Chapter 4
One year later
David pressed his knuckles to his forehead. A year had passed, and still his only thought was of Lady Nora — the torment of it a companion as familiar and as unwelcome as an old wound that reopens in cold weather.
He had not expected that. He had believed, when he had left London twelve months ago, that time and duty would dull the edge of it. He had been wrong.
That had been the evening he had seen just how ill his uncle had become. The evening the future had become something to survive rather than to welcome.
“My lord?”
David opened his eyes, seeing a footman at the door, an apologetic look on his face.
“Forgive me, I did knock but – ”
“Entirely my fault, old friend.” From behind the footman, in came a tall, wiry fellow with a shock of fair hair that, in the sunshine that radiated through the windows, looked almost white.
“I heard you were back in London, but after a sennight of seeing nothing of you, I thought to come and call upon you myself.”
With an effort, David pushed himself out of his chair and shook Lord Broadford’s hand firmly, a sense of relief pushing into his heart. At least now, he would not be alone. “How very good to see you again.” He looked to the footman. “Bring us some refreshments.”
“Brandy would suit me very well although I suppose it is a trifle early.” Lord Broadford grinned at David, then frowned and tilted his head to one side. “You look both pale and thin, my friend. I do hope you are not ailing?”
David shook his head, his smile wry. “You have never been one to hide your true thoughts, have you?” That remark, however, instantly sent a pang of longing through him, recalling that Lady Nora’s honesty and frankness had always delighted him, even though she herself had often thought it a little less than proper.
“No, I have not. And my eyes inform me that you are not the friend I knew last Season.” Lord Broadford frowned as David gestured for him to sit down.
“Last Season, you were engaged for only a few days before news of your uncle’s ill health began to spread through London. I was sorry to hear of his passing.”
David said nothing, coupling his fingers in front of his face.
“My friend.” Lord Broadford sat forward, elbows on his knees, as he looked into David’s face. “You have not said anything in some time. You have more trouble within your heart than you would like to admit, yes?”
“I am sorrowful over my uncle’s passing, of course.” David shrugged his shoulders, letting his hands fall to his lap. “I have only just finished my mourning period, but Miss Longleat must remain another six months yet.”
“I see.” Lord Broadford’s eyebrows dropped low. “And you have come to London for the Season, then?”
David shook his head. “I have come so that I might sort out some of my uncle’s affairs.
” His jaw tightened as he looked away. “As you may know, I was my uncle’s heir.
He had no sons, and the estate line passes to me.
There is much that is now required of me.
Since I have a shorter mourning period, I now have opportunity to examine all the required details and the like. There is much for me to do.”
“But some time still for good company, I hope?”
A small smile tugged at David’s lips. “I suppose that there can be some, yes. I responded to Lord Gosemere’s invitation to his ball this evening, so I fully intend to have a few evenings of enjoyment, though they shall be few in number.”
Lord Broadford grinned, only for it to fade a little as he sat forward, looking at David with such a curious gaze that it made his skin prickle.
He had been in no doubt that Lord Broadford would want to know a few things about his present circumstances and how they all came to be, but David was disinclined towards speaking of them in any way.
There was too much sorrow there, even now that his uncle had passed away.
“You were not at all interested in Miss Longleat before the announcement of your engagement, were you?”
David blinked, his eyebrows lifting. “That – that may be, but – ”
“Then it is a match of convenience? Or duty?”
Clearing his throat, David lifted his shoulders. “Does such a thing matter? Once Miss Longleat has completed her mourning period, we will marry. That is all that is important.”
“Even when you have no real desire to do so?”
Heat roared into David’s face, and he dropped his head, rubbing the back of his neck lightly. “My friend, you ask me questions that press deep.”
“Yes, they do.” The door opened, and the footman returned with a tray of delicacies by which they might satisfy any growling hunger, but it did not silence Lord Broadford’s voice. “I ask them because I am concerned for you. I have been ever since last Season, when the announcement was first made.”
Dismissing the footman with a wave of his hand, David scowled as he reached for a honey cake. “Might you keep yourself silent when there is a servant present? The last thing I require at present is to have my own staff whispering about me.”
Lord Broadford winced, looking a little abashed. “You are quite right, forgive me. My questions truly do come from concern. We have been friends for many years, and I did not even know of your engagement until I read it in the gossip column – and even then, I did not believe it!”
David grimaced. “It was unexpected.”
His friend said nothing, silence filling up the space between them and practically demanding that David speak into it.
With a sigh, he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, feeling the weight of his present circumstances sitting heavily on his shoulders.
Would it lessen, even a little, if he spoke of it all?
“I did not think I would ever marry Miss Longleat.” He winced.
