The butler began to bluster at the two young ladies, coming into the room a little more and trying to encourage Titania to quit the room and do as Lord Avondale had stated, but it was to no avail. Feeling as though his limbs had turned to blocks of wood, Jeremy slowly lifted his head and, with dull eyes, told the butler he might leave them. The ladies, he insisted, would soon take their leave and no, they would not require refreshments.
The butler, still appearing quite agitated, did as he was asked and left the room, closing the door behind him as he did so. Jeremy had no other choice but to look at his two visitors, struggling to find the strength to push himself upwards into a sitting position. He felt as though all the life had been taken from him, leaving him old and broken. His heart beat slowly, as though it too felt the deep, knifing pain that seemed to pierce Jeremy on every side.
“It is not as it seems, Lord Avondale,” Miss Catherine Wells stated, coming closer to her sister. “Truly, it is not.”
“Eliza has been crying a
lmost all afternoon,” Titania said, earnestly. “You must come and speak to her at once. She is quite distraught.”
Jeremy shook his head, flinging one hand out towards the papers. “I hardly think it would be right for me to do so, Miss Wells,” he said, in a low voice. “She has made her decision.”
Titania and Catherine shared a glance, their expressions both equally concerned.
“My lord,” Miss Catherine said, softly, turning back to face him. “We cannot state that we know the entirety of what has taken place, for Eliza will not speak to us of it and our mother is doing her best to comfort her over whatever has occurred, but we have come to you in the hope that you might consider coming to talk to her also.” She leaned forward, as though her earnestness would convince him. “She is deeply troubled, Lord Avondale. I do not think that she knew that this would occur.”
A harsh, mocking laugh ripped from his throat. “I can hardly believe that,” he exclaimed, slamming one hand onto the paper on his desk. “A gentleman must ask a lady for her consent before such a thing is put here for all to see, does he not?” He shook his head, a tight, angry smile turning his expression dark. “She may be distraught over something, but it cannot be over what she has already agreed to.”
Miss Titania shook her head, her eyes looking sorrowfully into his. “Then you will give up?” she asked, softly, her words biting at him even though he knew she did not intend them to do so. “You will not come to speak to our sister?”
Jeremy shrugged. “I have no need to, it seems.”
“But that is not at all true!” Catherine exclaimed, her face a little pale. “Both my sister and I are quite certain that Eliza is still deeply in love with you. She has attempted to forget about you but to no avail. Her heart is still yours.”
“If that is the case,” Jeremy snarled, leaning across the desk, “then why has she chosen to engage herself to another? If her love for me is so great, if her willingness to listen to what I have to say about the past is so evident, there where is it now? Why has it gone from her?” He shook his head, his pain turning into angry disappointment. “You have come to try and set about repairing what cannot be fixed,” he finished, with a wave of his hand. “No, I shall not come to speak to her. Eliza has made her own mind up and I will not attempt to alter it in any way.”
Miss Titania and Miss Catherine looked at one another again, a deep sadness in their eyes that Jeremy did his best to ignore. There was nothing for him here and nothing that they said would change his mind on the matter.
“Would that you reconsider,” Miss Titania murmured, reaching across the table and settling one hand on his, as though to comfort him. “Would that you would delve into battle and attempt to do all you could to rescue her from her discontent.”
Jeremy heard the challenge in her words but refused to accept such a thing from her. “I shall do no such thing, Titania,” he said, honestly. “I have every intention of returning to my estate at the earliest opportunity.”
Titania withdrew her hand, just as Catherine shook her head.
“Tomorrow, I think,” he continued, dully. “There is no reason for me to linger in London any longer.” Suddenly the reason for his uncle’s visit, for his insistence that Jeremy forget about the past and no longer allow it to occupy his mind became clear. His uncle knew that Jeremy would have a good deal more to consider now that he knew about Eliza’s engagement to Lord Montrose. What had his uncle expected? Had he thought that Jeremy would continue to pursue Eliza? Had he thought that Jeremy would not stop until he was certain that Eliza knew the truth about Rebecca, in the hope that it might give her reason to cry off from her engagement?
“Can we say nothing to convince you that Eliza still loves you, Lord Avondale?” Miss Catherine asked, her voice pleading with him. “Can we say nothing that would encourage you to reconsider?”
“No,” Jeremy replied, his eyes returning to the paper in front of him. His eyes took in the words again, seeing the darkness that would be his future coming creeping into his mind. “No, there is nothing. I return home tomorrow. Do –” The words stuck in his throat. “Do give Eliza my congratulations.”
Miss Titania Wells and Miss Catherine Wells said nothing to this. Instead, they simply turned and began to make their way back towards the door, their willingness to remain and their desire to encourage him to reconsider no longer present. He had chased all of that away and Jeremy did not feel even a twinge of regret.
“You are making a dreadful mistake, Avondale.”
Miss Titania’s voice drifted back towards him but he did not look up.
“You have lost her once before,” she continued, her words soft but her meaning clear. “Shall you really allow yourself to do so again?”
The words hung in the air for some moments, his mind beginning to scream at him to do as Titania had asked, to listen to Catherine’s pleading and return with them to speak to Eliza, but Jeremy did not move from his chair. The door closed behind his visitors, leaving Jeremy to his own dark thoughts.
“Yes,” he whispered aloud, as though Titania could still hear him respond to her question. “Yes, I shall allow myself to lose all hope of Eliza’s forgiveness and of her return to me.” Shaking his head, Jeremy felt his very soul fill with grief. “She is gone from me forever and there is nothing I can do.”
Chapter Ten
“Eliza?”
Eliza looked up to see her mother enter the drawing room, a gentle smile on her face. Eliza could not bring herself to return it, the pain of what she was currently enduring still much too great.
“You are still distraught, I see.”