Chapter 9
“N
ow that you have demonstrated your piety and sanctimony for all to see,” Harry sneered, “might you at least dispose of that pitiful handful of weeds you saw fit to purchase from that urchin out front?”
“I paid for these posies, and I mean to keep them and appreciate them as long as I like,” she answered tightly. “I do not tell you what to do with your money, and I will thank you not to tell me what I ought to do with mine.”
“Your money is my money,” he pointed out.
“Yes, and your money is Matilda’s money,” she countered smartly.
“Now, now, let’s not have any more unpleasantness from the two of you this evening!” Matilda scolded. “We are here to enjoy ourselves, not to bicker!”
“I would enjoy myself if only Cora would stop drawing the wrong sort of attention to us,” Harry sulked.
“You have no idea how difficult it was for me to arrange seats for us in Lady Hepplewhite’s private box after Cora had the dreadfully bad judgment to run out of the soiree the other night.
Most of polite society would prefer not to be seen with us, and the few who have no such qualms are probably hoping she will make a fool of herself again so they will have something to gossip about. ”
“You have a terribly bleak view of people, do you know that?” Matilda asked with a small smile. “Why, I’m quite certain they’ve forgotten all about it!”
“I wouldn’t be too certain of that,” Cora muttered as they took their places in the box. She could see people sitting below as they noticed her and pointed her out to their companions, whispering about her behind their fans and white-gloved hands.
“There! You see?” Harry exclaimed triumphantly. “We are only here to serve their morbid and ghoulish amusement. However, if we are able to pass the rest of the evening without any further embarrassments, our reputations may yet be redeemed.”
“I am sorry to hear that the stakes for you are so high this evening,” Cora remarked dryly. “For myself, I am only here to enjoy the music, nothing more.”
Before Harry could say anything further (or Matilda could admonish him in advance of it), Lady Hepplewhite joined them. Lord Falsham was glued to her side, as he so often was at events like these. They delighted in trading rumors and mutually insulting the fashion choices of those around them.
Cora saw that they had Cameron in tow, and it took every scrap of self-control she had not to let her jaw drop in surprise.
“I hope none of you mind that I’ve invited Mister Wallace to sit with us?” Hepplewhite inquired pleasantly. “I so enjoyed his company at my soiree! You might have too, Cora, if you hadn’t been in quite such a hurry to sprint for the door!”
“I’m sure she’d rather not be reminded of that,” Cameron spoke up diplomatically, taking Cora’s hand and kissing it. “A joy to see you again, my lady.”
“The pleasure is mine,” she replied coolly, trying her best to regain her composure. “No doubt you remember my sister-in-law Matilda, and I don’t believe you’ve met my brother Harry.”
“Good to meet you, old chap,” Harry said, shaking Cameron’s hand and giving him a wide smile. “I’ve heard of your quest to find a proper English bride. Exciting stuff! I daresay your gray and dreary moors could use a bit of English charm to brighten them up, eh?”
Cameron’s smile remained firmly in place, but Cora could see how difficult it was for him to maintain it in the face of such an insult, especially given what he’d told her the previous day about how much he missed his homeland. She felt a pang of sympathy for him.
“Do you enjoy the opera, then, Mister Wallace?” she asked.
“In truth, this is my first time attending one,” the Scotsman replied in his warm brogue. His eyes seemed to soften as he looked upon her, and his manner instantly became more relaxed.
“Then I am honored to be able to witness such a thing,” Cora said. “In some ways, I suppose I’m even rather envious. Part of me wished I might go back and see opera through new eyes once more.”
“Wonderfully put, my lady,” Cameron replied, his smile widening as he took his seat next to her.
As the lights went down and the orchestra began to play, Cora found that her eyes were frequently drawn back to Cameron.
She enjoyed the expression on his face, the way he watched the spectacle unfurl onstage with almost childlike wonder.
He was obviously deeply enthralled, which made her warm toward him tremendously.
She felt a bit sad for him as well, knowing that he didn’t have anything of this sort in the land where he came from.
What amusements might his people have to content themselves with?
she wondered. Shabby caravans of traveling players, perhaps, with the meager offerings of jugglers and tumblers?
How can that possibly compare to the magnificent costumes and soaring arias of the opera?
Whoever does choose to marry him and return to Scotland with him may never be able to see such wonders again, she mused. The thought made her surprisingly sad.
Was it, perhaps, because she was taking his intentions toward her seriously after all?
That was a strange thought indeed, but the more she tried to dismiss it, the more she discovered that she couldn’t.
She was pleased to see him here at the opera and couldn’t help but wonder whether he had decided to attend specifically to see her again.
She would not have put it past him. The way he looked at her…
Well, no one had ever looked at her that way before.
She’d seen desire in men’s eyes, of course, plenty of times. She was generally considered to be an attractive woman, and she knew it, though inspiring lust and fascination in men had never held much appeal for her. She didn’t relish that sort of attention the way so many other girls her age did.
But what she saw in Cameron’s eyes was so much more than that.
It seemed as though he felt he understood her in some small but crucial part and was eager to learn even more about her as quickly as possible.
Not only didn’t he mind that she eschewed the trappings of high society, but it also appeared to make her all the more appealing to him.
And that was really the only sort of man she could potentially see herself with, wasn’t it? One who was able to look past her newly-bestowed riches and title and appreciate the deeper truth of her?
