Page 33 of An Earl to Save the Diamond
Andrew stared at both of them and took a step forward, his figure menacing. “No, I will not leave Ellen here. Mother would be worried sick.”
“You wound me, Andrew. What worse things could I do?” Marjorie asked.
“I will be fine, Andrew, I promise, and Marjorie will escort me home first thing in the morning,” Ellen pleaded.
Andrew stared at them for a moment, grudgingly mulling the matter over. “Fine. I guess you could stay here for the night, but I must see you home first thing in the morning. Do you promise?”
“I do! Oh! Thank you, Brother.”
“You’re welcome,” he said grudgingly and was escorted by the butler out of Conolly Manor.
Ellen looked at Marjorie gratefully once Andrew was out the door. “Thank you, dearest friend!” she gushed. “You do not know how relieved I am.”
Marjorie chuckled. “How was your evening with the Earl?”
“Oh, it was wonderful. But how did you come to convince Andrew not to look for me?”
Marjorie avoided Ellen’s questioning gaze. Try as she might put on a tough front, she was weak in the knees when it came to the Duke of Grant. Not that she would ever admit it out loud though.But the conflicting feelings she felt for Ellen’s brother worried her. She should not allow herself to get too invested. Andrew was probably in the arms of another woman at one of his gentlemen’s clubs already.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” she said finally. “Now, tell me, what wicked pleasures did you enjoy with the Earl tonight?”
“Oh, it was wonderful, Marjorie! We went past Faulkner Street, can you believe that? I can only hope that no one recognized me.”
Marjorie smiled. As she listened to Ellen narrate her experience in London at night, she could not help but think back to her own London experiences with Andrew—
ChapterEight
“The Princess of Whally was said to be the most beautiful lady in the land. She had the charisma, the grace, and the courage to prove it. Her Mama and Papa were of the noblest of bloodlines and it was expected that she be betrothed to Prince Josi, and everyone in the country knew and agreed that this was a match made in Heaven. But alas! The Princess had fallen madly in love with a commoner who possessed nothing but worked honestly. She knew that there was no way she would end up marrying the Prince, but she could not reveal that her heart sang for another, so she did the best that she could under the circumstances. She decided to run away with the commoner to a distant country where nobody knew them, and they could be free. They made plans to escape, and on a moonless night in England, they got on a boat and finally escaped to where they could be with each other and live free of what Society expected of them.”
“I think that this story is ridiculous, Ellen,” Gerard said.
“Ridiculous? Of course, it isn’t,” Ellen protested. They were taking a walk in the park. Her chaperone stood a few feet away, surrounded by some ladies in the park in what looked like idle chatter. Hopefully, they distracted her enough not to pay attention to them. Although, Ellen and Gerard both knew they could not be as free as they wanted now.
“Because in real life, things would not work out that way.”
“And why not?” Ellen was aghast. She had thought the story she had read was beautiful and an emotional lesson to why lovers would do anything to be with each other.
“Because, Ellen, if the Prince was interested in her, there would be absolutely no way she would reject such an offer. A commoner who had nothing to offer her other than suffering and pain? It is hilarious. Secondly, I do not believe that one can escape to an unknown land without notice, especially when you have been promised to the Prince. Believe me, you would have eyes on you. And finally, you both would never live happily ever after. Perhaps you would for a few years, but the chances of such a marriage failing are pretty high, especially when the commoner cannot afford the luxuries that his lover is used to.”
“You do not believe that love can conquer all challenges then, Gerard?” Ellen asked, refusing to accept defeat.
“I do not believe that people change. The only reason why such a commoner would be attracted in the first place is that the thought of danger appeals to him. If he truly loved the lady as you claimed, he would want what was best for her. He would sacrifice himself to make sure that she had the kind of life that he knows in his heart, he would never be able to give her.”
“What if that wasn’t the life she wanted? What if what she really wanted was to be with him? Think about that. Every time, men make choices. They jump on the chance to decide a woman’s fate based on what they think she should want but never ask her.”
Gerard paused to watch Ellen, whose face was animated from her argument. Ellen, who had been so passionate about her cause, noticed that she was walking alone, and she turned to find Gerard staring at her curiously. “What is it, Gerard?” she asked.
“Nothing. It’s just good to see you talk so passionately about a cause.”
Ellen laughed softly. “How do you think that the story should end then, Gerard?”
“I think that the boat should capsize at sea, and their bodies would be found holding each other’s hands days later.”
Ellen was horrified. “Gerard!”
But Gerard was laughing. “That, I believe, is definitely an ending I could subscribe to.”
“Well, thank goodness it isn’t your story then.”
