William nodded quickly.
“Yes, Miss Lawrence, of course.” He made to bow for a second time, realizing just how poorly he had behaved. He should have given it a little more thought before he approached her. “Forgive me, I am in something of a state. I was sure that Lady Florence would have spoken with you about the matter. She will have heard it from her father by now.”
“You are quite mistaken, Lord Foster.” Miss Lawrence kept her eyebrow lifted but folded her arms lightly across her chest. “I have not yet seen Lady Florence this evening. In fact, I have been a little concerned as to where she might be.”
Her eyes searched his as though she suspected he was the cause of her friend’s absence. And as much as he wanted to protest, William realized he could not do so. He might very well be the reason that she was absent from the ball this evening.
“I see.”
A little uncertain of what he ought to say next, William bit his lip. Ought he to explain the situation to her? Grimacing. he looked away.
“Is there something that matter?” Miss Lawrence’s grey eyes were filled with nothing but steel. “What is it that you have done?”
The accusation in her voice burned him, and it took William a moment to compose himself. Recalling that she had been present when he had spoken to Lady Florence the previous day, William took a breath, then smiled briefly.
“You will remember that I begged Lady Florence to give me the opportunity to explain, once her father had spoken to her, but Lord Blackford has made it clear that we are no longer betrothed.” A knot in his stomach, he lifted his chin. “I must hope, perhaps beyond all reasonable consideration, that she will give me further opportunity. Even if her father declares me unsuitable, surely there must be a part of her that continues to consider me? Once I have regained my fortune, I –”
Miss Lawrence drew back as though she had been stung.
“You have lost your fortune?” she repeated as her eyes flared wide. “All of it?”
A little needled, William took in a sharp breath and looked away.
“I did not come here to give you explanations. I came here to ask if you would speak to Lady Florence and ask her whether or not she would be willing to wait for me.”
“To wait for you?”
William threw up his hands.
“It is a little irritating Miss Lawrence, that you continually repeat the words I have only just said to you. Yes, I wish very much to know whether or not she will wait for me to regain my fortune, which was stolen from me. I might add. It was not lost by my own foolishness - of that, I can assure you.”
For some moments, Miss Lawrence said nothing, merely staring back at William, as if she could not comprehend what he had told her. The music and the laughter continued all around them, but William’s attention was solely on her, waiting for her response, and he tapped his foot impatiently when she did not speak.
To his horror, the only thing that eventually came from Miss Lawrence was a snort of either laughter or ridicule. She immediately held up both hands and shook her head frantically as though to beg him to forgive her for her outburst, but the mirth in her eyes remained. They flashed with bolts of lightning running through them, and William responded with thunderous anger.
“Yet again I find myself in a situation where I am to be mocked. I ask you one simple thing and you will not so much as even consider it!” Seeing her open her mouth, he held up both hands and shook his head, his jaw tight. “Pray forgive me for having thought you might be willing to do so.”
He turned sharply, meaning to walk away, only for a soft hand to catch his. When he turned again, she dropped her hand quickly and lowered her eyes.
“I beg your forgiveness for my response, but I must tell you truthfully that there is nothing you can say or do that willeverconvince Lady Florence to disobey her father. It is quite unheard of. Even if she should consider it, it is not something she would ever do. Forgive my laughter, it was not directed towards you but rather at the thought of Lady Florence disobeying her father.”
The anger he had felt upon hearing her laughter quickly faded into despair. It seemed that he was not to have any opportunity to regain his association with Lady Florence.
“She will not wait for me then. She will not wait for me to recover my fortune and present myself once again to her father.”
He dropped his head, but not before he caught the way that her eyes flickered. Her lips pursed gently, but she did not say anything. It was as though there was something within her that she wanted very much to express but did not feel able to. William could not blame her, given the fact that he had spoken to her in such anger.
“I will speak to her, of course, but I would not hold out any hope.” Miss Lawrence’s voice was softer now, as though she saw his pain and was sorry for it. “It seems that you have been through a great deal already and now to lose your attachment to Lady Florence must make your struggle all the greater.”
William said nothing. Instead, he lowered his head and rubbed one hand over his eyes. Miss Lawrence had gone from an unwilling listener to a sensitive, caring sort, it appeared, but William had no willingness to open up to her and tell her the truth about his current despair. There was no need for her to know the depth of it. The fewer who knew of his position, the better.
“Then it seems as though all hope is lost.” His mumbled words were as much to himself as they were to her. “Whenever you next speak to Lady Florence, as I’m sure you shall about this situation, pray do not think too unfavorably of me.” He did not so much as a glance at her, putting out one hand to her. “I did not willingly lose my fortune. I did not willingly step into poverty. It has been taken from me and I shall do everything in my power to regain it, even though it seems I shall lose the woman I was to marry, as well as my social standing. I am sure that Lord Blackford will waste no time in telling all of society about my circumstances.” He could not keep the note of bitterness from his voice. “I pray that you will think a little well of me, Miss Lawrence, and that something of what I have said will have made an impact on you. Good evening.”
So saying, he stepped away, leaving Miss Lawrence to look after him, no doubt wondering what it was that he had meant by those final few words.
William grimaced to himself. She would not have to wonder for long.
Chapter Four