“I am glad to be of service, madam.” The Earl inclined his head gracefully, but there was something in his eyes that Cleo could not quite read. Was it jealousy, envy, or something else? She was not sure, but sincerely prayed that it was neither as friendship was all that she was willing to give. It was hard not to wonder why a nobleman of the Earl’s station would pursue her, and yet she had two such men who desired her for far more than she was comfortable with.
I do not, nor will I ever, understand my aunt’s obsession with my marrying one of these men,Cleo thought not for the first time, but in all honesty, she could actually understand the desire to wed Arthur. She was having a hard enough time obeying her own rules of their friendship without flinging herself at him. She had come so close to kissing him again and that was the last thing she needed to do. She did not need the distraction and yet she could not bring herself to send him away. She longed for his presence with every fiber of her being.
And yet I do not feel the same way where the Earl of Dustshore is concerned. What is it about Arthur that makes me lose all sense of reason? In his eyes I see things I did not know were even possible, I feel things I did not know were possible. It is beyond description and utterly undeniable, and yet I persist in the trying.
“Cleo…Cleo!” Aunt Caroline’s voice calling her name broke into her thoughts.
“Yes?”
“His Lordship just asked if we would care to join him and his mother for tea upon the morrow.”
“Oh, I…” Cleo hesitated unsure what to say.What am I going to say? I cannot say that I have a secret rendezvous with the Earl of Irondale, now can I.
“Yes?” Aunt Caroline urged impatiently.
Cleo decided that a version of the truth was the best option. “The Earl of Irondale will be returning for tea here upon the morrow, but you may still go to Dustshore if you wish. I am sure that Lady Chapman would be pleased of the company.”
“Indeed, Mother does enjoy Mrs. Brown’s conversation, but she will be disappointed that you will not be able to join her, Miss Wallace,” Dustshore answered politely. It was clear that he himself was disappointed with the outcome.
“Nonsense, I cannot leave you here without a chaperone,” her aunt shook her head in firm refusal of such an idea, even though she had had no problem leaving them to their own devices in the study.
“I will have Mrs. McGrath here with me. She would never allow my reputation to be compromised in any way.”
“I should say not,” Aunt Caroline huffed at the thought. “A more upright woman I have yet to see.”
“Well then, it is settled. You will go to Dustshore upon the morrow and I will remain here to play the hostess.”
“Very well,” Aunt Caroline acquiesced, but Cleo could tell that she was torn. “I do so miss the home of my youth and it would be good to return for a visit. One day, you must go with me so that I might show you the house where your father and I grew up.”
“I would like that very much, Auntie, and look forward to the day.”
The sincerity of Cleo’s words appeared to appease her aunt and the conversation moved to more neutral territory. When dinner was ready, the three of them adjourned to the dining room to feast upon Mrs. McGrath’s wondrous culinary creations. The evening passed pleasantly without further incident, but Cleo’s mind was forever upon the mystery hiding in the study and her dinner companions, charming as they were, could not turn her mind from it. Cleo hoped that the Earl did not notice her preoccupation, but it was hard not to considering the closeness of the room.
When the Earl of Dustshore finally took his leave, he kissed Cleo’s hand and bowed over Aunt Caroline’s in his usual courtesy, but when his eyes met Cleo’s she could sense a change in his demeanor towards her. “I hope that I might still be listed among your friends?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, of course.”
Nodding, the Earl kissed her hand once more, then left the house, walking silently to his waiting carriage. “What did His Lordship mean by that?” Aunt Caroline asked, a worried expression on her face. “You have not refused him, have you?”
“He has not asked, and I have not refused, but I have been completely open and honest about my desire to remain unwed and unencumbered by courtship.”
“Cleo! How could you?”
“I do not think that it is too much to ask for time to grieve my father. Do you? How would you feel if I spent every moment of every day that we are together lecturing you on how you must find a husband to remarry?”
Aunt Caroline opened her mouth to speak but found that she did not have a ready reply. Sighing, she shook her head in exasperation. “I am a widow. It is not the same. It is not the same thing at all.”
“But it is, Auntie. It is the very same thing. You wish to be left alone in your grief for your dead husband. I wish to be left alone to mourn the murder of my father. I do not think that either is too much to ask, but if you persist in this battle to see me wed, then I will invite every unwed man of a certain age in Oxfordshire to tea and see how you like it.”
Cleo Wallace! You will do no such thing!”
“I can and I will if you persist in this charade. I am not going to, nor will I ever marry the Earl of Dustshore.”
“And what of the Earl of Irondale?”
Cleo could feel her cheeks warming under her aunt’s determined scrutiny. “Leave me be, Aunt Caroline, or I will hold to my promise.”
“Your threat would be more apropos,” Aunt Caroline corrected with a scorn.
