"And Henry gave you his?" I know I should use his surname to refer to him if I'm obeying the rules of social conduct, but she's never told me it.
"Yes. He asked me to look after it for him until he came home," she says. "It was a promise."
"Why do you carry it with you still?" I ask.
Georgiana lets out a loud sigh. "I don't know. It used to be because I'd expect him to walk into one of the balls I was attending at any moment. Now, Iam not so certain. Every time I get dressed, I promise myself that it is the day I won't carry it with me, and yet I always falter."
"You must love him very much."
"Loved." The pain in her voice reveals her falsehood, but I don't press her on it.
"I'm sorry."
"You do not have to be," she responds. "You just need to be careful with Lord Cygnus. I know you find him attractive, but that isn't reason enough to risk your future by running off at balls to be alone with him."
I let out a loud sigh. "I know that."
"Then why do you do it?"
"I don't want to be married before I have a chance to enjoy myself."
To my surprise, Georgiana lets out an amused snort of laughter. "And you think you can avoid marriage by being caught alone with an eligible man? It would be wiser to have an affair with someone already married if you don't wish to be trapped in matrimony yourself?"
"It isn't an affair."
"I walked in on you kissing."
"And that is as far as it has ever gone," I assure her, hoping she believes me considering that it is the truth.
She raises an eyebrow. "You've been alone together before?"
"Ah, you weren't aware of that?"
"No, I wasn't."
"No one knows. Well, almost no one."
"You've been caught before?" She doesn't try to keep the surprise out of her voice.
"Lord and Lady Ferrington may have come across us at their last ball."
"Could you be more of a fool, Letty? How have you not already been marched down the aisle?"
"Lady Ferrington asked if it was what I wished, and when I said no, she promised not to tell anyone what she'd seen."
"And yet you decided that it was worth the risk to be alone with Lord Cygnus again?"
"I truly am a fool, Georgiana."
"You are." She pats my hand. "But you are clearly a fool who has feelings for Lord Cygnus."
"I do not."
"Perhaps you don't believe so, but it is obvious to anyone on the outside. Just promise me that you will be more careful in the future?"
"I promise." And I mean it, though whether I'll be able to keep that promise seems to be a question we both have.
"Good. Now we should return to the ball beforeanyone questions why we are missing," Georgiana says, getting to her feet and slipping her pebbles back into her pocket.