Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
“Ialways suspected that His Grace was a fool,” Lord Grundon said. “It is nice to have it proven so resolutely.”
“Is that right?” Celestine said dryly, showing as little interest as she could.
“If it were me in his place, I would have never let you go,” he continued. When he spoke, there was no sense that he believed anything that he said. It was more that he said the words he believed he needed to say, as if that would be enough. “But I suppose that is his loss.”
“He did not let me go,” Celestine said. “We simply realized that we were not right for one another.”
“You are better off,” Lord Grundon said. “Truly, a jewel such as you are should be worn by a king, not a wretch as His Grace is. That is what I have always thought, anyway.”
Celestine offered a curt smile but said nothing.
She did not enjoy speaking so poorly of Edward, for it felt wrong to do and unnecessarily mean. It was not as if anything that Lord Grundon said was true, as he had no idea why the engagement was dissolved, nor would he ever.
Also, his words stung a little more than Celestine could bear. All they did was remind her of what had happened, while forcing her to concede that there was nothing that she could do.
Even if there was, I doubt Edward would want to do it.
“Ah, I see you disagree,” Lord Grundon said with a cold smirk. “Or is it false loyalty that quiets your tongue.”
Celestine considered her words carefully. “I will not speak ill of my once-betrothed, if that is your intent.”
He exhaled sharply. “You might not, but others will and do. He is poison. A rotting limb that ought to be amputated before it takes the body with it Most of the ton know this, but only few are willing to do anything about it.”
Again, Celestine said nothing. Lord Grundon’s words, while sinister, were likely just brought through resentment, even jealousy. Better not to encourage him.
I do wonder what Edward would say if he knew how Lord Grundon truly felt.
So, she focused on their dance, willing the minutes to pass so that it might end.
Lord Grundon gripped her right hand tightly, while his left clutched a little too forcefully at her waist. And where she tried her best to not stand too close, he was insistent on pulling her body into his own as if they were one.
It made her skin crawl, truth be told. It made her want to wretch, stop the dance, and storm away. Perhaps she should? At the very least, such an action would go a long way towards scaring off other potential suitors.
But then she caught sight of her mother on the edge of the circle.
She nodded along, her eyes wide and purposeful, and Celestine knew as she knew anything that no action taken would stop her mother’s persistence.
Like it or not, Celestine was going to marry one day soon, and all she could do was her best to make sure it was to a man who she did not loathe.
As for liking whoever my future husband might be? That is too much to hope for.
“Might I suggest that we have a drink together after the dance?” Lord Grundon asked. As he did, they began to slow.
“Oh…” Celestine did not hide her revulsion. “No, I am fine, thank you.”
“Not a big drinker?”
“No offense, Lord Grundon, but if I was to drink with you, I fear I might throw it up before it reached my throat.”
Her words had no effect on the man. If anything, they seemed to excite him. His eyes lit up, showing the first sign of emotion he’d given her all night, and a mirthless chuckle vibrated from his lips.
“You are a lioness, aren’t you. But like all wild animals, they can be tamed. In fact, taming them is half the fun.”
She couldn’t get away from him fast enough. As soon as the dance stopped, she pulled her hands away and did not waste time with a curtsey or a word of thanks as she turned and stormed away.
Her mother saw her coming and waved her over, which had Celestine stumbling to a halt.
This night had hardly begun, and it was already turning into a travesty.
And if not for Lord Grundon, it would be Lord Ironvale or another.
She was trapped, a victim of her circumstance, and there was nothing to be done.
“No…” Celestine took a backwards step, and then another.
Her mother frowned at her.
Celestine shook her head, offered a look of apology, then turned and hurried in the complete opposite direction. She was sure to dart between the crowds, needing to vanish from her mother’s line of sight, just as she needed somewhere to escape and hide until this night was over.
Thus, she made for the ballroom’s exit, ducking into a wide hallway that led back toward the foyer. Down its end, she spied more lords and ladies, all of whom looked up and saw her coming.
She felt trapped. Utterly without agency. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. This was her fate and there would be no escape.
