Quietly, he opened his door, and Diana felt his eyes following her all the way back along the corridor.
* * *
Jacob was loitering near the stables when Edmund came back from an early morning ride the following day, chatting casually to the head groom as two stableboys went about their business in the stalls.
Edmund had galloped through the extent of Fernside’s grounds and then let his horse pick its own way back slowly along the woodland paths, his head full of fantasies of Diana in that setting.
He imagined her naked and smiling, with flowers in her hair, running through the trees, dancing in sunlit glades, spread invitingly before him on the mossy ground… A true nymph of the forest, and the woman he loved.
The confrontation with Lord Birks and the all-too-short interlude of pleasure in his bedroom last night made it impossible for him to deny his feelings for her. He was prepared to do anything for Diana if she would let him. But would she?
“Something got you out of bed early, Colborne,” Jacob observed lightly as Edmund slid down from the horse, patting it gently before turning the reins over to the expectant groom. “Hard ride?”
“Hard enough,” Edmund replied, pushing his windblown hair back from his face. “I woke early and couldn't go back to sleep."
“A mysterious incident in the gardens yesterday afternoon, rows between Percy and his sister, hard early morning rides… Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Ed?” Jacob asked. “I’ve known you for a long time, and I have a sharper mind than dear old Percy. There’s nothing to gain from keeping me in the dark.”
Instead of leading them back into the house, Jacob had chosen a path towards the gardens, far from potential listeners. Edmund had noticed what his friend was doing and went along with it. On some level, he did need to talk to someone.
“Diana.”
That one word was all that Edmund needed to say before understanding dawned on Jacob’s good-natured freckled face.
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you? I’ve seen the way you look at one another, and I had begun to wonder. Does she feel the same way?”
Edmund thought of Diana’s beautiful body writhing with pleasure at his touch last night. Then, he thought of her eyes fixed intently on his face afterwards as they lay there, waiting for silence in Percy’s room.
“I believe she does,” he said carefully, not wishing to compromise Diana in any way.
Jacob considered this thoughtfully as they walked, not making any further comment for several seconds.
“I know, it seems hopeless, doesn’t it?” Edmund said, misinterpreting his friend’s silence. “You must think I’ve lost my senses to be falling in love here and now, in this situation, with Percy’s sister, who is already engaged to a complete—”
Edmund paused, almost grinding his teeth, unable to choose the words strong enough to express his loathing for Lord Andrew Birks.
“Pull yourself together, Colborne,” Jacob said smartly. “Let me state the obvious for you since you’re refusing to see it yourself. Diana is not interested in Lord Birks. Not even slightly. If her family weren’t pushing it, this marriage would never take place.”
“But they are pushing. They’ve already set the wedding date. That race was over before I even got to the starting gate.”
“They can easily un-set the wedding date, just like they did with the poor girl’s season,” Jacob pointed out reasonably. “I’m sure there are good reasons why that marriage was originally arranged, linked to family money, status and the rest. But weighed against that is another obvious fact. You’re the Duke of Colborne.”
Edmund looked at his friend blankly.
“Edmund, wake up! You’re the catch that parents of presentable young ladies dream of. Birks is a viscount, but you’re a duke. Marrying Birks keeps a certain amount of money or land in the Arnold family, but you could settle five times that amount on Diana in the marriage contract and barely notice. Her family already knows and respects you. For most men, the situation is hopeless, but not for you.”
“You think I have a chance to change their minds?”
“Yes, dammit, I do. I think you should do the honest and honourable thing for everyone concerned. Go and speak to Percy and make him see that you’re a better match than this foul cousin of theirs. I wouldn’t wish Lord Birks on any woman, and certainly not Lady Diana. She deserves better.”
Jacob’s encouragement rearranged Edmund’s thinking far more effectively than the horse ride had done. He saw that he had been too passive in accepting that only Diana had the power to save herself from her unwanted betrothal. But Jacob was correct. Edmund’s social position, fortune and standing with the Arnold family placed him perfectly to make a credible counterproposal for Diana’s hand.
“You’re right,” Edmund agreed. “I’ll speak to Diana as soon as I can. Then, I’ll find Percy. If he cares at all for his sister’s happiness, he must listen to me.”
ChapterTwelve
"Diana, dear, I must speak to you about the dressmaker’s visit to finalize your trousseau,” Lady Birks said, intercepting Diana at the library door as soon as Mrs. Bridge left the room after their conversation about food and laundry needs for the week.
In the hallway, Edmund lingered by the sideboard, having picked up his letters from the tray but seeming in no hurry to read them. Their eyes locked instinctively, and Diana knew that he had also been waiting for her. Unfortunately, her aunt could not be easily shaken off.