“I mean, Frederica, of course. We are cousins, as you know, but we have never been closely tied as a family. I knew that I would be heir to my uncle’s estate should he pass away without sons, but that did not mean we had any real connection. ”
“His estate is far from your own.”
David nodded. “Yes, it is. So when he appeared one evening last Season and demanded that I come to speak with him, you can imagine my astonishment.”
A sparkle of curiosity immediately entered Lord Broadford’s eye. “It must have been.”
The words began to come more quickly now, his tongue loosening the more he spoke.
“Despite my own pleas that we could meet the following day, he was utterly insistent that we speak that very night. I had no choice but to go to his townhouse, where he was waiting. There was a sense of urgency in his words, which I did not expect.”
“Urgency? In what way?”
David stared at the hearth, bringing to mind the moment his uncle had sat forward in his chair, had pinned David with his gaze, and had told him of what was expected. “He informed me that I was to marry Frederica.”
Lord Broadford’s eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”
“That is just what I said to him at the time.” David gave him a rueful smile. “He stated that a codicil had been added to his will. I had no choice but to engage myself to her, despite my unwillingness.”
“Could you not have refused?”
David shut his eyes and let out a slow, ragged breath.
“The reason I ask is that you are interested – or were interested – in courting another young lady.” Lord Broadford shrugged as David frowned at him.
“You did not think I would not notice your interest in Lady Nora, did you? I think most of the ton were aware of it, which is why it seems so very surprising to me that you would then announce an engagement to someone entirely different.”
“My uncle announced it without my consent.” David looked down at his hands. “If I did not do as was asked, my cousin would be left without inheritance or dowry. His threats were severe enough that I had no choice.”
Lord Broadford’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “What sort of gentleman would threaten his own daughter?”
“I do not know.” David reached for one of the cakes, though his appetite had gone. “All the same, I could not leave Frederica destitute.”
“And Lady Nora was taken from you,” Broadford said it plainly, without question, and the accuracy of it struck like a blow.
“And you saw this codicil yourself?” Lord Broadford asked, his tone deceptively casual. “With your own eyes? Read it in your uncle’s solicitor’s hand?”
David frowned, the question catching him off guard.
“My uncle told me of it directly. I had no reason to doubt his word.” He shifted in his chair, an uncomfortable prickle at the back of his neck.
“I did ask to see it, as it happens. Twice. The first time, he told me it was with his solicitor. The second time, he was already too ill to do more than wave me away. After that, it seemed cruel to press him.”
“Hmm.” Lord Broadford said nothing more on the matter, but the silence that followed was pointed, and David found that the honey cake had lost its flavour.
“As any gentleman might.” With a sigh, Lord Broadford sat back in his chair. “What did Lady Nora say when you explained it all to her?”
Shame began to grow like a thick, dark cloud over David’s head, forcing his chin to lower to his chest.
“You did not speak to her of it?” The incredulity in Lord Broadford’s voice sent a cold flush through David’s chest. “Why did you not say a word?”
“I could not bear it.” Running one hand down his face, David shook his head and looked away. “I was a coward.”
“Yes, you were.” Lord Broadford again spoke plainly but without accusation. “Did you not even think to write to her?”
David looked away. “I did write to her, yes. As you may recall, I was forced to leave London within a few days of my engagement being announced. My uncle’s ill health forced him to return home, and I went with him, for I could not leave him alone with Frederica.”
“So you wrote to her then?”
David nodded. “A few lines only. I could not find the right words.” He had not received a response. He had not expected one.
“Well, that is something,” Lord Broadford remarked, with a shake of his head. “You would have been better to speak with her directly, but I can understand why you did not.” He sat bolt upright in his chair. “Whatever will you do when you see her?”
“See her?” David blinked rapidly, surprise flooding his chest. “Whatever do you mean?”
“She is here in London.” Lord Broadford looked surprised at his lack of awareness.
“You did not think that she would stay back at her father’s estate, did you?
She must make a match, as does her sister.
The reason I ask such a thing is that she will be at Lord Gosemere’s ball this evening, I am quite sure of it.
Her father is closely acquainted with the gentleman. ”
David’s throat closed. He had not expected her to be in London at all, let alone at a ball he had agreed to attend. “I will not attend.”
Lord Broadford snorted and rolled his eyes.
“You cannot do such a thing, my friend. I can understand why you might desire to stay away from the lady, but you will not be able to avoid her company this Season. She will be seen by you – and you by her – at some juncture.” He leaned forward in his chair, pinning David with his gaze.
“You say that you were without courage before. Do not show the same lack of courage again, my friend, I beg of you.”
David said nothing. He reached for another cake and steered the conversation elsewhere, but Broadford’s question about the codicil lingered in his mind long after his friend had taken his leave.