Henry, on the other hand, was sitting up a little bit straighter at Lady Valeria’s words. “Do you think so?” he asked, eyeing her keenly. “A lady like yourself could surely have any gentleman her heart desired.”
Lady Valeria blushed deeply, which Thomas found very pretty. Much to his own consternation, he found himself annoyed at his friend. Did he have to be so charming? He already had the upper hand here. Of course Lady Valeria would choose him, if it was to be a choice between the two of them.
And the worst of it is that I don’t believe Duncan would mind at all.
Duncan had encouraged Thomas to pursue courtship with Lady Valeria. But Thomas knew perfectly well that the only thing Duncanreallycared about was securing a good future for his cousin, and ensuring that she was happy.
And Henry is a better match than I am, really. Duncan would probably choose him for her too.
Suddenly, he found himself wishing he hadn’t come tonight. He had been foolish to do so. Hadn’t he known that things wouldn’t end well between himself and Lady Valeria? Hadn’t he prepared himself, emotionally, for yet another rejection? And yet he had put himself in this situation anyway.
Honestly, she seems not even to remember me.
“My affairs have been entrusted to my aunt,” Lady Valeria said. “Duncan’s mother. It is she who will make these decisions for me.”
“But of course every mother—or aunt—would want a young lady in her charge to make a match with a Marquess,” Thomas said. He did his best not to sound gloomy about it. He tried to sound as if they were merely having a theoretical discussion. He didn’t want Lady Valeria to be made to feel guilty just becausehewasn’t going to be getting what he wanted out of this situation.
But Duncan must have realized that something was amiss, because he looked over at Thomas, frowning slightly.
“I thought you said you weren’t ready for courtship, Valeria,” he said.
“And you said you wanted me to be, didn’t you?” Lady Valeria asked.
“I just want you to be happy, as you know.”
“Nothing like a little courtship to make a young lady forget her woes,” Henry said cheerfully. “Am I right, Thomas?”
Thomas looked at his friend. For the first time, he felt really aware of how handsome Henry was, with his thick dark hair and dark eyes. He had the kind of rakish good looks a lady would admire even if he hadn’t been a Marquess.
“I suppose you are right,” he said. “Although I’ve always said a lady knows her own mind better than anybody else does.”
“Hear, hear,” Duncan agreed, and handed him a teacup.
Valeria glanced at Thomas, and for a moment he thought he saw a flicker of something like surprise on her face. But as soon as he had seen it, it was gone, and she had looked away again.
Of course. She won’t spare me more than a moment’s glance. I’m the lowest person in the room—well, not including the maid, that is.
And, indeed, Valeria was looking at Henry again. Thomas felt as if he had swallowed a stone. What if this continued all night long? What if he was forced to watch as the woman he had admired for so long fell in love with one of his best friends?
It was beginning to look as though he was in for the worst night of his life.
He did his best to participate in conversation for the next hour without letting on how much he was wishing he had never come.
The truth was, though, that he was having trouble even paying attention to what was being said. A part of him wanted to tell Duncan that he wasn’t feeling well, and that he needed to go home early and miss dinner. If he hadn’t known full well that his friend would see right through the excuse, he might have done it.
“I’ll tell you what,” Henry said, as though the idea had just occurred to him. “I’ve been thinking of having a dinner party of my own next week, and now I’m of a mind to go ahead with it. Say you’ll come, Lady Valeria.”
She looked rather taken aback. “I—I’m not sure what to say.”
“Everyone’s invited, naturally,” Henry said quickly, looking around at Valeria and Duncan. “Lady Earlington as well. The more the merrier. But it will be a good opportunity for all of us to get to know one another a bit better.”
You mean, for you to get to know Lady Valeria a bit better.Everyone else Henry had referred to already knew one another quite well.
But he forced the uncharitable thought away. He knew he mustn’t allow his jealousy to control his thoughts and actions. Neither Henry nor Lady Valeria were doing anything wrong. It wasn’t their fault he was in love with her, and that his love would never be reciprocated.
If I really love her, as I claim to, I must do what I can to support her in whatever she wants. Even if what she wants turns out to be Henry instead of me.
“Henry is right,” he said, and found that as soon as he had spoken—committed to this course of action—the tightness in his chest eased somewhat. He felt confident that he was doing the right thing.
