CHAPTER2
“At last,” Edward murmured to himself as he found the door that led outside, “freedom.” He stepped out into the cool autumnal air and took a deep breath. At once, he felt renewed, away from the heat of the ballroom and the clamoring attentions of strangers in the crowd.
They all want one thing.
Edward strode forward, away from the house and out into the garden. He didn’t care that he was stepping off the terrace and delving deeper into the garden, all he knew was that he had to escape that ballroom. There were too many demons haunting him in that room to be able to think clearly.
Ambling through the greenery, he passed yew bushes and fig trees, their bark bathed in the last light of the sun before it dropped beneath the horizon, casting the world grey. Edward leaned against one of the fig trees, finding his hand clutching to a single branch, clinging onto it for dear life.
Why does everyone have to be so miserable these days?
He thought not only of himself, but of Charles too, and of course, Esther. In the past, he had been able to distract himself from his own sadness with his friend, and then his sister, but now, it seemed wherever Edward looked, he was condemned to find another sadness staring back at him.
“Your Grace? Your Grace!” a voice was calling after him.
Edward sighed as he stepped off the tree, straightening his tailcoat and turning round to greet the stranger. He fully expected it to be another eager mother, wanting to present their daughter to him as a prospect for a future duchess.
They do not seem to understand that I have no intention to marry. None whatsoever.
“Your Grace?” the voice called again, before the bearer of that voice appeared behind the yew bushes.
Edward stopped abruptly, his boots falling still in the dewy grass as he took in the view of the young lady before him, who was unchaperoned.
“Lady Julia?” he said in surprise, struggling to hide his laugh. “Pray, for what reason do I owe to you running out of a ball after me? You ought to be careful, you’ll make me think you rather wished to see me.”
“Your vanity at work again I see.” She folded her arms across her body as she stopped in front of him.
“It has been so long since we have had one of these arguments,” he said, still chuckling.
At last! The chance to laugh.
“It was certainly a period of time that could have gone on for longer, and I would have been happy,” Lady Julia declared with a smile.
“So you say, but that does not explain why you have come running out here after me?” He gestured to her position, rather bemused by it. When she said nothing, her own amused smile faltering a little, he found himself eager to fill the silence. “Perhaps I dropped something, and you are returning it to me?” He checked his pockets, but they were all full. “Or perhaps I offered a few kind words to a friend of yours, and now you wish to frighten me off, so that I will not charm this friend?”
“You believe quite whole heartedly that I cannot have followed you with merely the intention to talk, then?”
“I think that as unlikely a possibility as a star falling out of this sky and dropping into my hands. Wait a minute… let’s put it to the test…” He held out his hands cupped in front of him and turned his eyes to the increasingly darkening sky.
Stars were beginning to appear, glinting and gleaming, with a few peering out from behind the covers of clouds, as if awakening from beds. Yet all those stars stayed in their position.
“No,” Edward declared and dropped his hands. “No star has fallen yet.” Edward went to turn away. He knew no good could come from being outside with Lady Julia alone. She was not a lady who was willing to risk her reputation for the sake of being with him. He glanced behind her, noting once again the absence of a chaperone before he turned away, intending to make his escape.
“Then prepare to be shocked, for I have come here to talk to you.” Lady Julia’s words made Edward slip in the dewy grass in his surprise. He reached out and held onto the fig tree beside him, using it to turn back to face her. “Why are you so surprised, Your Grace?” she whispered, taking a step forward. She lifted the shawl that was slung gently around her elbows and brought it up to her shoulders, hiding herself from the chill. Edward found the action drew his gaze to lingering on her figure, before he snapped it away again.
Yes, she is beautiful, but she is out of bounds.
“Are you shocked because when you are with ladies, it is not talking that concerns you?” Lady Julia asked with a smirk.
“Ha!” Edward laughed heartily, relieved for the chance of it.
This is what I wanted from this evening. The chance to feel something else!
“I will admit, most ladies who seek out my company are not doing so for my sparkling conversation,” he said, waggling his eyebrows in mockery of himself.
“Do you find it sparkling?”
“Well, maybe I just wish it was.” His words made her smile a little more, though she appeared to chew her lip the next second, to stop herself from doing so. “Come now, Lady Julia, I know I will never make you my greatest admirer, but do not begrudge yourself one smile. I’m usually rather good at making ladies smile, I might have a knack for making you smile too.”