Page 24 of The Wallflower's Choice
“That is, in fact, a good thought,” James admitted, speaking a little more quietly as he considered the upcoming evening. “I think you may be right, Kingshill.”
“Good!” Lord Kingshill rose to his feet. “Then are we to attend this soiree?”
“Yes,” James stated, firmly. “Let us go. I am sure I will be able to find an interesting young lady to speak to very quickly indeed!”
“A wonderful evening, yes,”James murmured, moving a little closer to Lady Juliette as he smiled down into her eyes. “You have been wonderful company, Lady Juliette.”
“I am glad to hear it.”
Lady Juliette smiled back at him only to then move away a little, putting the correct distance between them.
James’ heart began to sink towards the ground, his shoulders dropping just a little. Clearly, Lady Juliette had no intention of letting him get close to her, even though shehaddone such a thing before. In fact, James had stolen the smallest of kisses from her once, some months ago and now, this evening, had thought he might try to do so again, given Lord Kingshill’s advice. Anything to remove the thought of Lady Prudence from his thoughts.
“Should you like to walk with me for a few minutes?” he asked, leaning down towards her, his arm put out towards her. “I should be very glad of your company.”
Lady Juliette looked up at him, her eyes gleaming gently.
“You are very generous, Lord Childers. Might I ask if you have any genuine interest in me, however?”
A little confused at the question, James frowned.
“Of course I do.”
“But you do not think of courtship or the like?”
Surprised, James hesitated and then shook his head.
“I confess that I do not think of any such thing as that, not yet, at least.”
Lady Juliette took another step away from him, her arms folded.
“So you will do all that you can to capture me in your arms but you have no thought of pursuing me in a genuine, proper manner?”
All the more confused, James took a few moments to answer, looking at her and wondering why she was asking him such things when, previously, she had been very willing indeed to let him pull her close to him.
“You are aware that I am looking for a husband, I suppose?” Lady Juliette lifted one eyebrow, her lips pursing as James frowned heavily. “I thought that, in permitting you such liberties, I might find myself favored by you. After all, you are a Marquess, and to have a Marquess as my husband would be rather delightful, I am sure. But you, however, encouraged an intimacy with me and thereafter, I found myself entirely forgotten! I was certain I saw you laughing and teasing the widowed Lady Huntington only the day after our… moment… and now, for whatever reason, you have come back to me, no doubt hoping that I would permit you the same liberties again. Yes?”
Greatly astonished at the young lady’s fervor, and her bold manner, James found himself quite at a loss as to what to say. He tried twice to speak, tried twice to offer her an explanationbut instead, all that came from him was a gruff exclamation which made very little sense whatsoever.
“I see.”
Lady Juliette blinked rapidly, making heat rush into James’ face as he realized the significance of what he had done. Lady Juliette had thought more would come from his interest in her, and yet, when it had not and she had found herself rejected, that had injured her severely.
James frowned, looking away from Lady Juliette’s white face. He had never cared about such things before. Why should he do so now? It was not as though she was the first young lady he had taken liberties with! No doubt there were more than a few young ladies who had all been expecting a little more from him, but he had never once given their view of him any sort of consideration, and there was certainly no desire nor intention for him to do that now. Steeling himself, James inclined his head just a little.
“My dear Lady Juliette, I did not think that you were seeking anything more than a brief connection,” he said, seeing how she kept her gaze turned away from him. “I was certain that you understood–”
“Do not for amomentthink that you shall place the blame for this present situation upon my shoulders!” Lady Juliette hissed, stepping closer to him now, her eyes like shards of broken glass. “You did not truly believe that it wasIwho sought only a brief connection! That was whatyouwanted and yet your sweet words and kindness to me made me believe that courtship was in your thoughts. It was a deliberate deception, and I am not about to take any sort of responsibility for it. Now, kindly take your leave of me and do not think to come near me again.”
Her face white, she held his gaze steadily, anger pouring from her towards him, and James, still somewhat astonished, lifted both his hands in defense.
“I shall never speak a word to you again, Lady Juliette, I swear,” he mumbled, suddenly at a bit of a loss as regarded what he ought to do next. Such a thing had never happened to him before! Never once had he had any young lady speaking to him in such a way, never had he felt such anger and vehemence being directed towards him. He was known to be a rogue, known to be a scoundrel of the highest order. What had made Lady Juliette believe that she was going to capture his heart?
With a sigh, James turned around, only to come face to face with Lady Prudence. She, being a wallflower, had been standing at the side of the room and James had not noticed her there when he had suggested to Lady Juliette that they come to stand together in the shadows.
For some reason, a great swell of embarrassment rose up within him, filling his heart and making it squeeze painfully. He did not seem to know where to look and struggled to keep his gaze on her, given the expression which was spreading across her face. It was not as though she despised him, not as if she were berating him, only that she seemed almost sad, perhaps disappointed, to see the sort of gentleman that he was. James tried to brush off that particular feeling, tried to tell himself that he owed her nothing, but all the same, the feeling would not leave him. Swallowing hard, he turned away from her also, and strode across the room, suddenly desperate to leave the soiree – and everyone in it – far behind him.
Chapter Eleven
