Page 66 of A Sense of Injustice
‘But what if she is not?’ Henry shook his head. ‘I will have lost my opportunity with her. I cannot pursue her if she makes it plain that my attentions are unwelcome.’
‘I have seen her watching you,’ Luke said, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. ‘And I very much doubt that they are unwelcome.’
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‘I hear the earl has asked Henry to take over responsibility for Plaistow, ma’am,’ Flora told the countess as they went down to dinner on the evening the Pearsons were due at Beranger Court. ‘Do you know the estate?’
‘Of course I do. I once allowed a scoundrel to seduce me in the main bedchamber. A terrible disappointment, he was. It was all over in a few seconds, with no thoughts for my pleasure.’
‘Oh dear.’
‘Scoundrels come in all shapes and sizes, Flora, but not all of them are what they appear to be. Take Archie Hardwick, for instance. Now he is a scoundrel worthy of the name, I have absolutely no doubt about that.’
‘Even though he is incapacitated?’
The old lady cackled as she slowly descended the sweeping staircase on Flora’s arm. ‘I’ll wager certain parts of him are still in good working order.’
‘Then I am very pleased for him. Such things are important to gentlemen, I’m told.’
‘It’s high time you found out for yourself—but don’t let Hardwick have his way with you unless you have his ring on your finger first.’
Flora stopped walking and fixed the countess with a probing look. ‘I don’t know who you have been talking to, but I can assure you that I have no amatory interest in Lord Hardwick, nor he in me.’
‘Hmm.’
The countess refused to drawn on her reasons for raising the subject and Flora didn’t want to seem over-interested. Even so, it worried her that both Luke and the countess were thinking along similar lines. She enjoyed Archie Hardwick’s company, partly because she was able to be herself with him, and he with her, since she could not possibly be expected to harbour aspirations of a more abiding nature.
Could she?
Had he—or others—misinterpreted her behaviour and assumed she had something other than friendship in mind? How embarrassing. Even if they had, Flora thought, what possible reason could they have to suppose that Archie had any serious interest in her? She hadn’t seen him since he had attended her birthday party but he had sent a note thanking her for the tincture and assuring her that it had eased his pain a little. Perhaps someone in the household had seen a note from Felsham Hall arriving that was addressed to Flora—servants were the worst possible gossips—and misread the situation.
They reached the drawing room where the family was assembled, and Flora put the worrying problem to the back of her mind. She looked up at Luke, who smiled across the room at her. She had not been alone with him since that kiss in the dilapidated barn. But that hadn’t stopped her thinking about it more often than was appropriate. It was almost as if he had deliberately put distance between them because he worried that she would misinterpret his intentions. She wanted to tell him that nothing was further from the truth and she missed their uncomplicated intimacy.
But had it really been uncomplicated, she wondered as she helped the countess to a chair where she could be greeted by her grandchildren. Could a man and woman really be on friendly terms without the mutual attraction that she knew existed between them getting in the way?
The Pearsons arrived, obliging Flora to push thoughts of Luke and Archie to the back of her mind. It didn’t help that Luke’s gaze constantly seemed to be fixed upon her in her bronze changeable silk gown. A soft light of approval glowed from his eyes, but he didn’t once attempt to speak to her alone.
The same could not be said of Henry, who made a point of singling Louise out immediately after dinner. The two of them disappeared for a considerable amount of time and when they returned to the drawing room they were both smiling broadly.
‘Oh, Flora, I am so very happy!’ Louise exclaimed.
‘And I hardly need to ask you why.’
‘Henry insisted upon speaking to me alone. At first I refused, but he persisted, so I thought I might as well disappoint him and get it over with.’ The words bubbled from Louise’s lips. ‘I finished up telling him absolutely everything. I thought he would be horrified and wouldn’t be able to leave the room quickly enough, but it wasn’t like that at all.’
Flora rolled her eyes. ‘Of course it was not. He’s madly in love with you.’
‘So he says.’ Her eyes widened, as though she could hardly believe it. ‘He was furious about Cleethorp but I told him what the earl had done to spike his guns and he is content to let matters rest there. Anyway, he actually proposed and…well, I accepted him.’
‘I am so very pleased.’ Flora squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘After all you have been through, you deserve to be happy.’
‘He is moving to Plaistow to manage the estate and wants us to live there when we marry. Did I really just talk about marrying?’ Louise’s smile was too wide for her face. ‘My head is in such a spin. It has all happened so fast.’
‘I am told that one instinctively knows when one has met the right man.’
‘I can attest to that fact. Henry insists that Grandmamma and Marianne must live there too. He won’t hear of me being parted from them again.’
‘Goodness, you appear to have thought of everything!’ Flora laughed and embraced her friend. ‘I am very happy for you.’
