"And thetonwould not raise an eyebrow if we were found to be in each other's presence throughout tomorrow?" she asked.
"We could run away, go into the woods, and just do whatever we wanted," he said, a dreamy look on his face.
Louise raised an eyebrow. “What does ‘whatever we wanted’ mean?” she asked.
“Oh, Louise,” Callum groaned, “believe me, it is nothing of the sort that you are thinking about.”
Louise smiled again, this time genuinely.
"I suppose we could do that," she replied, "it would be a perfect way to end this party."
Callum scooted over to her and pressed a kiss on her lips. "I knew you would say yes."
* * *
It was their last night at the Felington residence and while others were excited to finally go back to London, Louise could not find it within herself to be happy and it was for a lot of reasons, most of them being Callum.
"Could you kindly pass me the tart, Lady Louise?" Callum, who sat on the other end of the table said to her.
Louise held back a smile as she passed the tart to the person sitting next to her, who would then pass it on until it got to Callum. Of course, Louise knew that Callum did not need the tart, he just needed to call her attention to himself. When Louise finally stole a casual glance at him, he had a quizzical look on his face, as though he was curious about her. Louise looked away.
She knew why he wanted her attention so badly. She had holed herself up in the room throughout the day. She did not step out of her room at all, not even for breakfast. Despite making plans with Callum for the day, she could not bring herself to leave her room as she had spent the entire morning feeling sad for herself.
Louise sighed as she stuffed the food in. Despite not really eating, she still found it bothersome. It was as though she had lost her will to do anything at all.
"Why are you nibbling at your food, Louise?" Her mother noted.
"I am simply full, Mother," Louise lied.
"Is that so, Louise?" Her mother asked, peering curiously at her.
Louise quickly looked away from her mother, fearing that she would be able to see through her and know that she was engulfed by sadness. She even made a show of eating in order to convince her mother. Louise was relieved when dinner finally came to an end and she was able to leave.
"I wish to retire early, Mama," she told her mother.
"This is our last night. I would suppose you would want to spend the time with your friends?" her mother asked.
"I have quite a headache," she lied yet again, clutching her head to make her lie seem more convincing. “Besides, I think I have had quite enough of my said, friends.”
"You must certainly go to lay down then," her mother responded.
Louise had just gotten to the drawing room when someone stepped right in front of her. Even before looking up, Louise already knew that the person was Callum. She could feel his presence and the overwhelming pull that he had on her.
"I apologize, Lady Louise," he said loudly and Louise could tell that it was simply a show for the people who could see them.
"It is all right, Lord Langton," she replied, smiling, "I shall take my leave now, I wish to retire early for the night." Louise was half-hoping that Callum would really let her go so she would not have to explain herself. The only thing she would rather do was curl up in bed and cry her eyes out. A nightmare was awaiting them back in London.
"I would like to discuss a matter with you," Callum insisted, "would you like to walk with me, Lady Louise?" He asked.
Louise shook her head vehemently. "I really have to retire for today, Lord Langton. Moreover, it is beginning to get dark outside," she insisted.
"Then, I suppose we could have a brief conversation here in the drawing room," he said, raising his eyebrow.
Knowing that she had exhausted her excuses, Louise knew she had no choice but to grant Callum an audience. Callum led her to a corner of the drawing room and they sat, facing each other. Despite being in a foul emotional state, Louise still itched to touch Callum, and being so close to him, knowing that this may be the last moment they would ever spend together, made her heart race.
"Louise," he whispered so that other people in the drawing room would not hear what they were about to discuss, "what is going on?"
Knowing that feigning ignorance was way easier than being vulnerable, Louise simply shrugged. "I do not quite understand you, my lord," she responded.
