He won’t want me. Not after the fuss I’ve made about it.
And yet… he was here, wasn’t he? He had taken the trouble to come over and see her today. He would hardly have donethatif he was ready to give up on her.
“No,” she said. “A friendship would not be too much.”
Maybe I could even open my mind to something more.
“Sit down, for heaven’s sake,” Duncan said. He was smiling as though Christmas had come early. “I’ll just go and arrange for some tea to be sent in.”
He was out of the room before Valeria had time to object.
She glanced at her guest, uncertain of what to say.
“I hope it’s all right that I came here today,” Lord Woodsford said.
“To tell the truth,” she said, “I’m glad that you did.”
“Are you really?”
She nodded. “When I moved here, I didn’t believe that I would be able to integrate myself into Society,” she admitted. “I never expected cruelty like I suffered at the hands of Lord Milton—but I did think I would be doomed to spend the rest of my days alone in my room.”
“Someone as lovely as you?” He shook his head. “How could you have thought so?”
“You heard what was said about my brother,” she said.
“And you know how I feel about those words,” he said darkly. “About that very sentiment.”
“I do know,” she said. “It’s been… very difficult.”
“I can only imagine.”
She looked up at him. He had been the most understanding person, when it came to her predicament, since she had come to Earlington Manor. Even her aunt and cousin, though she knew how much they loved her, had not been able to understand what she was going through in the same way.
Perhaps he was someone she could talk to at last.
“He was not a good brother,” she said. “Richard, that is. He was cruel to me, always. But… Iwanteda good brother. I wantedhimto be good. In spite of it all, I… I loved him.”
“That seems perfectly natural to me,” Lord Woodsford said quietly.
“Even when it should have been apparent to me that something was wrong with his behavior, I chose to look the other way,” she said. “In that way, I suppose Iamcomplicit. I know Lord Milton would think so.”
But Lord Woodsford shook his head.
“As far as I can see,” he said, “you are guilty of no greater crime than wanting your brother’s love. And that is certainly nothing to be held as a mark against you.”
She looked at him wonderingly. For the first time, it seemed as though her future might actually hold something bright.
Chapter 15
Henry sat in his library, frowning at the book he had been trying to read. He couldn’t seem to settle to anything today. He couldn’t keep his attention focused on the things he was trying to do.
It was that scene last night that was the problem.
If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he had known Lord Milton might get out of control. He had known it was a possibility when he had invited the man to dinner.
Why had he done it anyway?
At least Thomas had the wherewithal to throw him from the house before things got too bad.
