“I prefer being alone, actually,” she said, aware of the tension in her own voice. “And—does my aunt know that you’ve followed me? It’s not really proper for a gentleman to be on his own with a young lady, you know.”
Lord Woodsford nodded. “Please tell me if this situation is making you feel uncomfortable,” he said. “I thought that, since we were all out in the garden together, it might be all right. After all, there may be a hedge here, but your aunt and cousin are really only footsteps away. They can easily come for you if you call to them.”
“That’s true, I suppose,” Valeria said.
“But would you rather be alone?” Lord Woodsford asked. “I’ll leave you, if that’s what you want.”
She sighed. “In truth, I don’t know what I want. I wasn’t expecting such cruelty at the dinner table.”
“Yes, it was rather appalling,” Lord Woodsford said.
“It was… kind of you,” she said. “Speaking up for me the way you did, I mean.”
“Well, I know Lord Milton,” Lord Woodsford said. “He’s very overconfident. Very sure that he’s right about everything and everyone. To tell you the truth…” He glanced at her. “It felt rather good to tell him to stop. I’ve been itching to say something like that to him for a long time.”
“Really?” Valeria asked, taking an interest in spite of herself. She didn’t want to open herself up to this conversation with Lord Woodsford—she wanted to keep him at arm’s length, even if he was going to be walking alongside her.
“He never misses an opportunity to remind me of my station in life,” Lord Woodsford said. “He’s that way with everyone, really. He’s a very proud man, but I think he’s also very insecure. He’s an Earl, you know—”
“I didn’t know,” Valeria said, wondering how she could possibly have known that.
“Well, he likes to boast about his title, but he’s also aware that there are others at almost every social event who outrank him,” Lord Woodsford said. “For instance, at tonight’s party, of course, he was outranked by my friend Henry—Lord Harlston, that is. I did expect that he would say something, try to put someone down. I just thought… well, I assumed that it would be me rather than you.”
“But why would you think that?” Valeria asked.
“Because it’s happened before,” Lord Woodsford explained. “I’m only a Baron, and if he draws attention to that fact, he can make himself feel better. More important.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Valeria said. How could anyone be so concerned about a title? Wasn’t Lord Milton aware of howfoolishsuch behavior would make him look? Wasn’t he aware that his tactics were completely transparent to those around him?
It’s the kind of thing Richard would have done.
She swallowed. She really didn’t want to think about Richard right now.
But it was true, wasn’t it? Her brother had been obsessed with the way others had perceived him. She would never forget the time they had been in town together, about five years ago. She had stopped to give a few coins to a child who had been begging in the street, and Richard had nearly lit up with rage.
“What did you think you weredoing?” he had bellowed at her in the carriage on the way home. “Do you want people to see you giving money to street urchins? Getting their filth on your hands? Do you know what people will say about you? Aboutus?”
She had no idea. What could anyone possibly say about giving away a few coins? But Richard had been convinced that her actions would make them the subject of gossip. “They’ll think you paid that brat for some sort of service,” he had said. “They’ll think you’re involved in something illegal, or that you’re having messages carried to the darker corners of the town…”
Valeria had been stunned. These had seemed like such wild things to assume based on the short interaction she had with the child. But Richard had dragged her up to her room, flung her inside forcefully, and locked the door, and Valeria had nothing to eat for the rest of the day.
Would Lord Milton be as bad asthat?
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
Lord Woodsford glanced at her. “What are you sorry for?” he asked.
“I’m sorry that you’ve had to suffer through such things,” she said. “You don’t deserve it. I mean—” She blushed furiously. “I don’t think you do. You seem like a very nice gentleman.”
“I only did what anyone would have, I think,” Lord Woodsford said.
She shook her head. “No,” she said. “That’s just it. It was clear that anyone elsewouldn’thave come forward and said the things you did. Most of the guests tonight were perfectly happy to let Lord Milton say the things he was saying, and not to interject at all.”
“I don’t believe you carry any responsibility for what your brother may have done,” Lord Woodsford said. “I meant what I said. Whatever crimes he was involved in, I believe in your innocence, and I believe it’s irresponsible and cruel to tarnish your reputation because of your association with him. You couldn’t have stopped him.”
I couldn’t have stopped him.
As Lord Woodsford spoke the words, Valeria felt the truth of them. She had, strangely enough, never thought of the matter in those terms before—and yet, Lord Woodsford was quite right, wasn’t he? There was nothing she could have done to prevent her brother’s crimes. She hadn’t even known what he was doing. And even if she had—when had he ever listened to her? When had he ever done as she had asked?