Except that if I did not have my title, he would probably not allow himself to pursue me, she reminded herself, since he has been charged with marrying an English noblewoman.
These contradictory things confused her, and the fact that she was entirely infatuated with his appearance—that strong jaw, those broad shoulders, the gleam in his eye—only served to cloud her mind even further.
He suddenly noticed that she was looking at him instead of the stage and gave her a sheepish grin. “I suppose I must look rather silly watching it with my mouth hanging open, eh?” he whispered ruefully.
“Actually, I find your sincere appreciation of it to be enormously charming,” she admitted.
“The only thing more magical than the performance itself,” Cameron told her softly, “is having you by my side.”
Then he reached out and took her hand.
Cora was shocked.
Under normal circumstances, she would have pulled her own hand away, entirely scandalized by such a gesture.
To be seen holding hands so brazenly in public would have confirmed all of Harry’s worst fears about her—that she was wholly reckless in terms of preserving any sense of decorum, that she didn’t have the first idea of how to behave herself in civilized society.
She’d be mocked relentlessly for it if anyone spotted her, and she knew it. Her reputation would be badly damaged.
But on the other hand, she took such immense pleasure in his touch that she lingered an extra moment or two, convincing herself she still had plenty of time to reject the gesture before anyone would have a chance to see her.
Just another moment, she told herself. Perhaps two. Certainly no longer than that.
Unfortunately, it was at that exact moment that the music ended and the lights came up, signaling the end of the first act.
Harry saw what was transpiring before Cora had a chance to fully register that she should pull her hands away at once. “What the devil is this about?” Harry spluttered, turning red in the face. “Do you believe, sir, that you can simply go about touching my sister with impunity?!”
Cora made a move to let go of his hand, only to discover that it seemed he had no intention of releasing hers. If anything, he held it all the more firmly, his chin jutting out defiantly.
“Not with impunity, no,” Cameron replied. “Rather, with the intention of making her my bride.”
Harry’s jaw dropped, and he wasn’t the only one. Lady Hepplewhite looked as though she didn’t quite know whether she ought to be horrified or delighted. Falsham’s complexion turned a pale shade of green. Even Matilda was shocked.
But of course, none were nearly as shocked as Cora.
“I beg your pardon?!” she exclaimed, wrenching her hand from his grasp. “Have you taken leave of your senses entirely?”
“Far from it.” Cameron’s voice was calm and determined. “I mean to marry you, Lady Cora.”
Cora was so appalled and embarrassed that she didn’t know what to do.
So she ran from the box at once.
As she headed for the exit as quickly as her legs could carry her, she risked a glance over her shoulder and saw that Cameron was pursuing her. Which was positively indecent of him, though none of the men who witnessed it seemed to be in any hurry to stop him.
Cora made it outside, but before she could hail a cab, he caught up to her.
“I must say,” he panted, “courting you is a difficult endeavor indeed, given your penchant for fleeing!”
“Can you blame me?” she balked. “Declaring such a thing after having barely known me a handful of days?”
He appeared confused. “Such things have often been known to take place in Scotland. Are they rare here?”
“Rare? They are preposterous!”
Cameron blinked. “Then how long must a fellow generally wait here in London before making such intentions known?”
“At least a season, for heaven’s sake!” she wailed.
Other people were beginning to take notice of this confrontation, and she supposed she should have been mortified, but she found she had reached her limit of that, like one who has stood in the rain for so long that they could not possibly become any more soaked than they already were.
“I do not require an entire season to know my mind in this matter,” he replied. “Nor do I have any desire to remain in this ghastly city for such a length of time when I have already made my choice.”
“And did you have any intention of making such a proposal to me?” she demanded. “Or only to my brother? Did it not occur to you that it might be the sort of thing I would wish to respond to first?”
“In my country, it is not uncommon for a fellow to ask permission from the patriarch of the girl’s family before broaching the subject to her directly. Is that not done here either?”
She sighed, exasperated. “No. Well, sometimes, I suppose. But that is not how I would prefer a man to behave where I am concerned. I would much rather he treat me as though I am my own person and have agency in my own affairs.”
He hesitated for a moment, giving this some thought. Then he nodded. “Aye, I think I understand now. The last thing I would ever have wanted to do is insult you, my lady, or place you in an awkward position. Nevertheless, now you are aware of my feelings on the subject. What say you?”
“I say you cannot possibly be so certain you wish to spend the rest of your life with a woman you barely know,” she retorted. “I think you, sir, have been seized by some sort of…of…of romantic whimsy where I am concerned, and you are letting it get the best of you!”
“Do you mean to tell me,” he asked gently, “that there is no ‘romantic whimsy’ within you where I am concerned? Not even the barest trace of it?”
She relented. “There is, yes. I am…enamored with you, I will concede that point. But I have no intention of being rushed and browbeaten into an arrangement I am not ready for. Not even by someone I happen to admire. So if you intend to keep expressing your affection for me, I suggest you find more acceptable methods of doing so!”
And with that, Cora fled down the street, knowing it was a terribly long way back to her home but not caring, only wanting to be alone with her feelings so that she might attempt to make some sense of them.
This time, part of her was greatly relieved to see that Cameron was not following her.
On the other hand, part of her was disappointed as well.