Chapter 13 #2
There were two women in the opposite carriage. The younger miss was a tiny, wisp of a girl, probably only sixteen or so by the looks of it. Her face went red as a cherry when she saw Lord Chilcott. “I’m doing well, and how are you, my lord?”
“Wonderful, just wonderful.” He scooted a little closer to Lavender. “Allow me the introduction to my beautiful companion. This is Lady Lavender Gardner, daughter of Earl Gardner.”
The older woman that sat with Miss Carlton sniffed loudly. “Yes, I know your mother. Why isn’t she in town? Parties have become quite dull without her here.”
Lavender shifted as her heart sank a little further. “My father is ill, and she didn’t want to leave him. The Duchess of Gilfordshire has been kind enough to sponsor me this Season.”
“What interesting timing to be sending your children away from you. I’m sure if I were to become ill, I’d want to hold my loved ones closer.”
The barb hit its mark with astounding accuracy. “My father’s illness has been of long standing. He wanted to make sure I was still enjoying my youth despite our family’s circumstances.”
Miss Carlton perked up a little. “That’s so kind of him. To want the best for you despite his trying circumstances. I am so sorry for his suffering.”
Lavender looked at the young lady once again in a different light. She was so sweet, so young, and untainted as of yet. “Thank you, Miss Carlton. Is this your first Season?”
She smiled and blushed a little when her gaze flicked to Lord Chilcott. “It is. It has been so diverting.”
“It is my first Season as well, and I wholeheartedly agree. There is always so much going on that I find myself far more fatigued than I care to admit most days,”
Her mother cut in. “Oh, my daughter isn’t old enough to be fatigued by the stress of the Season. Perhaps if you had started coming years ago, your feelings would not be quite the same.”
Lavender felt her eyebrows shoot up on her head. This woman was not of a kind nature. “You are probably correct. Although I feel far more prepared for handling the ins and out of society. Age has—in the very least—blessed me with a little more wisdom than I possessed in my youth.”
Lord Chilcott leaned even closer to Lady Lavender. “I believe you have entered society at precisely the correct time. If you had been here years ago, I might have missed the opportunity to court you.”
Mrs. Carlton coughed. “Oh, this is a new development. What of Miss Dalrymple? I had not heard your intentions were so changed, Lord Chilcott.”
Lavender noticed that the light in Miss Carlton’s eyes dimmed a little at the news.
To be quite frank, Lavender’s own emotions were fighting shock.
She didn’t realize the baron had been courting Miss Dalrymple.
How long ago was that? Moreover, taking a ride together in Hyde Park one time and dancing once at a ball did not constitute a formal courtship.
She turned in her seat to face Lord Chilcott and opened her mouth to tell him as much.
“What is in the past may remain there.” He spoke more loudly than necessary. “Well ladies, it was lovely running into you, but we’d best be off.” He smiled at them as he signaled to his horses to continue their trot.
Lavender took a deep breath and attempted to hold her tongue as her mother would certainly want her to do, but there was nothing for it. She had to speak her mind. “Lord Chilcott,” Lavender said once they were moving again. “I believe I need an explanation of your intentions.”
“I thought I was quite clear.” He smiled over at her. “You have to admit we would be a brilliant match.”
Lavender considered his words. He wasn’t wrong, necessarily. He was titled, not terribly old, and . . . she couldn’t think of anything else to recommend him. “I must admit, I don’t have any feelings toward you, my lord.” Her mother would be mortified, to put it lightly.
He put a hand over his heart. “You wound me. Although I am not shocked by the revelation. I do not require a commitment from you yet.”
His way of speaking to her made her feel like a tool he was using to get something else he wanted.
“Lord Chilcott, may I remind you that society will not see this situation as you portray it. You have just told Mrs. Carlton and her daughter that we are courting. How am I supposed to explore other options if that is the case?”
“Why wouldn’t you want to explore this option since it has been placed so neatly in your lap?” His smile was forced, and he was making Lavender more than a little upset.
“Because it is not so much an option as it is a manipulation. I, unlike our sweet Miss Carlton, know my mind enough to know that this situation would not suit. Please take me back home.”
Lord Chilcott slowed the carriage. “Forgive me, Lady Lavender. I did not mean for my intentions toward you to come out as a manipulation in the least. I allowed my hopes to get in the way of my actions. I will take you home, and I won’t speak a word of the courtship to anyone else.
But would you do me the honor of at least considering my suit? ”
With the way her stomach was telling her to get far away from the man, she couldn’t presume her mind would be changed. But she could give the man one day of consideration. “I can do that.”
“Thank you.” He looked half sincere when he said it, which surprised her.
Although Chilcott didn’t mention courting to anyone else they passed the remainder of the ride back to the townhouse, he continued to blatantly show her off as his companion. If he did choose to further claim a courtship with her, he was laying a sticky path for her to extricate herself from.
If the man did not make her feel so uneasy, she might be praising the heavens at her luck. As it was, she found herself in supplication that someone, anyone else might challenge him in his pursuit.
Thankfully for her, the protection of the Duke and Duchess of Gilfordshire was not something to be ignored. She would not be forced to wed anyone.