Lord Foley's eyes locked on Aurora, and she found herself freezing on the spot.
Other guests were still leaving, murmuring goodbyes as they passed Lord Foley, but they all faded away when he looked right at her. Suddenly, nothing else mattered except for the way he was staring.
"I've thought about it," Lord Foley answered, "but there are some conditions that I must consider first."
Aurora heard the blood rushing in her ears, bile rising in the back of her throat. The more he looked at her, the more Aurora wanted to disappear.
"Oh?" Father asked innocently. He had turned to Lord Foley, which at least had the benefit that he wasn't watching Aurora anymore.
Elmore must have noticed that something was wrong because he sent her a worried glance. Yet he said nothing, perhaps because he realized that now wasn't the time.
Finally, Lord Foley announced, "I'll make my decision soon, but it all depends on Aurora here. More specifically, on her behavior in the upcoming days. "He drew out the wordbehavior,ensuring that there was no way for Aurora to misinterpret it.
Aurora winced, and her eyes darted away from Lord Foley towards the floor. She couldn't bear to look at him. Any of them.
Father made a confused sound in the back of his throat, perhaps trying to figure out what Lord Foley had meant. If he found the comment odd however, he didn't bring it up.
"Then we will eagerly await your reply," Father replied kindly, "thank you for your time, Lord Foley."
Father gestured for them to follow as he exited the ballroom, and Aurora was quick to scurry after him.
Elmore caught up with her easily, questioning in his voice. "What did Lord Foley been, that it depended on your behavior?"
Aurora scrambled for a reply, a lie, anything, but she was at a loss. Instead, she only shrugged and stayed silent.
That silence continued as they entered the waiting carriage. Save for a murmured thank you to the coachman, Aurora didn't utter a word. if anybody asked, she planned to blame it on being tired, or herillnessfrom before.
Yet it seemed that Father and Elmore were equally exhausted, and nobody questioned her.
The carriage rolled into motion and Aurora rested her head against the velvet seat, willing her eyes to stay open. Eventually it became too much, and she let her eyes slip closed.
When she next awoke, it was to father gently nudging her awake. They were home, and the events of the ball felt like a very long time ago.
She offered a grateful smile and allowed Father to help her out, before they both traipsed inside.
Aurora slept fitfully that night, and woke feeling even worse than the night before.
Chapter 27
Aurora Washam
How long had it been since the ball? Nearly two weeks, Aurora knew, and the knowledge was making her uncomfortable. She knew, deep down, that she had ruined their chances of funding.
"Still no letter from the Baron?" Aurora asked as she stepped into Father's study.
He sat behind his wide desk sorting through various papers; mostly letters, she surmised, by the pile of envelopes to his left.
"I'm afraid not," Father replied. He was frowning, lip caught between his teeth. "It's strange, he seemed so enthusiastic before, and it was generous of him to invite us to his ball. I can't make sense of it."
I can,Aurora thought, but declined to say so out loud. She still couldn't bear to admit what had happened at Lord Foley's ball — not just because it was vile, but because she knew that Father and Elmore would be disappointed that she had ruined their plans.
It was better that they didn't know. At least that way, they could focus on other avenues and Aurora...and Aurora could forget.
Unfortunately for her, Father was convinced that Lord Foley was the way forward. It was all he had spoken about these last weeks, still holding onto hope that Lord Foley would reply.
It hurt, to see him so hopeful when there was no use in it.
Father frowned as he added another letter to the stack. Aurora knew that he was hoping to see something from Lord Foley there, but it was mostly work related and nothing to do with their project.