“Therethey are,”Frankiesaid as she andLathamwalked up to greet them.Sheleaned in and kissedLucyon the cheek.KatieandPauladid the same, asSliceandNelsonboth gave them warm congratulations. “Weare so happy for you, darling,”Katiesaid.
“Wouldyou prefer the announcement to be made before dinner or afterward?”Lathamasked.
“Perhapsit would be better to go ahead and make it now,”Rowansaid, pullingLucycloser to him. “Lucy?”
“Iagree,”Lucysaid, looking up into his beautiful blue eyes with a grateful smile. “Then,Ican relax.”Astrained laugh escaped her lips, leaving an awkward silence in its wake.Shehated being the center of attention.
“Itappears everyone is here,”Frankiesaid.
Lathamnodded as he signaled for the orchestra to begin. “Oncethe orchestra finishes this first song,FrankieandIwill interrupt and call you both up front to make your announcement.Isthat fine with you?”
Rowanlooked atLucy, who gave a slight nod. “That’sfine,” he said, squeezingLucy’shand.
Lucywas thankful forRowan’sstrength.Theannouncement itself was straight to the point and without any unnecessary details, but it nevertheless triggered a buzz of excitement throughout the ballroom.
Eachguest took turns congratulating them, andLucydetected only sincerity.Severalwomen gushed overLucy’sgood luck to have won over the handsomeEarlofScarborough, whose reputation as a fierce and fearless agent of theCrownand a known rake had made many a woman acrossBritainswoon.Strangely, their well wishes contained no animosity.Lucymuch preferred this side of thetonto the side she had normally experienced.Sheassumed it was because everyone present was a friend or relative ofFrankieandLatham.Shedoubted the rest ofSocietywould react the same way.Well, it didn’t matter.She’dhave to deal with it as she had with everything else in her past.
Oncethe announcement was over, she took a relaxing breath and turned toFrankieandLatham. “Thankyou both so much.Itwas so considerate of you to do this for us.”
“There’smore, my dear.Ourcook has insisted on making you both a special meal, followed by a beautiful engagement cake,”Frankiesaid with a twinkling smile.
Justthe mention of a cake madeLucy’sstomach growl.Suppercouldn’t come soon enough.Thelittle fox had been such a good boy she needed to reward him.Charlie, the stable boy, had takenAsheinto the tack room at the back of the stable and promised to watch over him for the duration of the party.Shechecked her pocket and found the handkerchief she had placed inside.Shewould wrap up a few goodies and take them toAsheandCharlie.
LucyandRowanmanaged to dance twice—one was a quadrille, and the other a waltz—a dance that would always be imprinted in her memory.Ashe’d waltzed her around the ballroom,Lucyhad almost felt like they were truly engaged in every sense of the word.ThewayRowanhad looked into her eyes as they danced had nearly taken her breath away.Perhapshe was just as caught up in the moment as she was.Buthow long would that last?Howcould a man likeRowanbe happy tied down for the rest of his life in a marriage that had been foisted upon him?
“Apenny for your thoughts,” she said as they sipped champagne just outside the ballroom.Itwas stuffy, and she’d needed some air.
“Iwas just thinking about all the changes in my life these past two months.I’vegone from working for theCrownto leaving the army and settling into a titled life as an earl…and now, a pending wedding.”
Shestudied his face, looking for something else.Somethingshe thought she’d seen when they were at his manor house.Theyhad spent a little more than two days in the most intimate of circumstances—completely alone, making dinner, sharing stories, and enjoying each other’s company.Theyeven revealed their deepest feelings as they read through his great-aunt and great-uncle’s letters.Thetime they had shared, sheltered from the snowstorm, seemed so far away now.Likeit had almost been a dream.
Butnow, everything was real.Rowanseemed more like the man who had discovered her outside the groundskeeper’s shed about to steal a fox.Hewas more serious.Hisface was stoic.Wasthis all about duty for him?Ofcourse, it was.Howcould it not be?Hefelt a duty to marry her.Suddenly, she felt sick.Itwas happening again.Shewas being forced to marry someone who didn’t love her.Shecouldn’t do this again.Shecould not marry for any reason other than love.
“I…Idon’t feel very well,” she whispered.
“Isit the champagne?” he asked.
“I’mnot going to be sick if that’s your concern,” she said.
“Ididn’t mean it that way.”
“Itdoesn’t matter,” she said, trying to keep her lips from trembling.Tryingto keep the tears at bay, at least until she got back to her room. “Perhapsit might be best for me to make it an early night.Thishas been a day full of excitement and change.”
“Areyou certain?” he asked. “CanIget you some lemonade?Perhapsyou might feel better.”Hisvoice resonated with worry.
“No.IthinkI’veoverdone it today with all that has happened.Ishould go to bed.Tomorrow,Iwill feel like much more the thing,” she said.
“Then,Iwill walk you to your room.”
“No, no.Youstay here and enjoy your friends,”Lucysaid. “Iwill see you in the morning.”Withthat, she turned and hurried away, not looking back.Becauseshe knew she’d see the relief on his face.Andshe couldn’t bear that.
Asshe approached the stairs,PaulaandKatiemet her. “Whereare you going?Theevening is still young.”
Sheturned to face them, her eyes brimming with tears. “Hedoesn’t love me.”
“Howdo you know this?”Paulaasked her as the two women escorted her up the stairs.
“He’sonly marrying me to save my reputation,” she said, swiping at the tears as they rounded the banister and walked down the hall to her room.
