But the urge passed, and then he was gone.
Chapter 28
Valeria remained in the sitting room for the rest of the day. She knew that she was sinking into melancholy, allowing her feelings to get the better of her, but she couldn’t seem to help it.
She was lifted from her reverie, though, by the sound of a knock at the door.
As footsteps moved across the foyer to answer it, she looked over at the fire, trying to determine how long she had been sitting here. It must have been a couple of hours at the least. She had allowed herself to become completely carried away.
I mustn’t allow myself to fall victim to despair like that. I don’t want to become someone who sits around unhappily all the time just because this courtship has ended.
She got to her feet and went to the door of the sitting room. She needed a distraction, and whoever had just arrived would do perfectly. She opened the door and looked out into the foyer.
It was Lord Harlston. He perked up the moment he laid eyes on her. “Lady Valeria!” he said. “How lovely to see you again. I came here today in hopes of calling on Duncan, but the butler tells me he isn’t in.”
“No, he’s not,” Valeria said, wondering if she dared to tell Lord Harlston where Duncan had gone. If Lord Woodsford hadn’t been informed yet of the end of their courtship, it would be wrong to spread the word to Lord Harlston.
She decided to play it safe and keep the news to herself for now. “He ought to be back in a few hours, if you’d like to wait,” she said, anticipating that Lord Harlston would say no, would say that he would come back another time if Valeria would simply please tell Duncan that he had called.
But to her surprise, Lord Harlston smiled. “I would love to wait,” he said. “It would be the perfect opportunity for you and I to spend a little more time together. I’ve been so hoping that we might have a chance.”
“Oh,” Valeria said, feeling slightly taken aback, but not displeased. It would be good for her to have something to take her mind off her troubles, and she remembered how easy Lord Harlston was to get along with. “Very well. I’d be happy to entertain you until Duncan returns, but let me fetch my lady’s maid. It’s only proper that we should have a chaperone.”
“Oh yes, of course,” Lord Harlston said. “You’re quite right.”
“Have a seat in the sitting room,” she suggested. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”
Lord Harlston nodded and went in. Valeria hurried upstairs, nearly running, her heart beating rather faster than it would ordinarily have.
What was it about him, she wondered, that was making her feel this rush of nervous energy? Was it simply the knowledge that her courtship was at an end? She knew that he had been at least moderately interested in her as well. What would he say if he knew that things had come to an end with Lord Woodsford?
And did the idea of his reaction make her feel nervous? Or was that excitement fluttering in her stomach?
She reached her bedroom. Charlotte was there, carefully hanging a gown that had been cleaned, but she looked up as Valeria entered. “What is it, Lady Valeria?” she asked. “What’s happened?”
“Lord Harlston is here,” Valeria explained. “He’s waiting for Duncan to return home, and I said I would wait with him. But we need a chaperone in the meantime.”
“I see,” Charlotte said. She dusted her hands off on her apron. “And youwantto spend time with him?”
“Well, it’s just courteous, isn’t it?” Valeria asked, feeling rather puzzled. What did Charlotte mean by that?
“It’s just that you were so upset at the thought of your courtship with Lord Woodsford continuing,” Charlotte said. “And I feel sure that Lord Harlston admires you, too, Lady Valeria. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
“He has no hope of courting me,” Valeria said. “He thinks I’m in an arrangement with one of his friends. He just wants to socialize.”
“I suppose that’s all right,” Charlotte said. “But I’m glad you’ll have a chaperone with you all the same.”
“Let’s get back downstairs,” Valeria said. “We don’t want to keep him waiting.”
They hurried downstairs. Valeria found Lord Harlston waiting in the sitting room where she had left him, and she hurried to his side and took the chair opposite him.
“Thank you so much for your patience, Lord Harlston,” she said.
“Oh, not at all,” he said. “By the way, a maid stopped in and offered to bring us some tea, and I told her that would be delightful. I certainly hope you don’t mind, and that I haven’t overstepped at all.”
“You haven’t,” Valeria said. “I’m glad you accepted the offer. Teawouldbe delightful. And perhaps Duncan will be interested in joining us once he returns.”
“Do you think so?” Lord Harlston asked. “I had meant to ask him whether he might like to accompany me out to the pub—”
