William nodded. “I will return in a week for the next ball of the season. I intend to spend much of my evening with her, should she allow, in a bid to make up for lost time.”
Although he was excited, a week was a long time to imagine what might happen that evening. Hopefully a week would do him good. Perhaps it would ease out his fire. New prospects were always so exciting. Sometimes the thrill of someone new made discerning feelings over excitement difficult. In a week he would return with his wits about him thinking very little about Charlotte at all.
ChapterFive
William had been thinking about Charlotte for most of his days and at this point, he was beginning to feel concerned. This wasn’t exactly how he’d planned it. Something about this felt like more than a foolish game. She was on his mind more than he’d expected. She was what it took to convince his family that he was okay after Octavia, but he was also aware that she was a nice distraction. Just thinking back to their kiss in the garden made him ache. He already wanted more. As crass as it was, he’d imagined such most nights before sleep overtook him.
“Brother,” Lavinia called from across the table. She spooned her vegetable soup and blew on it. “Is the news of your courtship true?”
“So soon?” his mother asked. “I would be delighted!”
“Yes,” he assured them. This was precisely why he’d agreed in the first place. He wanted everyone to stop pitying him, only now that he was starting to burn for her, he didn’t want to talk about her at all. “I am courting Lady Charlotte Elkins.”
There were gasps of happiness from across the family table. William took the opportunity to eat some of his lunch. “But let us talk about you. How has life been here, so far outside of London?”
“I am not surprised,” his mother, Annette cooed, ignoring his question. “You seemed very much taken with her at the ball.”
“Did I?” he asked. He remembered only being agitated.
“Oh, the way you look at her, it is unlike you have looked at anyone else!”
“Mama, I agree,” Lavinia said, mostly in a bid to explain the importance of the topic to their younger siblings Kitty, Lydia, and Rose. They all seemed very interesting.
“Is she pretty?” Kitty asked.
Everyone looked expectantly at William, like he was the only one with eyes good enough to answer that question. “Yes,” he said calmly. It was true. She was pretty. Even more so after she had challenged him with her wit.
William smiled for the sake of the show, but inside he was hoping that his most annoyed scowls were just that pleasant. Being taken by someone so soon after meeting was the exact sort of romantic nonsense that he wished to avoid.
“Like a princess?”
William almost laughed at the idea. “She would hate to be compared to such,” he said. “She’s more…um…academic than most.”
“Oh,” Lavinia smiled, eyes widening. “For you? That is unexpected.”
William glanced up from his food. “Are you calling me a fool?”
Annette snorted, promptly bringing her napkin up to cover her amusement. Lavinia too laughed into her hand. “No,” she assured him. “I just think you might benefit from someone a little less headstrong than Miss Dawkes.”
Phineas, William’s father, cleared his throat. He paused, looking at his lunch very clinically before looking up to address his son. “I met the late Earl of Pemberton many years ago. They seem a nice family.” His father wasn’t a man of many words, however when he said something kind, he typically meant it with all of his being. “This is a better match for you than Miss Dawkes. Do not listen to your sister.”
“Yes,” Annette smiled. “I am glad you were able to move on from her.”
Lavinia chuckled. “I just want to be sure you are happy,” she said. “I do not wish to see you hurt the way you have been. It almost broke my heart, brother.”
William felt a pang deep in his stomach when she said it. It was enough to remind him of the last time he spoke with Octavia and the way she so coolly rejected him despite how much history they shared. It still hurt even though he’d thought he’d worked through most of it. Sometimes on days when the sky was a little greyer or the air was a little colder, he would go back through all their memories; the way it began, the moments they shared, and the moment it all ended. It still hurt. Some days the wound bled less than others, but regardless, it bled.
He stood up from the table. “Enough about me. We should prepare ourselves for the ball this evening, yes?”
* * *
William glanced around the room, eyes searching for Charlotte. A pang stabbed at his chest. He was surprised that he missed her as much as he did. In fact, he had spent most of his week figuring out things he could say that would make her upset. It seemed she hadn’t arrived yet, so William stayed close to Lavinia, back against the wall so that he could see the room fully. He didn’t want his first reaction to seeing her betray him. He was looking forward to seeing her, but it was all lust. Maybe tonight they would find a moment to steal together.
His condition to winning was that he didn’t ask her to marry him, which was easy enough. William didn’t want to marry yet. Moreover, he wasn’t sure he was compatible enough with Charlotte to form a long-term affection. All he wanted was to do things to her that were reserved for married couples to enjoy.
“William!” He turned to the voice before a smile lit up his face. It was his dear friend Edward Stanton, the Viscount of Levings. Edward was well travelled, his skin tanned after his recent trip to India. His hair was dark and lightly curled, giving him the appearance of a man who had spent his life on the ocean. They pair shook hands and pulled the other in for a pat on the back.
“How was the great beyond?” William asked.