Page 20 of The Viscount's Forgery
This made Lord Bothwell smile, and without another word, he made his way from their company and strode back in the direction of her sister. Eugenia watched him carefully, then looked again at Lady Isobella. “Might it be that Lord Suffolk regrets speaking to me in the way he did?”
“It may well be,” Lady Isobella agreed, “but you must be careful, Eugenia. It seems to me that he thinks poorly of bluestockings, given how he spoke to you. So many gentlemen keep their opinions to themselves and say very little, whereas in this instance, what he felt in his heart has come out of his mouth.”
Eugenia’s lips twisted as she considered her friend’s advice. There was every reason to accept that, she supposed, but something within her wanted to deny it. It was not as if shehad been very dear friends with Lord Suffolk andcertainlynot that there had been any interest between them but yet, despite that, Eugenia’s heart still ached terribly. To have received such an insult from someone she had trusted, someone she had thought well of, had been an injury she had not anticipated, and mayhap that was why it pained her so greatly. “I will be careful,” she promised, as Lady Isobella continued to gaze at her with concern. “At least now I know that he does not want my help, so I need not think of his paintings again.”
“That is true, I suppose,” Lady Isobella said, in a quiet, gentle tone which spoke of concern to Eugenia’s heart. “Will you be able to put it out of your mind so easily?”
“I must,” Eugenia said, with a lift of her chin and a toss of her head. “From now on, there is nothing more to think of or speak of when it comes to Lord Suffolk. The matter is at an end and I can move on to something else entirely now.” She offered her friend a small, wry smile. “Mayhap I shall have to concentrate on finding myself a suitable match after all.”
This made Lady Isobella laugh, slipping her arm through Eugenia’s, obviously aware of Eugenia’s light-hearted manner. “I am sure you would be able to find yourself a suitable match if you set your mind to it,” she agreed, walking back towards the picnic. “But I do not think that, as yet, you are particularly focused on such a thing.”
“I have not been,” Eugenia agreed, catching sight of Lord Bothwell and Polly speaking together. “My sister’s happiness – or unhappiness, as it may be – must be decided first, but that does not mean I cannot consider, does it? It does not mean that I cannot walk about London and take note of which gentlemen might be worth pursuing a connection with, does it?”
“Indeed not,” Lady Isobella said, with a warm smile. “I am sure there will be many gentlemen worthy of your consideration, Eugenia.”
As her friend continued to chatter, Eugenia found her thoughts returning to Lord Suffolk, even though she very much wished they would not. She did not want to think of him, did not want to let her thoughts settle upon him any longer, but try as she might, she could not remove his face from her mind’s eye. Over and over, she saw his pale face turned towards her, his green eyes gazing back at her as they stood at a distance. What had been on his mind at that moment? Had he wanted to apologize? Would he do so? And why, Eugenia wondered, was she permitting her thoughts to linger on him for so long?
“There you are.”
Eugenia looked up from her book as Polly came into the room, her head held high. “Yes, I am here,” she answered her sister, wondering why it was that Polly had chosen to descend upon her now. These last two weeks, Eugenia had seen very little of her, though that was not particularly unusual. Polly had never been close with Eugenia, had made it more than apparent that she never wished to be, and thus, her sudden appearance and interest in Eugenia made her a little concerned.
“You have been speaking to Lord Suffolk.” Polly did not ask this, but instead made it a forceful statement, her chin lifting, her arms folding over her chest. “You have been speaking of me.”
“I – I have been speaking to Lord Suffolk, yes,” Eugenia agreed, putting the book to one side and hoping she had remembered to put a mark to where she had been reading. “He is closely acquainted with Lord Bothwell, from what I remember?”
“I know you have also been speaking with him on many an occasion,” Polly said, her arms still tight around her chest. “I want to know if you have been speaking of me.”
“To Lord Suffolk?” Eugenia asked, as Polly nodded, her eyes narrowing a fraction. “Why yes, I have been.”
Polly let out a long, slow breath and closed her eyes, her chest lifting and falling, sending Eugenia into a state of nervousness. She had meant only good in speaking to Lord Suffolk as she had done, but whether Polly would believe that, she did not know.
“Lord Bothwell spoke to me yesterday afternoon,” Polly said, opening her eyes and, to Eugenia’s surprise, a tear falling to her cheek. “He said that you spoke of my feelings and my affection for him to Lord Suffolk, in the hope that he would share that with Lord Bothwell.”
Eugenia, seeing that there was no way for her to refute this, only nodded, her fingers twisting together in her lap.
“You did not tell me that you were going to do such a thing.”
“No, I did not,” Eugenia answered. “I did not think to do so.”
“For fear that I would be angry with you, no doubt.” Polly’s hands fell to her sides as she let out a long breath. “I have been angry with you on many prior occasions, have I not?”
Eugenia did not answer this, wondering if there was a trap in the question.
“I have blamed you for things that were not your doing, I have held you accountable instead of standing in the place of responsibility,” Polly continued, as Eugenia’s fingers pressed even more tightly together, her lip catching on the edge of her teeth. “And yet, for whatever reason, you have decided to show kindness to me. You have been considerate, wanting to see me restored to Lord Bothwell and, in doing so, choosing to speak to Lord Suffolk on my behalf.” She swallowed hard, another tear falling. “Eugenia, I do not deserve such goodness from you.”
In that moment, Eugenia’s heart lost all concern, her eyes rounding as she took in her sister’s sorrowful expression. Polly was not about to be angry with her, then.
“I am sorry,” Polly continued, her voice dropping to a whisper, tears in her eyes. “I should never have blamed you for the ending of my engagement. I can see now that it was my owndoing, but it was easier to throw it all upon you rather than hold it on my own shoulders.”
“Polly,” Eugenia said, getting to her feet and coming near to her sister, “I do not want you to think that I hold anything against you. I have seen the pain you have been suffering through it all.”
“And all the same, I shall take responsibility,” Polly said, a little hoarsely. “Eugenia, I have been cruel to you. I have sought to put myself first and mocked you for your love of reading. I am sure I threatened to share your bluestocking ways with our parents, but I did not ever intend to shout that at them in the way I did.”
Recalling the moment that Polly had told their parents that Eugenia was a bluestocking – under Lord Bothwell’s roof, if she remembered correctly – Eugenia looked away.
“I was upset,” Polly whispered, fresh tears coming down her cheeks. “I was confused and broken, and in that moment, I said something I did not mean and should never have said aloud.” She reached out one hand, and without hesitation, Eugenia took it, astonished at this change in her sister. “I am so very grateful that you spoke to Lord Suffolk in the way you did. Lord Bothwell told me of it, and he has said how much he values my heart being faithful to him, even in amongst these difficulties.”
Eugenia’s heart rose with a fresh hope. “Does that mean, then, that you will be – ”
