Lord Pottinger ran one hand down his face and Gideon’s stomach twisted, the pain in his shoulder no longer appearing to be of any significance.
Lord Wiltsham threw up his hands, then let them fall.
“Last evening I evidently signed my fortune over to a Baron March, whose name I do not recognize. He has taken every single coin that I possess. I have nothing left.”
“Mine is gone also, although not quite under the same circumstances,” Lord Silverton stated, his voice so quiet that Gideon strained to make out the words. “I very much fear that you will find yourself in the same situation.
“For that is the situation I am in also,” added Lord Thornbridge, who had not spoken as yet.
The white of his face contrasted with his dark, shadowed eyes and red slash of his mouth.
Gideon’s own fears began to grow as he closed his eyes before taking a deep breath. Everything was still clouded at the edges. He could not seem to fully grasp all that was being said to him, and yet his stomach was churning uncontrollably as an overwhelming sense of dread clutched at his heart.
Could it be true? Had he lost everything?
Chapter One
“My dear girl. How are you?”
Lady Sara sat quietly, staring down at her hands as they clasped gently in her lap. She could not give any answer to her mother’s question. The shock was still much too great.
“But…” Shaking her head, she struggled to find the words, tears building in her eyes. “How could he do such a thing? How can this be?”
“It is disgraceful, of course.” Reaching out, her mother squeezed her fingers lightly. “I am glad you are not to wed him, my dear. He is clearly a gentleman without scruples.”
“I… I do not understand.” The tears formed far too quickly, too fast for her to blink him all away, trickling down onto her cheeks as she fought for breath. “How can this be so?”
Her mother shook her head.
“There is no particular reason, my dear girl, other than to say that he is a gentleman who is unworthy of you. I can only hope that he will not have a single moment of happiness for the rest of his days, for what he has done to you.” Her mother placed a lace handkerchief in Sara’s hand, and it took her a few moments to realize what it was, and what she was meant to do with it. The shock ran like lightning through her veins, refusing to free her, refusing to allow her to think clearly. How could Lord Coatbridge do such a thing to her? He had promised her so much, and was now abandoning her entirely, leaving her with nothing. “I wish I could say or do something which would take away your pain at present.” Her mother’s voice rasped, and she was feeling the pain of all that Sara was enduring. “It is a disgrace, nothing less. No gentleman should court a young lady and then take himself from her to declare his betrothal to another!”
To hear it spoken of again in such clear terms sent an arrow straight through Sara’s heart. Her breath came in uneven gasps as she squeezed her eyes closed, trying desperately not to break down into yet more furious tears.
“Oh, my dear.” Her mother squeezed her hand again. “My words were not wisely chosen. Forgive me for my inconsideration.”
“It is not you that I need to forgive, Mama. In truth, I can barely take it in! Only yesterday he was sitting in this very room declaring that he cared for me more than ever before. How can he then go on to decide that he is betrothed to another young lady only a few hours later? And how could she accept him, if they have not been courting? I cannot understand it.”
“Nor can I.” There were tears in her mother’s voice. “I was quite sure he was to propose to you very soon. I thought we would be together packing your wedding chest. Instead, we shall be left with thetonasking many questions, wondering why he has set you aside, why he has turned from you to favor another.”
Sara shook her head wordlessly, suddenly afraid that her reputation was about to suffer a great deal at Lord Coatbridge’s hands. Where she had thought him considerate, it now appeared that he was thoughtless. Where she had thought him generous, he was selfish. She had believed that he cared for her deeply, but this betrothal proved that there was not even a hint of affection on his part. He had forgotten her already, set her aside so that he might wed another.
“This Lady Nora, whoever she may be, will be nothing compared to you, I am quite sure.”
Sara did not even lift her head.
“If that was true, Mama, then he would have chosen to betroth himself to me and not to her.”
Lady Longford opened her mouth but then closed it again tightly. She turned her head away, and silence built between them. That silence did not last long - her mother broke it soon after.
“It will be because of her dowry, or whatever fortune her father is willing to give his daughter. There will be some reason for it, my dear. It is not that you are lacking inanyway.”
The truth did not bring any comfort to Sara’s broken heart. Despite telling herself that the man meant nothing to her, and that she had no need to feel any such torment, she found her tears insisting that they remain rather than flee as she had hoped. Lord Coatbridge had been eager in his attentions towards her, and the fact that he had asked to court her so soon after their introduction had sent both excitement and anticipation through Sara in a way that she had never before experienced. She had believed herself quite safe in allowing herself such feelings, for he had promised her that they would soon be betrothed, such was the depth of his own feelings. Now, it seemed that he had been playing her for a fool.
“You must go on into the Season with your head held high.” Her mother spoke with great determination, her thoughts already on the weeks ahead, rather than the present circumstances. “Everyone will be watching you. They will be eager to see how you respond to this, particularly given that Lord Coatbridge will be present also. You must give them no cause for gossip. Laugh and smile as if you are just as you have always been. There must not be a single trace of sadness in your expression, even though you will be feeling quite the opposite inside.”
Sara shook her head.
“I cannot go into society for some time, I fear. I need time to consider all that has taken place.”
