Lady Emily immediately frowned, tilting her head to the side in wonder.
“Yes, it does not make sense, does it?”
“It does beg the question why is she now on your brother’s arm and not yours,” she said softly.
“I had just asked her to court me when I found her…” He struggled. What had felt easy to utter a few seconds before became difficult.
“You found her?” Lady Emily asked, smiling slightly. “This sentence could end in anything from you found her in your brother’s arms to you found her chasing rabbits in your garden. How does it end?”
He laughed. It was sudden and startled him out of the darkness that had rested on his shoulders. How was it that Lady Emily’s unpredictable humor could make him smile even when he was recalling the most horrible moment of his adult life?
“Well, sadly, it is the former,” he said with a sigh, stopping his laughter. “It was a compromising position indeed.” The mere memory of it made him fidget in his seat. He could still remember vividly pushing open the sitting room door, looking for Jane, only to find her in his brother’s arm, locked in not only passionate embrace, but a kiss that would have made anyone blush.
“I see. Marriage has to be on the horizon then.”
“Yes, she was given a choice.”
“Oh…” Lady Emily cottoned on without him having to say anymore. He busied himself with eating as she drew her own conclusions. “Both you and Lord Hugh offered to marry her, and she chose your brother?” He nodded at her words, just once. Hearing it uttered by another made his palms clammy as he adjusted the napkin on his lap. “Good lord, how awful!” Lady Emily’s response was animated and heartfelt to say the least.
“That is why we are a little awkward in each other’s company,” he whispered to her. “As you saw.”
“A little awkward?” She smiled a little. “I am sure criminals appear in docks at courts with less awkwardness than the three of your felt.”
“You have a habit of making me laugh, Lady Emily.” He chuckled and turned away from his food, looking to her again.
“Well, I am glad I could help you to forget such a horrid thing for a brief time. Though I do have one question to ask you, if I may.”
“Do, go on.” He encouraged her with a wave of his hand.
“Why did you tell me?”
“I’m sorry?”
“You trusted me with something that is truly painful, and tonight is the first time we have met.” She looked up from her food, fixing those dark blue eyes on him. He found his breath hitching, either from her words or the intensity of that gaze, he was not sure which. “Why tell me, my Lord?”
“In truth…” He paused and scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit he found himself returning to. “I do not know. Perhaps it is the desperation to tell someone the truth of what really happened, or maybe, it is just the belief that you could understand it. I do not know why I think that.”
“I am flattered indeed. One dance and I have earned your trust! Clearly my skills at dancing are better than I ever gave them credit for.” Her words made him laugh again, shaking his head in bemusement at how easy it was to laugh with her.
Maybe this is why I trusted her with this information. She has made me smile tonight more than I have smiled in months.
“I must confess, I am truly sorry for what has happened to you, my Lord.” She went on, picking at her food as she spoke. “I have never had the good fortune to be in love, but I have had my nose buried in enough books to know the kind of pain heartbreak can cause. I am deeply sorry for you. I do not mean just the heartbreak of a romantic love, but the pain of family love too.”
Aaron paused, waiting for her to go on.
“My family and I are awfully close. Had any of them treated me in such a way.” She hesitated, looking baffled at the mere idea. “It would devastate me. Your brother, the man who should be your truest friend in this world betrayed you. That is perhaps the most heartbreaking thing of the whole tale.”
“There.” He found himself lifting a hand and gesturing in her direction.
“There what?” she asked, looking over the rim of her wine glass.
“Somehow my instinct was right. You truly do understand the situation, and have guessed what I feel, even without me having to tell you.”
“It is no great skill, my Lord.”
“Oh, I think it is.”
“It is merely the thought of someone who knows what family means to us all.” She looked up from her food and nodded her head across the room. “My family. Somewhat wild at heart, all of them, true romantics they are. We all say foolish things in our time. Yet I would not change them for anyone in the world.”
