “Very kind.”
Lady Emily stood back in the room as if she was trying to avoid getting too close to Carrowell. Carrowell perched himself on the edge of the desk, and he smirked at Lady Emily as she continued to glare ruefully in his direction.
Alistair eyed the two with curiosity. As far as he knew, Lady Emily and Carrowell did not know one another, at least not enough to warrant such hostility. But again… Carrowell does have a knack from bringing out the worst in people, so I can hardly blame her.
“I am so sorry for the intrusion.” Lady Emily swept across the room and stopped short of the desk. “I would have sent word ahead, but I thought it would simply be easier if I saw you myself.”
“Is something the matter?” Alistair asked her.
“Oh, no, nothing like that,” she assured him. “But I find that letter writing has the distinct disadvantage of time consumption. Waiting for responses, not knowing if they might come…” She shrugged. “Who has the time for such things?”
“Surely you have nothing but time,” Carrowell drawled. “That you were able to come all this way without notice proves it. No?”
She levelled a glare at Carrowell. “And what of you? I might have thought you would be passed out in a tavern somewhere by now.”
“That’s for later,” he said with humor. “Usually, I like to get blacked out drunk after midday.”
She curled her lip and looked away.
Alistair groaned. “Carrowell, do me a favor, will you?”
“Yes?” Carrowell perked up.
“Keep your mouth shut.” He looked warningly at his friend, who responded with an innocent smile. “And Lady Emily…” He turned a smile on for the young lady. “You have me curious, now. What is it that could not wait?”
Lady Emily exhaled and straightened; and she was sure to look at Alistair as if Carrowell was not in the room… or as if he did not exist in the first place. “I wish to invite you to a ball that my father is hosting in three days hence.”
“Oh, fun!” Carrowell said.
“A ball…” Alistair frowned. “At your home?”
“That’s right.” Lady Emily looked pointedly at him. “That is unless you have other plans? I would hate to put you out, as busy as you surely are.”
Alistair hesitated with his response. He had not spoken properly to Lady Emily since their night at the theatre, and he wondered if this invitation had anything to do with what they had discussed.
As she told it, her feelings for him were friendly but not romantic, and while she did not see them as a love match, she still saw the advantage of them marrying.
It was a good offer too, one that Alistair should have seriously considered.
He had no desire to marry for love, so why not marry a friend?
Yet… his mind drifted to the obvious place.
His eyes flicked toward the sidewall as if he could see through it, to where Miss Norleigh was right now with Hugh.
He had no real reason to think it, and he knew that it was less than a realistic, but guilt struck him deeply in the pit of his gut, as if to marry Lady Emily would be to do the wrong thing…
“I take it that this invitation does not extend to me?” Carrowell pouted.
Lady Emily snorted. “Was it my choice, it certainly would not.”
“Alas, your father is the one who makes such decisions,” Carrowell crooned. “Meaning that I am most certainly invited.” He flashed a toothy smile at her. “A ball! How fun. Tell your father that I will be there.”
“Never mind being there,” Alistair snapped at his friend. “What are you doing here?”
Carrowell shrugged. “Boredom? I was in the area and thought to pop in. That Lady Emily is here also… let us call that a sad coincidence.”
Lady Emily glared at him further. “You are free to leave. I certainly won’t stop you.”
“And miss all the fun?”
“Fun? Has such a word ever been used to describe you in any facet?”
“Enough!” Alistair cried over the two of them. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair because his head had started to throb from the incessant bickering. “Lady Emily, I do appreciate the invitation. Truly, I do. Only, I am not so sure that –”
“If your concerns are to do with what we spoke of, I assure you that such things are irrelevant,” she hurried to speak over him. “My father is the one who asks after you. As I told him, you and I are good friends, and I would be thrilled to see you there.”
Carrowell perked up and frowned as he looked between the two of them. And then, a smile touched his lips…
“That is… good to hear.” Alistair could not say what he wanted exactly from Lady Emily, just as he could not say what she wanted either.
A conversation for another time, I think. One when Carrowell isn’t staring at the two of us like a court jester waiting for the punchline to drop.
“Think on it, won’t you?” she said, softening her voice and turning further to block out Carrowell.
“And if you do come, then perhaps we can further discuss…” She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Awkward things that I would rather not mention in front of him.” She curled her lip again at Carrowell.
“And what does that mean?” Carrowell pretended to be insulted.
“I think you know.”
“Please, do not be subtle on my account. Do you not like me, Lady Emily?”
“Do cats like dogs? Do lobsters like being dropped in pots of boiling water?”
“Some of them do.”
“Ha!”
“Yes, yes.” Alistair cleared his throat to cut through the two of them once more. “Lady Emily, I thank you for the invitation. Might I have a day to decide?”
“Please,” she said. “Again, I would love to see you there. I consider you a dear friend, whatever might happen.” She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. “And the night would not be the same without –”
A knock at the door interrupted her.
All three in the office turned as one to see who was at the door, and the moment that Alistair saw the intruder, his stomach dropped, his face turned pale, and he found himself wishing that he was anywhere else but in that room.
And that feeling increased tenfold when Carrowell’s eyes brightened with intrigue and wickedness.
This promises to be a most awful experience…
“Ah! This must be the infamous Miss Norleigh…” Carrowell was on his feet and striding across the room. As he went, he was sure to flash a most evil smile at Alistair. “Oh, how I have looked forward to meeting you.”