Chapter 16 #2
Four trips about the block and he managed to rule out what he should not do.
A grand display would win the hearts of some women, but not Olivia.
An act of bravery might melt the defenses of some but not Olivia.
Would a symbol of his love win her over?
If presented in the right manner at the right time, he might just succeed.
Mind finally at ease, he closed his eyes and pictured the ring he’d have Rutherford, the best jeweler in town, forge for him.
The masquerade ball at the Velvet Hell was the perfect opportunity for him to win over Olivia.
Plan solidified in his mind, he let the sway of the hack lull him to sleep.
The creak of the windowsill sent Olivia bolting from her bed and pulling back the curtains. She’d hoped and mentally willed Warren to come to her, but the body slipping through the window was half the size of the man she was expecting.
“Don’t just stand there, help me!”
Eyes wide, Olivia held up the window as Anne fell to the floor. Lady Anne was dressed in men’s clothing!
“Is that you, Anne? Whyever are you here?” Olivia blinked as Anne took off her cap and let her hair fall down her back.
“Could Charlotte have made it any more difficult for him?”
“Who?’
“Warren.” Anne pressed the back of her hand to Olivia’s forehead. “Isn’t that who you thought I was?”
Heat flooded Olivia’s cheek, and she stuck her head out the window into the cool night air.
The white wood of the tree, jagged and freshly exposed, caught her attention.
If it had snapped under Anne’s weight, there was no chance it would have held under Warren’s.
She pulled back and closed the window, securing the latch she’d intentionally left open earlier.
Olivia turned about and discovered Anne on the bed, boots kicked off, with her hands behind her head, looking up at the ceiling as if she were intending to stay a while.
Anne was a formidable force. On the surface, she appeared like any other lady, but once you got to know Anne, there was no mistaking her for anything but a major in a female body.
The blasted woman commanded a room effortlessly and had everyone, including Charlotte, acting as if they were all puppets and Anne was the marionette.
Olivia rounded the bed and lay on her side to face Anne. “I suppose you know where he is… and why he’s not here.” She tried to keep her voice soft and even, but the disappointment rang loud and clear to her own ears.
“Actually, I haven’t a clue as to his whereabouts. As to why… Who really knows what goes on in Warren’s head. The man is far more complicated than he appears.”
Anne really did know Warren well. Even if Anne didn’t love Warren more than a brother at present, she could grow to love him.
Warren was loyal and faithful; his love wouldn’t waver.
She tucked her hands beneath her cheek and let her eyes close.
The agony of being Anne’s friend and Warren’s admirer was a conundrum she’d have to face.
“Would you really be fine if Warren married another?” Anne asked as she rolled onto her side as well. “Liv, seriously, I can tell you’re still awake.”
“You can’t stop how you feel about someone regardless of how they feel about you.” She couldn’t look directly at Anne, for if she did, the tears she was holding back would escape.
“I wholeheartedly agree with you.”
Olivia’s eyes popped open at Anne’s sorrow-filled reply, and she blurted, “You do?”
Anne nodded. “Thankfully, Warren feels the same way as I feel about him.”
Olivia’s heart sank as she mumbled, “Thank goodness for that.”
“Do you want to hear what that fool intended to do for love?”
No. She really didn’t want to hear what lengths Warren would go for Anne. The markings from the beating he received had been gut-wrenching enough. Olivia wished she could ease his pain and tend to his wounds, but it wasn’t her place to do so.
“Well, I’ll tell you…” Anne sat up and tucked her legs underneath her. “He was going to wake up the solicitor to discuss if there was a way for him to denounce his title. Everyone knows the law wouldn’t permit such a foolish act.”
“Why would he want to give up his seat in the House of Lords?”
Anne’s brows snapped together. “For love… For you!”
Olivia sat up and mirrored Anne’s posture. Knee-to-knee, she stared at her friend and repeated, “For me? What a ridiculous notion.”
“Exactly.” Anne leaned forward with her hands on her knees. “But that is what love makes you do…”
“I think you are mistaken. He is grateful to me. He even convinced himself that I’m some sort of angel.” She shook her head. “Trust me, I’m not what he has built me up to be, and I certainly didn’t save him all those years ago simply for him to go and give his title to another.”
Anne grabbed her by the shoulders and gave Olivia a good shake.
“What is the matter with the both of you? The issue here has nothing to do with titles or what occurred in the past. What counts is that you are in love with Warren and he is in love with you/ If you would simply admit it, I can be of help.”
Once she uttered the words, Olivia knew she would never be able to take them back. If she were to confess, shouldn’t Warren be the first to hear it from her? Lips pinched tightly, Olivia stared at her friend, whose ire was visibly mounting as her cheeks became flushed.
“Liv, even if you don’t say the words, your eyes tell me the truth.”
When Olivia searched her friend’s gaze, she saw Anne’s concern wasn’t for Warren, it was for her.
“Do you want my help or are you willing to sit by and let Warren ruin his life?” Anne’s features transformed from stormy to sunny, as she sat back and clapped her hands together. “Ah, I see you have decided.”
Were her thoughts so transparent that both Charlotte and Anne had no issues identifying her intentions before they were even straight in her own mind?
Yet there was no denying the fact that she would choose to save Warren no matter the consequences, just as she had a decade ago.
For some inexplicable reason, she was bound to him no matter how hard she tried to deny the importance he held in her life.
Olivia reached out for Anne’s hands. “I have an idea.”
“Should we fetch Charlotte?” Anne asked with a broad and knowing smile.
After a quick nod, Olivia scampered off the bed. Anne was waiting by the door before Olivia even had her arms through her robe. How Anne managed to move about both effortlessly and soundlessly, in boots no less, amazed Olivia.
They left Olivia’s rooms and were halfway down the hall when a panel within the walls opened, and Charlotte peeked her head out. “Looking for me?”
Olivia was more than familiar with traipsing through the servants’ halls, but the secret passageway Charlotte led them through was an entirely new experience and confirmed the earl and the countess were no ordinary members of the ton.
When Charlotte released a latch hidden behind a candle holder, the entrance to a den appeared and none other than Lady Osbourne was seated at a table with her fingers drumming over the surface.
The matron waved them over to join her and said, “It’s never wise to keep an old woman waiting.”
Flanked by Charlotte and Anne, Olivia made her way to the table.
“My apologies for my tardiness.” She pulled out the chair opposite Lady Osbourne and waited for her friends to be seated.
“I’ve decided to become the next Lady Guernsey, but first I want to make sure Warren truly loves me and only me. ”
“This sounds like a perfect scheme to be conducted tomorrow eve at the masquerade ball,” Lady Osbourne declared.
Olivia took in the eager gazes of the three women at the table, and she knew she would never be alone again.