Lord Alderton’s eyes glittered.
“So you are in possession of it.”
“Whether I am or not, you can be assured that I am no thief.” Keeping his voice steady and his eyes fixed, Jonathan drew in a long breath, settling his shoulders as he did so. “I think that the time has come for me to take my leave.” With a short bow, he looked first to Lady Yardley and then to Lady Cassandra. Her eyes were still brimming, but she was not looking at him any longer. Instead, her attention was turned to Lord Alderton… and at that moment, Jonathan feared that she was slipping from him. Everything he had pretended he did not want was being taken away, and even though he had told himself, over and over, that he did not even want to give his heart to Lady Cassandra, his heart suddenly cracked, sending pain ricocheting through him. Without another word, without another glance in her direction, Jonathan strode from the room, bearing more pain than he had ever felt in his life before.
Chapter Twelve
“Are you quite prepared?”
Cassandra dared another glance at her reflection in the mirror on the wall of the drawing-room, aware of how pale she appeared, how her lips did not smile at the thought of walking with Lord Alderton in Hyde Park. She had declined his invitation of taking tea and taking his phaeton to Hyde Park but had stated that she would be glad to walk with him for a short while during the fashionable hour. It was the first time that he had made any sort of obvious indication of his serious interest, but she could not get the previous afternoon’s altercation from her mind. She had not seen Lord Sherbourne at the previous evening’s soiree - even though she had expected him to be there - and he had not so much as sent her a note. Lord Alderton had been quite convinced of Lord Sherbourne’s guilt and had declared it so without seeming to realize how much of a dagger he was stabbing into her heart.
“You need not walk with him if you do not wish to.” Lady Yardley settled a hand on her shoulder. “If you do not like the gentleman particularly well, then why should you concern yourself?”
Cassandra sighed as she looked at her cousin.
“It is not that I do not like him.” Taking a breath, she spread her hands. “I believe, as you do, that he told me of such rumors because he is concerned for me, and for the company I keep. He thinks of my reputation rather than anything else and thus, I should be grateful. However, the fact that he said such a thing about Lord Sherbourne is rather difficult for me to accept, especially when…” she trailed off, her heart aching so terribly, it was a constant pain in her chest.
“Especially when there appears to be a possibility that what Lord Alderton has said is true.”
Lady Yardley’s lips twisted, and Cassandra could not help but nod. Yes, that was her concern - for while Lord Sherbourne had refused to answer the question presented by Lord Alderton, she had seen how pale he had turned and how his eyes had dropped – to the point where she was now afraid that there was a hint of truth in Lord Alderton’s accusation.
“If Lord Sherbourne had come to speak with us, if he had even written a note, then I would not feel so concerned.” Sighing, she shook her head. “But given that he has done neither of those things, I feel myself a little lost. I do not want to believe the accusation that he has taken the diamond bracelet, but his words did seem to imply otherwise.”
Lady Yardley nodded, her lips pursing for a moment.
“He stated that he was not a thief, whether he has the bracelet or not. We should be able to trust his word in that. Perhaps it is not as Lord Alderton thinks, for it may be that while Lord Sherbourne has the bracelet in his possession, he has not taken it for himself.”
“Then why has he not explained his reason? Surely he must know that we are confused.”
Her heart turned over as Lady Yardley shook her head.
“I do not know why.” Taking a breath, she smiled warmly, her gaze steady. “What Icansay is that I know Lord Sherbourne very well. I have known him for years – and my husband even longer, for they have been close friends since Eton!” She smiled. “My husband has always chosen his acquaintances carefully, even from a young age. If there was any sort of unsavory behavior in Lord Sherbourne’s past or even his present, I can assure you that my husband would have found out about it, and certainly would have informed me also. We are not the sort to keep secrets from each other. I can promise you that Lord Sherbourne is exactly as he appears – a good-hearted fellow, with kindness and responsibility at the core of him. If he says that he is not a thief, I would urge you to believe him.”
Cassandra’s mouth lifted a little, her cousin’s words soothing the fragmented thoughts which dug furrows into her heart. It seemed that she was not to be given any answers from Lord Sherbourne at present, which meant that she would have to wait until he presented the truth to them.
And as for Lord Alderton?
Sighing, Cassandra closed her eyes. Truthfully, she had no real desire to walk about with Lord Alderton this afternoon, had no thought of laughing or smiling or enjoying herself with him, not when her heart remained on Lord Sherbourne alone. She did not want to even think about what it would be like if Lord Sherbourne left London - but rumors such as this could easily drive a fellow from society. If word went around London that Lord Sherbourne was a thief, then would he return to his estate, rather than stay and battle the rumors? She could not blame him if he chose the former rather than the latter, but all the same, the thought of being in London without him became a heavy burden to bear.
“Should I inform Lord Alderton that you are not particularly well this afternoon?” Lady Yardley searched Cassandra’s face. “I am sure that he will understand.”
Cassandra shook her head.
“No, I should not like to do so. I have spent a long time waiting for him to commit himself, to say whether he will be willing to choose me or not – and now he has seemingly done so, it would not be right of me to ignore him.”
Lady Yardley smiled in understanding.
“Very well.” Her hand fell from Cassandra’s arm. “I know that you are concerned about Lord Sherbourne, but do try not to allow him into your thoughts when you are with Lord Alderton. The publication of ‘The London Ledger’ appears to have done what we hoped for since Lord Alderton now seems to have decided to show you a keener interest, and such interest may very well lead to courtship if all goes well. If you do not allow your thoughts to linger on Lord Sherbourne, then you will surely have a pleasant afternoon.”
Cassandra nodded, and tried to smile, but did not manage to do anything other than a faint lift of one side of her mouth.
“I will do my very best to do so.”
She had no real joy in the prospect of walking with Lord Alderton and, even now, the talk of courtship did not thrill her. She had thought she would be able to allow her heart to be free, to be ready to fall in love with a gentleman who declared himself in the way that Lord Alderton had done, but now Lord Sherbourne was such a burden on her mind that she could think of none but him, despite her cousin’s encouragement.
“Are you quite sure?”
As though she were able to read Cassandra’s thoughts, Lady Yardley asked her again but, this time, Cassandra met it with a nod of her head and quick steps towards the door.
