A flush mounted on Felicity’s cheeks, and there was an expression in her eyes Perdie had never seen before.
“You met Lord Owen at fifteen years. That is a very young and impressionable age. I know…for I too…I met someone, and I was beguiled by his charm and amiable nature almost instantly. Was he my first love? Perhaps, we are still friends today and for so long I thought I was smitten with him. Then…” Felicity took a deep breath and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Then I met someone a few months ago. Quite by accident I assure you for he is the most improper sort of gentleman.”
“And?” Perdie urged when her friend stopped speaking.
“And I…the feelings he evokes in me are frightening and confusing. I am filled with want…and…” she blew out a sharp breath. “There are degrees to love. And want. And hunger. However, I am not sure what we must do with such feelings. Do we hurtle headlong into it without a true understanding of its nature? Maybe the best choice is the safe choice. The choice that makes our heart flutter, so we feel good, not the choice that makes us crave and unable to sleep because we are so desperate to make a fantasy into a reality.”
Perdie’s throat dried and she stared at Felicity as if seeing her for the first time. “Who is this man?”
Felicity’s throat worked on a tight swallow. “I do not wish to own to his identity. Not as yet. Not when he might prove to be insignificant.”
Perdie lightly touched her arm. “I understand.”
They stood there, staring at the stars, each lost in her own thoughts. The only choice here is to concentrate on living a life that is worthwhile—not love or impossible cravings!
But could satisfying impossible cravings be integral to living a worthwhile life?