Chapter 11
Cora stood in the drawing room, waiting for Christopher to collect her and Jeremy for a night at the opera. While he seemed more earnest to woo her, Cora still couldn’t help feeling that something was missing. She suspected he felt it too but was in denial.
Still, she promised to give him a chance, and she would do that. It wasn’t as if any other suitors existed for her. No, Damion had departed the party with Lady Bennett by his side. She pressed her lips together, hating the pain that flared in her chest every time she thought of them.
“I’m sorry that I’m not going. I’m still exhausted from the party,” her mother said.
Jeremy smirked. “You don’t want to go. Admit it.”
Her mother only smiled. Cora walked to the window that overlooked the street.
Even though it was dark, the oil lamps lit the area.
Not that it mattered; she wasn’t really focused on anything outside.
No, she was thinking about Damion. There was an emptiness that she couldn’t quite get rid of since their last encounter.
If she was being honest with herself, she would admit she missed him. Cora ran her fingers across her mouth; their last encounter flashing in her mind. Yes, the attraction was part of it, but it was more than that. Over the week, she’d enjoyed her time with Damion. She missed talking to him.
“Cora, I want you to enjoy yourself tonight. Don’t worry about whether Christopher is the right choice. You’ve been far too sad the last two days,” her mother declared from where she sat on the plush crimson sofa.
She turned away from the window, confused by her mother’s grand statement. Cora glanced at Jeremy, and he shrugged. Her mother continued, “I want both of my children to find love.”
“Thank you, Mother. I am still unsure if Christopher and I are meant to be.”
“Then don’t force it. I want you and Jeremy wed, sooner rather than later, but I also want both of you to be happy in your marriages. I miss your father every day, even five years after his passing.”
They all did. Her mother dabbed at her eyes and stood. “I will be right back.”
She and Jeremy nodded as she hurried from the room. Cora sat in one of the wingback chairs across from Jeremy’s seat. “We are both failures. Mother hoped for one marriage this year.”
Jeremy shrugged. “She wants our happiness more. We will find someone in our own time.”
What if Cora had already found the person her heart desired, but he decided to close himself off to love? She sighed, and Jeremy asked, “Is there someone else?”
Her eyes flew to her brother’s face. He studied her intently.
“Why would you ask that?”
“You seem sad, and I sense it has nothing to do with Bellamy.”
She wanted to confess that she’d fallen for his friend; someone who was older, more jaded, and not at all interested in her. Yet, Cora knew Jeremy would demand that Damion do the right thing by her. Cora didn’t want that.
Even if it wasn’t her, she hoped Damion would marry for love. All of society thought he was nursing a broken heart for his wife, but in truth he’d sealed his heart up so he wouldn’t be hurt again.
“Cora?” Jeremy prompted.
She forced herself to smile. “Not sad, but a little unsure what it means if I don’t wed Christopher. I’ve pretty much ignored any potential suitors the last three Seasons.”
Her reasoning for being unhappy wasn’t true, but it was better than confessing that her sadness had nothing to do with Christopher and everything to do with Damion, the Duke of Blythe.
“The right man will come along,” Jeremy reiterated confidently.
“How are you so sure? Plenty of our associates marry without love. Am I making the wrong decision?”
Her brother sighed. “I don’t know. It just seems like a bloody waste to tie yourself to someone without it.
Maybe I’m a romantic because of Mother and Father.
Bellamy is a good man, and I will happily support your choice of him if that is what you want.
Still, there is no rush. You will always have a home with me. ”
She reached over and squeezed his hand. “You are a good brother.”
Their mother burst back into the room. “Christopher has arrived. He will enter momentarily.”
Gone was the sadness that had emanated from their mother only moments ago.
Her mother cherished their father dearly, and her grief came and went.
Cora wanted to love someone that deeply and also be loved like that.
The strongest realization that she couldn’t marry Christopher filled her. It wasn’t fair to her or him.
Cora wouldn’t tell him tonight but request he call on her during the day. They both deserved something more. Christoper entered the room beaming and greeted everyone. He made a grand show of bowing in front of her and placing a chaste kiss on her hand.
This evening, she would enjoy the opera and figure out the future tomorrow.
Damion may not be an option, but there were plenty of lords she should be more open-minded about.
They walked to the carriage, and she refused to acknowledge the pessimistic thought that none might ever compare to the Duke of Blythe.
She would forget him. Cora had to. She allowed Christopher to assist her into the carriage.
Once she, Jeremy, and Christoper were settled, the vehicle headed towards the English Opera House.
Her oldest friend launched into an explanation of his travels somewhere in France.
Jeremy looked entirely too bored, but Cora forced herself to smile.
Ending things with Christopher was best for both of them.
Cora wanted her friend to be with someone who was enthralled by him.
She hoped a lady would look at him the way she stared at Damion.
The thought made her slightly sad, but for once, in the last few days, optimism filled her.
She was making the right choice for her and Christopher by declining his proposal.
