Valeria cast a frightened look in the direction of the voice. She didn’t want to be discovered here, speaking to Lord Woodsford. She didn’t know if she would be chastised for being alone with a gentleman, or if her aunt would use this occurrence as evidence that she was ready to be courted—but either outcome sounded dreadful.
She turned and ran back along the garden path toward the Manor, leaving Lord Woodsford to stare after her.
As she burst through the doors and into the foyer, she almost ran right into Duncan, who had apparently returned inside to collect his mother’s cloak, for he held it draped across his arm. He caught her and held her, frowning. “Valeria?” he asked. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, pulling free of his hold. “I’m just tired, Duncan. Please let me go.”
He must have felt that she’d been through enough tonight, because after the merest hesitation, he nodded.
Grateful to be freed, Valeria hurried up the stairs and toward her room, wishing heartily that she had never attended the dinner party.
Chapter 8
Duncan watched his cousin go, frowning after her.I wonder what’s happened?
He had known, of course, that she was upset following the conversation at dinner. But she had seemed to collect herself as they were walking out into the garden, and Duncan had believed that she was all right.
When he had caught her just now, though, she had been near tears.
He didn’t know what to make of it.
He turned back to the door facing the garden just in time to see Thomas entering the Manor. Thomas glanced at him, then looked away.
“Wait a moment.” Duncan hurried over to his friend. “What’s going on, Thomas?”
“What do you mean?”
“Valeria just came running in here looking deeply upset. What happened out there? Did Lord Milton say something else to her?”
“Oh.” Thomas looked crestfallen. “Oh, no.”
“What?”
“I’m afraid it might be my fault,” Thomas admitted.
“Yourfault? What did you do to her?” Duncan felt a surge of anger.
“Nothing!” Thomas said quickly. “Well—that is to say, nothing I thought she wouldn’t welcome. I spoke to her—I asked her whether she would be entering into a courtship soon, and I tried to remind her that we had met a few times in the past. She seemed very unhappy about that line of conversation.”
“You didn’t—I don’t know—you didn’t try to coerce her into anything, did you?” Duncan asked.
“OfcourseI didn’t,” Thomas said, looking highly affronted. “You should know me better than that, Duncan. Didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t even pursue courtship with her because I believed she wouldn’t be open to it?” He shook his head. “And it seems I was right to think that.”
“But you decided to speak to her about it anyway.”
“You brought it up when we were having tea,” Thomas said. “I thought perhaps you had spoken to her on my behalf. And then I thought… well, I don’t know. She seemed so taken withHenry.”
“Did she seem that way to you?” Duncan asked, his eyebrows lifting in surprise.
“She did,” Thomas said. “Not that it’s any great shock. You know how Henry is.”
“How am I?” Henry was just making his way through the doors. “I say, why are we all standing around in the doorway?”
“I was on my way outside when I ran into Thomas,” Duncan explained. “And he’s just been telling me that he thinks my cousin admires you.”
“Does she, now?” Henry asked. “That’s certainly very interesting.”
“Don’t excite yourself, Henry,” Duncan chastised his friend. “I’m not going to have anyone upsetting Valeria. If she’s not ready for courtship—”
