“Feelings which came only from your fortnight with her.” There was a slight scoffing tone to Lord Campbell’s words which had Adam recoiling inwardly. “That is not love. You may believe it to be so, but I can assure you it is not.”
Adam shook his head, thinking to argue, only to remind himself that this discussion was not about his feelings for Lady Margaret, but rather about his friend’s affection for Miss Barrett.
“Then if love is whatyouare experiencing at present, I do not wish to have any of it within my heart. I can see how much it tortures you and certainly, I do not want to be so bound.”
“And you have become cynical about it also, I see.” With a sigh, Lord Campbell threw back his whisky and then set the empty glass down, shaking his head when Adam lifted one hand in the direction of the bottle. “No, one is enough. I thank you.” He took another breath. “Let us end our discussion on love. I think it is a little fruitless and certainly not what I require at this moment.”
A little embarrassed at his own thoughtlessness, Adam nodded, aware of the prickling of his skin and flush running up to his face.
“What is it that you require from me?”
Lord Campbell looked back at him steadily. His chest rose and fell as he took a long breath, considering before he spoke.
“I require you to keep me away from Miss Barrett.”
Blinking a little in surprise, Adam tilted his head.
“Whatever do you mean?”
“I mean precisely that.” With a shrug, Lord Campbell looked away, his face coloring. “My desire is for the lady, and thus I have every assurance that I will no doubt wish to speak with her, desire to dance with her and the like. Icannotbe permitted to do so, for then my heart will become quite overwhelmed and no doubt, lost to her forever. If you see me watching her, direct my attention elsewhere. If you see me speaking with her, then join our conversation. In doing so, you will remind me of what she did and, I hope that will cause me to then move from her side. In time, I hope that my feelings will fade to the point where I have no desire to be in her company for anything but brief moments…” Groaning, he ran one hand down his face. “At present, the only place I desire to be is beside her.”
“I can do that.”
Lord Campbell nodded but did not smile.
“I thank you. I will be asking Lord Dennington to do the same, also, of course.”
Allowing a small smile to spread across his face, Adam shrugged his shoulders.
“Mayhap I shall be exactly what you require.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
Again, Adam lifted his shoulders.
“Given that my thoughts on love are that it is nothing but foolishness, I shall be quite firm in presenting you with the reality of your situation. No, indeed, you do not need to concern yourself. I shall be precisely the person you need to assist you in removing all thoughts of Miss Barrett from your mind.”
At this, Lord Campbell managed to smile, the first smile Adam had seen since his friend’s arrival.
“I suppose I should be grateful.” The quietness of his voice expressed his profound sorrow over his feelings for Miss Barrett. “Although you may discover, in time, that your assumptions about love are quite wrong. Once you truly fall in love with someone, it is almost impossible to rid yourself of them. Time supposedly makes an end of it, but I silently believe that now, such a love lingers in your heart for the rest of your days. It may only be a small measure, as a reminder of the time when your heart had filled up entirely, but it shall always linger there; a single drop where there was once a fountain.”
“Most poetic.” Adam got to his feet, dismissing the latter part of his friend’s statement. “Come now, let me ring the bell and we shall have a feast sent up to us. We shall rid that sorrowful look from you, one way or the other.”
With a seemingly great effort, Lord Campbell managed to smile, although it fell away quickly.
“An excellent idea.” With a breath, he pushed himself out of his chair. “Thank you, old friend.”
Adam returned his smile with a nod, putting his hand on Lord Campbell’s shoulder.
“But of course. It is the very least I can do.”
Chapter Eight
“Look, is that Lord Seaton approaching?”
Constance’s heart leaped, but she quietened it at once. She had enjoyed their first dance together some days ago, but he had not come to seek her out since. For whatever reason, her heart had lifted at even the mention of him, as if she were very eager indeed to be in his company again. Recalling her mother’s wide-eyed look and Lady Winterbrook’s suggestion regarding the gentleman being a Marquess, wealthy and perhaps eager to fall in love, Constance’s cheeks warmed as he came to speak with her; her mother melting away into the shadows.
“Miss Millington.” Lord Seaton inclined his head, his smile lingering. “I believe that we may have to dance again this evening if that does not trouble you?”