Desperation took over and Celestine took note of a door to her right. It was cracked open and while she did not know where it led, she knew it had to be better than where she was. So, she leapt for the door, she pushed it open, she slipped inside, then she shut it tight behind her.
“If you tell me that Lord Grundon is about to join you, I think I might be sick.”
Edward was seated on a couch across the room. There was little light in the room, just a single candelabra standing in the corner, so he sat in darkness as if it grew from his body.
Celestine started in surprise when she saw him and she clutched her chest. “Edward! What are you…”
“I am hiding,” he said, his voice almost cold as if he was angry with her. “Or I am trying to.”
“Hiding from who?”
“Everyone.” Even in the dark, she saw his blue eyes, just as she saw the way they narrowed. Once again, she got the distinct sense that he was angry with her.
“Shall I…” She half turned to leave, even if she did not want to. “I would hate to disturb you.”
“But then how will Lord Grundon know how to find you?” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, I am sorry. Is it Lord Ironvale who you wait for? Truly, the names I have heard this week are so many that it is hard to keep track.”
“I am not…” She frowned, confused by the way he acted. “I am not waiting for anyone. Is that really what you think of me?”
He shrugged. “I do not know what to think, which leaves me to assess what I have heard, as well as seen with my own two eyes.”
When Celestine had first seen Edward sitting alone in the room, once her surprise passed, there had been a short burst of excitement that flooded through her. Despite everything, she realized in those few seconds how much she missed Edward, and to have found him here and alone… it felt like fate.
But that feeling left her quickly.
For whatever reason, he was being rude and mean and cruel. He looked at her as if she was an enemy. And as for the things that he said? Well, he ought to have known her better. She thought that he did.
I was right all along. We never could have worked, nor should we have wasted our time in trying.
“I see I have caught you in a most charming mood,” she said coldly, glaring at him across the room. “That is to say, a horrid one. So, rather than finding myself on its end, let me do us both a favor.” She flared her nostrils in a sneer. “Goodbye.” She turned to leave.
“Running away, are we?” He was off the couch and crossing the room.
Her hand was on the doorhandle, and Celestine knew that she ought to have just opened it and walked out. What good would come from staying in the room? What did she even want?
But his words… they lit a fire inside of her. And Celestine had never been much good at backing down from an argument. They didn’t call her ‘mad’ for nothing.
“I am not running.” She turned on him as he came for her. “Nor have I ever.”
“Perhaps running is the wrong word?” Edward said. “What I have heard of you this last week, it is not so much running that you have done but giving up entirely.”
“How dare you!”
He was on her. Less than a foot away, he stood over her as if he tried to frighten her. And while his words were harsh, the look in his eyes was something else. She met those eyes, held them, and she saw… was it sadness?
“I thought I knew you,” he said darkly as he stood over her.
“The Celestine who I thought I had come to know, she would have never given in so easily. Was that not the entire point? The very reason you agreed to our false engagement? So that you would not have to worry about others pursuing you.” He scoffed. “How wrong I was.”
“You…” She bared her teeth, doing her best to push him back. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”
“I do,” he said. “And if I had any doubts, what I saw tonight confirmed it. So, please, go. There are a bevy or other suitors outside waiting for you, and I would hate to keep you.”
“I am not…” She started to shake with anger. “Why do you even care? What business is it of yours?”
“It is not my business,” he said. “I just don’t like liars.”
“Ha!” she scoffed. “Coming from you? All you have done since we met is lie about who you are. And the only time you did not lie…” She felt her chin wobble, but she could not say why. “No, I suppose that everything you said was false. You truly are what people say.”
“You do not know me,” he growled.
“I do.” She looked up at him. “And because I do, I can say without blinking that I am glad for what happened between us. Yes, I will likely have to marry another, but I shall sleep soundly at night knowing that will not be to you.”
She glared at Edward as if she hated him. And he glared at her as if he felt the same. The room around them both vanished, the moment consumed them like a fire, and Celestine’s thoughts blurred between what she said and what she knew to be the truth.
No, she did not hate him. But if this here was the man who she thought that she had known, maybe she should have. He was not just petty, but cruel and vindictive, and she was better off without him.
Or so she told herself…