Perhaps when they found Rachel… her mind relished in this possibility that one day, he might see her as more than just a partner, more than just a friend. However, she dared not give in to this hope. She feared it might break her. It might destroy her. It was safer to simply shield her heart from any potential pain that might be caused.
They were friends. That should be enough.
“There is a ball next week,” he suddenly seemed to remember. “That might be a good opportunity to announce to everyone that we are courting.”
“Lord and Lady Ackerley’s ball?” she said.
“Yes,” he nodded. “But we shall, of course, tell our families before that.”
Lydia had to admit that she didn’t feel good about lying to either her sisters or her father. She always tried to be honest with them. However, she could not be honest about this. She dared not be.
“Your family first,” he suggested.
“I think they shall be ecstatic,” she said, rolling her eyes as if she were utterly annoyed that they would be thrilled about her being courted.
He chuckled. “If it’s any consolation, my mother shall be thrilled as well.”
She laughed. “It actually is.”
“Well, all right then.” He suddenly got up as if he felt his time here had run out. “I shan’t take up more of your time.”
“Are we going to see more jewelers today?” she asked.
“No,” he shook his head. “We saw all the ones that could have provided us with some insight. We are back where we started from, I fear.”
“No,” she corrected him. “We are much closer to Rachel. I am certain of it.”
“You are kind to say so,” he smiled. “We shall see what we can do tomorrow. I shall send word if I come up with anything.”
“I shall do the same,” she nodded.
He walked over to her and took her hand in his, kissing it softly. She shivered at the touch. She didn’t want him to let her go, but he did. He bid her goodbye and left, leaving her utterly confused as to what she had just agreed to.
CHAPTER17
Everyone was seated at the dinner table, eagerly anticipating the reason for their get together to be announced. Edwin didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he was anxious. He was nervous. This was not even close to what he had imagined when he thought about what his courting of a young lady would be like. He didn’t think it would be false at all to begin with. He also didn’t think that he would be this madly in love with her.
Lydia was seated by his side while opposite them, he could see her two younger sisters. Their father was sitting at the head of the table. The food was being served while they filled the time with irrelevant chit chat. Obviously, no one wanted to rush him into revealing why he was there, or why he and Lydia had arranged this dinner.
Lydia’s father just finished his monologue on how his newest business endeavor was doing, and Edwin figured this would be his perfect moment to make their announcement. He turned to Lydia. She simply nodded, understanding immediately what he wanted to do.
Edwin stood up and cleared his throat. He was holding a glass of sherry in his hand, recognizing that after his speech, they would all need to toast. He had practiced this speech in his mind a thousand times although none of it was true. However, everyone else had to believe it was true. He needed to make it as convincing as possible.
“If I may have everyone’s attention, please,” he said although everyone was already listening. He merely started his announcement in such a manner because he had practiced it thusly. All eyes were on him, waiting.
“First of all, thank you for having me. You have welcomed me into your home with open arms, and I feel ever so grateful for that. Also, you have kept your minds open regarding the friendship your sister and daughter Lydia and I share which has, over the course of this short time, developed into something more.”
This time, he paused to look at her. She was smiling. In fact, she was beaming. He had never seen her look more radiant than she did now. For a moment, he regretted all this not being true, all this not being a real courtship.
“Lydia and I would like to take this opportunity to tell you all that… we have fallen in love with each other, and with your blessing, we would like to officially commence with our courtship.”
It was somewhat clumsy to state it in such a manner. He could see it now that he said those words out loud. However, they were said, and he could not take them back. Besides, he wanted to make their announcement official, not too emotional, and straight to the point.
“I knew it!” Selina exclaimed, clapping her hand, leaning closer to her sister, and repeating those words. “I told you. Didn’t I tell you?” Her sister merely nodded, equally amused by what she had just heard.
It was, however, Lydia’s father who had to give the ultimate blessing. Her sisters and their opinions were important, of course, but not as important as the opinion of the man of the house. The man in question didn’t say anything at first. He merely stood up and walked over to Edwin, who waited apprehensively to see what would happen next. Then, the Earl of Russton offered him his hand, and Edwin accepted it gratefully.
“If there was any man I could imagine courting my daughter, I couldn’t have imagined him being better than you,” the Earl said.