***
Damion settled in his seat at the theater. He was in Harrington’s festive, packed box. The crowd around him laughed and drank champagne. He felt like an oddity among them and regretted agreeing to come.
Meredith stepped into the box dressed in a sparkling blue confection of a gown. She took a glass of champagne from Harrington and headed his way. “May I join you?”
“Of course.”
“I’m surprised to find you sitting here looking so sour,” she stated.
“I should have refused Harrington's invitation. I’m not enjoying any of this revelry tonight.”
His friend chuckled. “I’m sure. I expected to see a betrothal announcement based on how quickly you chased after Lady Cora at the Stanton Country Estate.”
Damion tugged at his cravat. “You misunderstood the situation.”
Meredith leaned closer to him. “You are being foolish, Damion. The two of you seem to share something special, even if you are both in denial.”
He shook his head. Meredith was over-imagining things.
Cora made her choice, and it wasn’t him.
He glanced across the way, and a jolt shot through him.
Cora was here. Damion watched as Bellamy escorted her to a seat in her family box.
Jeremy was with them but seemed to be studying Harrington’s box, envious.
Meredith followed his gaze, and she frowned. “She didn’t accept a proposal from Bellamy, did she?”
“I don’t know.”
He studied Cora as she laughed at something Bellamy said. His hand tightened on his glass of champagne. He needed to relax, or he would break the stem in half. As if sensing his stare, Cora looked his way. Something powerful flared between them. Her gaze flicked to Meredith.
“Would you like me to flirt with you?”
He shook his head, not interested in any games when it came to Cora. Why had she chosen Bellamy? Damn it. She deserved so much more. Cora looked away first. He took a sip of the bubbly drink.
Finally, he turned and faced Meredith, who stared at him worried. “I’m sorry, Damion. She is a fool.”
“She’s wanted him since she was a young girl. The heart wants what the heart wants.”
“You and I both know that doesn’t always end the way we think. It is a dream that is often not based on the heart or attraction.”
She was right, but he wouldn’t force Cora to wed him.
She needed to decide what was right for her.
A bell chimed, indicating the start of the opera.
The majority of the gas lamps were extinguished, starting the show.
He sat in silence, pretending to pay attention to the show, but in truth he watched Cora.
Damion wished he was seated next to her, not Bellamy.
While the theater was darker, Damion could still see her.
She glanced his way often, and he wondered what she was thinking.
He should stop watching her, knowing it made her nervous, but her legs wrapped around his body in the Stanton library lingered in his mind.
Her breathy moans and the shudder that coursed through her when she climaxed would be something he’d never forget.
Every moment with her at the Stanton Country Estate felt like something more than a brief liaison.
Was it truly one-sided? She was here with Bellamy.
It must be. Or maybe all the things he tried to explain to her didn’t matter as much as her girlhood dream.
Still, he hated that she might one day regret her choice.
Damion pondered traveling. He wasn’t sure he could resist or not hate himself if he was the one she turned to if her marriage failed. No, he wanted something different from Cora than a few trysts.
The crowd stood and began to clap, making Damion realize it was intermission. Meredith rose. “Let’s mingle. You can’t sit here and glower. You are the Duke of Blythe, a shameless flirt. What will they think if they see you with such a sour expression on your face?”
He sighed but followed the rest of their group out of the box. They reached the area with refreshments and immediately wished he would have stayed seated. Cora, Bellamy, and Stanton were there as well. Stanton saw him and headed in his direction with his sister and Bellamy behind him.
Meredith frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“It is fine.”
Stanton grinned at him. “All of you looked like you were having the best time.”
Meredith nodded. “We are. Blythe is so much fun to be around.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, Damion watched Cora, who studied them intently. Bellamy stepped closer. “I’ve promised Lady Cora that she would have all my attention for the rest of the Season.”
Why was the young lord yammering on about paying attention to Cora? He should do it, and then no explanation would be needed. If Cora were his, she nor anyone else would ever question his devotion.
Bellamy held his arm out to her. “May I escort you to retrieve some lemonade?”
Her eyes lingered on Damion a little longer, but finally she beamed at Bellamy. “Yes, thank you.”
“Blythe promised me that he’d take me to a gaming hell that allows ladies, so we will be off too,” Meredith said.
Cora flinched. Damion knew Meredith was trying to help, but he wished she hadn’t. Cora and Bellamy walked away. She didn’t look back.
Stanton sighed. “If I didn’t have to keep an eye on Bellamy, I’d join you. Enjoy your evening.”
Damion nodded goodbye and then, when Stanton left, turned to Meredith. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I think she misses you. I wanted to see what her reaction would be.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested in playing games with Lady Cora.”
She looped her arm through his. “Well, at least neither of us must sit through the rest of the opera. Let’s leave. I will have my driver drop you off. I have an appointment with a gentleman friend.”
At least Damion wouldn’t have to watch Cora with Bellamy for the remainder of the night. “Lead the way.”