Page 89 of A Duchess to Fight For
Percy stood and started pacing. “Go on, go on.”
Kent continued, “When Harold walked back to the edge of the dance floor, I asked him where Louisa was. That’s when he told me someone cut in.
“I ran onto the dance floor looking for her. At first, I couldn’t find her. By then, Cecil was looking on one side, me on the other.
“I heard her yelling ‘help’ and followed the sound of her voice. She was frightened. Barton dropped her hands and casually walked off the dance floor so the crowd on the sidelines didn’t suspect anything. He didn’t run away.
“Louisa said he grasped her hands so tight she couldn’t feel them. He knew she couldn’t run from him if he grasped her hands hard enough.”
Percy looked at Kent. Then he looked over at Cecil. Then he continued to pace.
Cecil said, “I went after Barton. I wanted an explanation. He didn’t give one. I asked him why he didn’t let her go when she yelled, and he said she didn’t yell. I got nowhere with him.”
“Then what happened?”
“Amelia told her she was going home. We stayed with her by the front door until the coach came. They left. Kent and I searched for Barton, but he must’ve left.
“Why didn’t you find me? I would have gone to Louisa’s.”
Cecil shrugged. “You haven’t wanted to have anything to do with her since before she went away, and we thought you watched the whole incident and didn’t lift a finger. We thought you didn’t want to help her.”
“Have I been that bad?” he said, having stopped pacing, standing up facing Cecil and Kent.
“Yes, Percy you have.”
Percy turned to Cecil, “You think so too?”
“Yeah, I do. You’ve been cold. We’ve talked about stopping our dinners if you didn’t snap out of it. Our sympathy for you is gone, Percy.”
Percy sat across from them. “You’ve been thinking of stopping our dinners? Why didn’t you tell me? You’re my best friends; you should have been honest with me.”
Cecil snorted. “Louisa is your best friend. Don’t you remember? And we tried to tell you, and you wouldn’t listen. There’s only so much we can take.”
“Humph. I keep making a bad situation worse, don’t I?”
“Yes,” Cecil said.
“But how is Louisa? Is she all right? Are any of her fingers broken?”
Cecil shrugged. “She left so fast it’s hard to tell. She was still in shock when she left the ball.”
Percy sat. He put his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. “I’m a heel, aren’t I?”
Cecil laughed. “Yes, you are. But you can change back to the other Percy that we like.”
Percy nodded. “I’ll try.”
