“Forgive me, My Lord, I must go to the retiring room,” she said finally, then turned and walked away from him.
He cursed inwardly. He could not very well challenge her on that; he knew quite well. But at least it would buy Felicity some time, he thought. Isabella could not very well say that she needed to go to the retiring room and then walk off in the opposite direction towards the terrace.
No, everything was still under control, he told himself. He knew that Felicity was ready and waiting. All he had to do now was ensure that she and Sebastian would be caught by the right people at the right moment.
He spotted the Duke of Harbridge standing chatting with Lord and Lady Evermere. It was almost as if the gods had blessed him with a perfect set of circumstances to enable his plan to be enacted perfectly. He felt himself buzzing with anticipation. It was just a matter of time now.
***
Sebastian stood on the terrace, feeling a little anxious as he waited for Isabella to join him outside. The terrace was perhaps safer than anywhere else in the house, he mused. If anyone saw them talking together, then they could not be said to be doing anything wrong. It was not the same as if a couple were discovered in a room together with a closed door.
But it had been such a long time since he had left her on the dance floor! He found himself worrying that something had happened, that she had been forced into a dance with another gentleman or delayed in some other way. Or perhaps she had just changed her mind and decided that she did not want to speak to him privately or hear what he had to say.
His mind was whirring as he paced up and down in the gloom. A few lanterns were burning outside, but the sun had now set, and the sky was dark. He could not help thinking how easy it would be to take Isabella by the hand and sneak down the steps and into the darkness of the garden, where they would be hidden from everyone, and could do as they pleased, following their desires.
But he had to focus now, he told himself. He had to work out what he was going to say to her. He would tell her the truth, all of it. The reason why the invitation to the Evermere estate for Christmas had been so attractive to him, and the efforts he had made to uncover the truth.
How would she react? He did not know if she would even consider forgiving him for hiding all this from her while they were getting closer and closer. Even if he confessed his true feelings for her, the burgeoning love growing in his heart every time he set eyes on her, he did not know if she could forgive him. But he was resolved to tell her everything, and then it would be up to her what happened next.
His heart was pounding in anticipation now. He leaned against the terrace wall and looked out into the darkness of the garden again. All he could do was wait, but the impotence of his situation was driving him almost wild with frustration.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching, and his heart leapt in his chest.
He turned around and saw a figure coming towards him. A woman dressed in a gown. As she came closer and moved into the light, his stomach dropped.
It was not Isabella. It was Felicity, and she was looking at him with a seductive gaze, her lips parted and her hips swaying as she came closer.
Her intentions were clear to him in an instant. But there was nothing he could do, nowhere he could run. He put a hand up to try and stop her, but she ignored him and threw herself into his arms.
***
Isabella crossed the room as quickly as she could. She was desperate to avoid Lord Harrow. She wondered for a moment why on earth he had asked her to dance. It struck her as odd – she did not think he had ever asked her to dance at a ball before – but she pushed it from her mind.
It did not matter now other than that it had delayed her in going to find Sebastian outside. She prayed that he was still there waiting for her and that he had not given up hope or thought that she would not come.
As she moved through the crowded ballroom, she sensed a ripple of whispers around her. She knew, now, that she was not imagining it. There was definitely something unusual going on.
“I wonder if it’s really true,” she heard a voice close by saying.
She whirled around to see a group of young ladies staring at her, waving their fans in front of their faces to hide their mouths as they talked.
Her heart lurched. Could her and Sebastian’s secret somehow have been uncovered? If it had, there was only one solution. He would have to marry her. She hoped against hope that that was what he wanted to say to her now, outside on the terrace.
Because if their indiscretions had been uncovered, and he would not marry her, then she would be utterly ruined. She had been planning to tell him of her impending engagement to the duke, hoping that would spur him into action, but it seemed as if things had moved on now, and the situation was even more critical than she had imagined.
The feelings that coursed through her as she went outside onto the terrace were a frenetic mix of anxiety and excitement. She wanted to see Sebastian, perhaps to kiss him, and tell him her true feelings. But so much was at stake now, and she was terrified that everything was about to go wrong.
She paused in the doorway, ignoring a flurry of movement behind her, and took a deep breath. The evening air was cold, and she shivered a little as she crossed the terrace. There was hardly anyone outside since the weather was so uninviting. But she saw a figure standing close to the wall at the far end of the terrace.
As she approached, though, she realized that it was not one figure but two people clasped in an embrace.
She drew closer. The full horror of the situation became clear to her as the light from a nearby lantern fell on the couple in front of her. It was Sebastian, and the woman in his arms was Felicity.
She let out a cry. “Sebastian!”
He whirled around, and their eyes met for a long moment. Isabella felt as if her heart had been torn from her chest.
“Isabella!” he called to her, pushing Felicity away, his voice thick with emotion.
