Miss Fairley held his gaze steadily for a long time, without saying a single word. Buzzing came into Frederick’s ears, and he could barely look into her face, his heart thundering and his mind whispering at him about how foolish he had been. He wanted to break the silence, wanted to say something that would be both an apology and words of regret, but no words came to him. All he could do was stare back at her and wait.
“I see.” Miss Fairley began to blink rapidly, then passed one hand over her eyes, making Frederick fear that he had not only managed to upset her, but had also made her cry. “That is… a heavy thought.”
“It is a foolish one,” Frederick protested, quickly. “It was nothing but nonsense. Perhaps I was being too fervent in my attempts to help you but–”
“It is not foolish.” Miss Fairley dropped her hand and gazed back into his eyes. “Lord Yeatman, it is not in theleastbit foolish. In fact, it is something that would explain a good deal, would it not? It would help me to understand all that has taken place and to make sense of my present situation. If, as you saw, I did nothing to upset the footman at our dinner, then why else did he jerk and drop the plate in such a fashion? And,” she continued, her eyes now flaring wide, “if I didnotknock the tray from the footman’s hand when I finished my dance with Lord Gibson, then what caused that footman to drop it?”
“I do not know,” Frederick said slowly, a little surprised that she had reacted in such a positive manner. “Then might I ask if you are in agreement with me, Miss Fairley? You think that theremightbe someone who is attempting to injure you in such a way?”
Miss Fairley paused for a long moment and then, eventually, began to nod.
“Yes, I think that there is certainly the possibility of such a thing.”
“Then do you have any thoughts on who it might be?” Frederick stood closer to her, a sudden excitement catching at his heart. “Do you have someone in your life who might wish you ill?”
Immediately, Miss Fairley shook her head and the light in her eyes began to fade.
“No, I do not. In that regard, Lord Yeatman, I am quite at a loss.”
“Oh.”
“But it is something which I shall have to continue to consider,” she added, offering him a small smile. “I do value your thoughts in that regard, Lord Yeatman. I would never have thought of such an idea myself.”
“I can help you.”
Frederick watched as Miss Fairley blinked and then frowned. Her face no longer held any hint of color, and he quickly began to realize just how much his words had upset her. None of her problems were his doing, of course, for he was not the one upsetting her in that regard but clearly, the suggestion itself had set her awry.
“I think that you have done enough when it comes to assisting me, Lord Yeatman.” Miss Fairley reached out and touched his hand and, as she did so, fire swept right up his arm. “You have already taken the blame at that dinner party, and now you have not only danced with me – a wallflower – but given me a clear suggestion of what might truly be happening in my present circumstances. I do not know what I am to do next but–”
“I have an idea.” The idea took hold of him with such fierceness, he could barely catch his breath. “You have already told me that the wallflowers – you and your friends, I mean – are to go about in society just as usual. You are attempting to step away from the confines placed upon you by society and, in doing so, seek instead to force society to take note of you. Therefore, would it not be more likely that what has happened to you in the past as regards your… mishaps, might they not be more likely to continue?”
Miss Fairley’s eyebrows lifted high, her eyes rounding.
“Miss Simmons did say that she thought it odd that there were no such mishaps or the like during the time I have been a wallflower, hiding away in the shadows.”
“Which gives my thoughts all the more credence, does it not?” Frederick did not say such a thing with any hint of arrogance, but rather the understanding that what Miss Simmons had said fitted in with the suggestion that there was someone else behind this. “If you have been pushed to the back of the room, then you are no longer visible. You are no longer present in society, are you? So perhaps in that way, this personhas gained what they wanted… though I presume you do not know why that would be?”
Miss Fairley shook her head.
“No, not in the least. I have very few friends – though more now that I have become a wallflower – and there is no reason for any of them to try to remove me from my situation. My sister is often in the company of one Lord Wellbridge, and there is every hope of a match there, so I cannot see who would do such a thing,orunderstand why they might behave so.”
Frederick nodded slowly.
“Then let me be of assistance to you,” he said, seeing her smile gently. “If you are to be in society again, if you are to be in company and the like, then I can be often with you. I can watch from a distance, take note of who is around you and who might be seeking to injure you.”
Miss Fairley’s expression softened.
“You would be willing to do that for me?”
Frederick nodded.
“But of course.”
“Why?” The question hung in the air between them, and Frederick found himself struggling for an answer. He could not quite explain what it was about Miss Fairley’s situation that had him so fervent in his desire to aid her and in that, he could not find an answer to give her. Instead, he simply lifted his shoulders and smiled. “You are simply kindness itself, though you are too good to say,” Miss Fairley told him, putting one hand to her heart as her eyes grew a little glassy. “I do not think that I have ever had anyone express such generosity to me, Lord Yeatman – save for my friends, of course. The other wallflowers accepted me, pulled me to them, and comforted me in my difficulty and I will always be grateful to them for that. They are as I am and in that, the sweetness of their friendship is something I will always be thankful for. However, when it comes to you, thereis no reason for you to be of aid to me. I have done nothing which would encourage you to be a support to me and yet, your kind heart can do nothing other than be willing to do so.” She swallowed and blinked quickly again, her hand falling to her side. “You cannot know how grateful I am to you for that.”
“I do not mean to upset you.”
She laughed then, albeit a little brokenly as she shook her head, her copper curls bouncing lightly.
