And with that, she turned around and made her way through the crowd towards the door of the ballroom, leaving Thomas crushed with shame and bearing the weight of a broken heart.
Chapter Fourteen
Merry had never experienced a pain such as this. It had been three days since Lady Reid had told her all, three days since Lord Weston had stood there and confessed that it was as Lady Reid had said. Three days since her heart had shattered terribly and she had been left to deal with the agony that came thereafter.
What made things all the worse was the memory of their kiss; it would not leave her. It pricked at her memory, mocking her, teasing her, and deriding her until she could take no more. It had filled her with such sensations that she had not known what to do with all that she had felt, for it had been the most wonderous of moments – and yet, Lord Weston had been playing her false.
“My dear girl, how fare you this afternoon?”
Merry closed her eyes tightly and turned towards the window, opening them to look down at the street below. She did not want to speak to anyone of what had occurred for fear that she would break down completely.
“You are still sorrowful, I understand,” her mother said gently. “But it is only right that I inform you that another beautiful bouquet has arrived for you. A note has been sent with it.”
Merry shook her head, her lips trembling as she fought to keep her composure. “I do not want to have any gifts from Lord Weston, Mama,” she said unsteadily. “He has used me ill.”
There was a short pause. “That is so,” Lady Whitehaven replied slowly, “but there is also the chance that what he has said to you thereafter is the truth, Merry.”
Blinking rapidly and forcing in a quick breath, Merry lifted her chin and turned to face her mother. “Pray, do not defend that gentleman to me, Mama.”
Lady Whitehaven looked a little surprised. “I am speaking only what I think, Merry,” she replied candidly. “I seek your happiness, truly.”
“My happiness cannot be found with Lord Weston.”
Those words rang out across the room, silence following thereafter. Merry wanted to rail at her mother, wanted to scream aloud that she did not want to hear another word about Lord Weston, but instead she simply remained standing quietly, her hands clenched by her side.
“The man has made a dreadful mistake, Merry,” Lady Whitehaven said softly, coming closer to Merry and looking sympathetically into her eyes. “I will not pretend that I am not furious with him for what he has done. However….” She trailed off, hesitating, as she struggled to find the words to explain what she meant. “However, I think some consideration must be given to what he has said to you, Merry,”
“They were nothing more than lies,” Merry replied bitterly, her tears beginning to form again. “I know them to be nothing more than that, Mama. I was foolish to believe him.”
Lady Whitehaven shook her head. “I believe that is where you are mistaken, Merry,” she said gently. “Lord Weston is not behaving as I would expect, given that he has been successful in his wager.”
Merry’s head shot up, her heart pounding furiously. “I did not ever accept his courtship.”
“I am aware of that,” Lady Whitehaven replied carefully. “But the time you have spent in his company has not gone unnoticed. Lord Wiltshire, I believe, refused to accept that Lord Weston had lost, given what has occurred between yourself and Lord Weston. From what I understand, this came after great pressure from other gentlemen, who all believed Lord Weston to have been entirely successful. They stated that he had the intention of asking you to allow his courtship, but that Lady Reid had prevented that from occurring. They stated that should he have asked, you would have accepted.” She let out a long breath, looking suddenly weary. “The rumor mills are hard at work, Merry, as they always are when something such as this comes out, but what I have heard is that Lord Weston did not wish to accept Lord Wiltshire’s money.”
Merry closed her eyes and wondered how it could be that, even in his absence, Lord Weston could fool her mother. “I am certain he protested most artfully,” she replied, turning around towards the window again. “But he would have had to accept in the end.”
“He did,” Lady Whitehaven admitted gently, “but he did not keep the money for himself.”
“I do not care what he did with it,” Merry replied harshly, dashing tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Why do you say this to me, Mama?”
Lady Whitehaven said nothing for some moments, as Merry closed her eyes to battle against her tears. Why had her mother come to speak to her of Lord Weston? She did not want to listen to what was being said of him, nor to hear of the gossip that surrounded them both. The only thing she wanted was to be left alone, to retreat into the shadows and allow her pain to slowly begin to heal.
“Catherine?”
Confused, Merry opened her eyes and turned her head to see the door open and her sister Catherine to step inside. She did not understand why Lady Whitehaven had instructed Catherine to hide herself behind the door, praying silently that it would not be simply another person Lady Whitehaven would use in order to try and convince Merry that she needed to reconsider Lord Weston.
“How are you, Merry dear?” Catherine asked softly, her expression deeply sympathetic. “Dinah has been praying for you quite unceasingly, although I confess that I have not been as pious as she.”
Merry managed a small smile. “Thank you, Catherine.”
“Catherine,” Lady Whitehaven said, interrupting their conversation. “Tell Merry of what occurred only this morning.”
Catherine shot Merry a slightly apologetic look, as though she had been forced into speaking and had not thought it for Merry’s best, but Merry merely shrugged and gestured for her to continue.
“I go to aid those in need, as you know,” Catherine began quickly, as if she wanted to say everything as quickly as she could. “Do you recall the charitable house I took you to when we went out into the town together?” A quick look towards Lady Whitehaven showed that their mother did not care about what they had done, for she merely continued to watch Merry closely, no expression of distaste or disapproval on her face.
“I do recall it, yes,” Merry replied. “The lady there was very pleased to see you and thanked you for your donations.”