“Oh, yes,” Richard mumbled as he glanced overhead, noticing for the first time just how gray the clouds were at the moment. As he lowered his gaze to focus on Miss Loery and Lord and Lady Harbley once more, he caught sight of Leticia. Those words she’d said in frustration melted away as he only saw her wide hazel eyes, flecked with those fantastic golden highlights. When he laid his fingers to her lips to quiet her, he knew that something altered between them.
Rubbish…Leticia will never change…nor will I.
But his pulse sped at the thought, and he had to actively force himself to look away from her now.
“I do apologize, My Lord,” he murmured to Lord Harbley. “I think I misunderstood what you said just now. Would you mind repeating it?”
Lord Harbley gave him a kind smile and said, “I only mentioned that I hoped the rain should do its worst today so that it does not ruin your wedding day.”
“Yes,” Lady Harbley joined in the conversation, “I have always heard it is bad luck for it to rain on one’s wedding day.”
“Of course,” Richard replied, but once again, he’d stopped paying attention.
Why do I let Leticia get to me so? One would think after all these years, I’d be used to the way she carries herself…how she says everything that comes to mind and then adds some more for good measure…but now—
“Your Grace,” Miss Loery whispered, interrupting his thoughts, “Let’s go speak with your mother. I see her over there. If you will excuse us, please, Lord Harbley.” She dropped into a curtsy. “Lady Harbley.” Miss Loery took Richard by the arm, and as she steered him across the lawn to the spot where his mother was standing, he turned to gaze back at Leticia and her aunt.
I should have never laid my hand on Leticia in such an intimate fashion. Such behavior confuses things…for me… and perhaps for her as well.
He nearly tripped then as his foot became entangled with the hemline of Miss Loery’s dress. “Your Grace!” she gasped, moving a step away from him.
“Forgive me,” he whispered, feeling his cheeks turn red with a frustrated sense of embarrassment. Then, he shook his head ruefully at his own blundering ways and vowed to forget about his conversation with Leticia in the library and focus on spending the day with Miss Loery.
I’ve known Leticia my whole life, and yet, she vexes me still. If I can’t figure out what she wants from me now, I never will.
CHAPTEREIGHT
“Iam wholly relieved to see that the weather cleared up this morning,” Aunt Amelia said brightly. “It was nearly disastrous when the rain threatened to ruin everything yesterday.” Just as she coaxed Leticia outside yesterday, the gray clouds overhead gave a low rumble, and sheets of rain began to cascade toward the ground. Everything was soaked in minutes, and even the tents, which seemed so very sturdy, didn’t hold up against the stiff breeze that blew the rain in a sideways manner. People scattered so quickly, that Leticia and her aunt barely had time to get out of their pathway, let alone join them in the festivities. The rest of the evening had been a bit of a bore as everyone lamented the weather and spoke of only how they prayed the storm would pass promptly.
“Umm…” Leticia murmured, “yes.” Today, with the sun once again parting the clouds and gracing the merrymakers with its glorious rays, she was seated at one of the small tables out on the lawn, next to her aunt and her friend Mrs. Eliza Hoffingbrooke.
“I agree,” Eliza added cheerfully. She was dressed in a sensational green dress that brought out the color in her eyes in a remarkable fashion. Her auburn hair was swept up in a mass of tidy curls, and she wore a fascinator in the same pastel green shade atop her head. In one hand, she held a matching parasol, but with the other, she sipped tea daintily from a delicate white teacup then placed it on a matching saucer that sat upon a pristine tablecloth.
Leticia sighed and looked down into her own cup of tea which she had yet to touch. “With the sun shining the way it is, there’s a glare. Why must everything at this party be done up all in white?”
Aunt Amelia and Eliza exchanged knowing smiles and said in unison, “Because it’s a wedding.”
“Yes,” Leticia groaned, “but it’s all so tedious. Do all brides feel the need to dip everything in white so that it all looks so…banal?”
Eliza’s smile widened, and she patted Leticia with her free hand. “Not all brides think it necessary to have an entire wedding weekend. When Mr. Hoffingbrooke and I were married a few months ago, you might recall we had a simple ceremony, followed by an old-fashioned English breakfast. And we were perfectly content with just that.”
“Oh, yes,” Aunt Amelia said brightly, hunching her shoulders as if to indicate she was warmed by the very remembrance of Eliza and Mr. Hoffingbrooke’s wedding. “It was the same way when Sebastian and I married. We weren’t looking to impress anyone. We just wanted to be together.”
Leticia cocked her head to the side, so she could examine her aunt more closely. “And so, who do you think is seeking attention now? Miss Loery or Richard?” At that question, the three ladies shifted in their seats and directed their attention toward the small table where the bride and groom sat together. They were joined by Miss Loery’s friend, Miss Walch, and Harry was there, too. As Leticia looked on, she saw Harry speaking in an animated fashion while Miss Loery and Miss Walch both looked at him, rapt with attention. Richard, for his part, wasn’t even bothering to pretend like he was listening as he sat very upright in his seat, but his head swiveled slowly from side to side.
Aunt Amelia tittered. “I didn’t mean to imply either His Grace or his future wife were the type of people who would go out of their way to garner attention.”
“Yes, you did,” Leticia said, taking her eyes off Richard for the moment so she could gaze at her aunt. She picked up her teacup and held it aloft. Then, she lifted her hand, making it so the liquid inside teetered precariously near the lip of the cup. “Who do you think will be more disappointed over this spilled tea? Will it be the bride, who doesn’t even know her groom is sharing the same table with her, or could it be Richard, who—?” But just as she was about to say something further, his eyes swung toward her, and self-consciously, she lowered her cup back to the saucer. “Who has extraordinary hearing.”
Eliza snickered behind her gloved hand. “You don’t think His Grace actually heard you talking about him just now, do you, Lady Leticia?”
“Of…of course not,” she blustered, continuing to lock eyes with Richard from across the crowded lawn. “He must just be looking around the party, seeing who’s here and who’s not.”
“Naturally,” Aunt Amelia added, setting her own teacup on the table and fussing with her silvery hair. “I take it, from what the Dowager has told me, that Richard doesn’t know even half the people in attendance. Some of them are old friends of the family, but many of them are here to support the bride.”
Leticia bristled and spoke under her breath. “As if she needs any more support.”
“What was that?” Aunt Amelia asked, giving Leticia a stern look.