Chapter Eighteen #4
“Well,” Miss Applegate said, “As you have mentioned it, I must admit that I am in no particular hurry to marry. It is only my second Season, and as eager as my mother and brother are for me to catch a husband, I would prefer to take my time with it. After all, one oughtn’t to rush such a decision.
Marriage does have the tendency to last the rest of one’s life.
” Miss Applegate slid Kate a furtive glance.
“Since you are such good friends,” she said, “perhaps you might tell me…is it your opinion that Lord Elliot would make a good husband?”
“Yes,” Kate blurted out. “That is—if not for his brother the duke forcing his hand, probably he would not have chosen a wife this Season. But he is determined to make the best of it, and—and since it has come to it, he wants to find a woman he can love.”
“A romantic, then,” Miss Applegate said approvingly. “One has got to respect it. Love matches are rare.”
“That’s why he’s brought me to London,” Kate confessed. “He says that the rules which govern society here are such that it would make it impossible for him to know a woman well enough to determine which would be a match for him.”
“A man of rare intelligence, then, as well,” Miss Applegate said. “To place his trust in a woman’s judgment, when his own would be impaired by the circumstances and strictures of society. And how lucky for him that he has got such a friend in you.”
Yes. A friend. Because they had always been that—friends. And oh, how it hurt her heart just now.
At last the hushed conversation between Elliot and Lord Shaw concluded, and Lord Shaw came hurrying over to his sister. Even in the low light Kate could see that his cheeks had gone ruddy.
“Amelia,” he said to his sister. “We must be getting back to our seats; the interlude is nearly done.”
From over his shoulder, Elliot cleared his throat.
Lord Shaw swallowed hard, his cheeks going ruddier still.
“Miss Littlefield,” he said, offering a short bow to Kate.
“If I have given you any offense, I do apologize most sincerely. Should we meet again at another ball, I do hope you will save a dance for me—and I assure you, I will be a better conversationalist, in future.”
“I—thank you?” What? Kate blinked in surprise, uncertain of what she had been meant to say to that. But it was too late for any further response; Lord Shaw was already ushering his sister out of the box. “Elliot, whatever was that about?” Kate asked in utter confusion.
“Nothing much,” he said. But though his tone was light and blithe, tension still lingered in the taut line of his jaw. “I merely explained to Lord Shaw that I did not appreciate that he had asked you to dance only to extoll his sister’s virtues to you.”
“Oh.” And that had required so many minutes of conversation? Had he taken Lord Shaw aside only to castigate the man? “But that was ages ago,” she said. “And I was not offended.”
“It was recent enough that I’ve not forgotten,” he said, a muscle in his jaw flexing. “And you should have been offended. I was offended on your behalf.”
“Well, you ought not to have been,” Kate said as she swept past him to reclaim her seat.
“He is Miss Applegate’s brother, after all.
He could very well be your future brother-in-law.
” Because despite Miss Applegate’s propensity toward nosiness and dogged determination, she was still…
just perfect for Elliot. They were of such similar dispositions, with similar interests.
Perhaps that was why Kate could not bring herself to dislike the woman.
She shared too many commonalities with Elliot to ever have earned Kate’s enmity.
Elliot settled back into his own chair, but his posture was stiff, and that muscle flexed in his jaw again—and again. As if he were biting back words that he desperately wished to say. “I am not,” he said, “simply going to stand by and allow someone to disrespect you.”
“But he is Miss Applegate’s—”
“I don’t care who he is. You deserve better than that. And if Miss Applegate was less than kind to you—”
“She wasn’t,” Kate said, and she bit her lower lip to hold back the sigh that pressed against her teeth.
“She was lovely. Truly. You—you ought to give her serious consideration.” The words felt as if they had clawed at her throat on their way up; like she had sacrificed something precious to speak them.
Some part of herself that she had scarcely known existed until quite recently.
A moment passed in silence, until finally he broke the tense quiet. “Hm,” he said, and nothing more.
Kate pursed her lips. “Hm? I beg you, what is hm meant to signify?”
“Well,” he said, as he settled his hands upon his thighs. “It’s just…she’s got green eyes.”
“Green eyes!” Kate said, and for once she was thankful for the dull roar of the crowd, which saved her from having embarrassed herself to have spoken at such a volume. “What is wrong with green eyes?”
“Nothing,” he said blithely, and when he turned to face her, she was relieved to see that odd stiffness had faded from his face to be replaced with that familiar mischievous grin. “Except that I happen to favor brown.”
An incredulous puff of laughter filled Kate’s cheeks. Exasperated, Kate shook her head. “I truly am going to strangle you,” she said.
“You won’t.” Again, the nudge of his shoulder to hers. “You’d miss me entirely too much.”