Chapter 23
The day seemed far longer than usual and by midafternoon, having just left her mother in her room to nap, she was exhausted. The urge to cross the hall and slip into her own room to rest was more than a little tantalising.
She did not often nap in the afternoon as her mother did though today it was preferable than the thought of running into Lord Warrington or even Nancy again. She’d had just about enough of her and her mother trying to talk to her around all morning, adding in a mention of this gentleman or that gentleman wherever they could.
She had just reached the door to her room, lifting her hand to take hold of the doorknob when she heard someone call from the far end of the hall, “Ah, Miss Skeffington! Could I possibly have a word?”
Alice was nauseated by the sickly-sweet voice. Inhaling sharply, she gritted her teeth and tightened her hands into fists in the folds of her skirt before turning to meet Miss Hyatt who was hurrying down the hallway in her direction.
The woman was positively radiant. All signs that she had been stuck out in the storm were gone. The woman was not even sniffling. Her hair was now dry and glossy, tied just to the left of her head with a red ribbon at the nape of her neck and cascading in a long ponytail over one shoulder.
She almost reminded Alice of an expensive and rare China doll with her porcelain skin, her large almond-shaped brown eyes and her glossy hair that was far too neat not to have been brushed a hundred times a day.
Thinking on her own appearance, she could not help but realise how opposite they were.Whatever did Thomas see in me?Alice wondered, though all she could come up with was how easily she had jumped into bed with him, and her stomach began to churn.
“What can I do for you, Miss Hyatt?” Alice asked, curtseying respectfully, and using the moment to look away from the other woman for the simple fact that if she stared too long, she might do something she would regret. Everything in her was telling her that this woman was a threat, even before she really opened her mouth.
“Miss Skeffington, forgive me for saying this but I could not help but notice the way that you have been looking at Lord Warrington,” Miss Hyatt announced, and Alice blood ran cold. Of all the things this woman might have wanted to talk to her about, Lord Warrington should not have been one of them.
“I am not sure what you mean,” Alice responded, feigning innocence though she was certain that the heat in her cheeks was visible. Miss Hyatt’s raised eyebrow suggested she was not entirely convinced.
“I have seen the look before, Miss Skeffington,” Miss Hyatt explained. She paused and swept a stray strand of hair from her face before continuing, “And I only wish to warn you that you should stay well away from him.”
Alice resisted the urge to snap back at the woman. Who she chose to spend her time with was none of her business. Although Miss Hyatt was smiling and clearly trying to make out that she was only concerned for Alice’s sake, Alice could sense the disdain beneath, the threat veiled within her words.
How can I ever hope to compete against a woman like this?Alice asked, scolding herself, remembering the fact that she had vowed never to compete with another woman for the affection of any man.
I do not even want the affection of a man. I want to be free.But those statements were no longer entirely true. Her heart ached painfully with the knowledge, with all that had happened between her and Lord Warrington.
“You have nothing to feel threatened about between Lord Warrington and I,” Alice reassured the woman, steeling herself against the urge to tell this stranger the truth, that he had changed her entire perception on everything. She stomped it all down, remembering that she had never wanted to marry, that she had never wanted to be tied to any man for the mere sake of security.
“I barely know the man,” she added, realising that those words were the first true thing she had said in days. She did not know the man. She never should have allowed him to get so close.
Still, Miss Hyatt looked unconvinced. Her lips quivered and parted to speak but Alice spoke up before she was able to make any more veiled threats, “Good afternoon, Miss Hyatt, I am sure I shall see you at dinner this evening.”
With that, Alice curtseyed and proceeded into her room. Clicking the door closed behind her, she leaned against the wood and finally released the breath she had not realised she had been holding. Her entire body trembled so badly she thought that Miss Hyatt could likely hear it rattling through the door. Leaning her head back against the wood, Alice closed her eyes and sucked in several deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
I should have listened to my instincts from the beginning,she realised reluctantly. She never should have allowed herself anywhere near Lord Warrington. It was a foolish mistake and one she was not willing to make again. At least, her head said so, her heart betrayed her with an almost unbearable stinging.