club or at Jackson’s.
When she danced more than once with the same man, William teased her about her weakness in arithmetic. When she walked on the terrace with an older gentleman, William found them and suggested that she come back inside as the night promised a storm, even though the sky showed the moon and stars. That was the closest he came to acting the jealous fiancé.
He ignored her trifling indiscretions until that evening with the son of the Duke of Hale, when she went one step too far and William and Lord David had found them. Within days her world changed forever. She’d wondered, more than once, if William would have cared at all if Lord David had not been with him.
At night, alone with her thoughts, the past hauntedher. The embarrassment she had caused, the hurt she had suffered.
At first Mia had been shocked at the way the ton had shunned her when she and William were no longer together.
She had tried so hard to belong. Anger soon followed. The last straw came when she was not even invited to a musicale, much less asked to play. Music should transcend rank and, even here, the ton had turned their collective back to her.
That night Mia began to consider a life that was not dependent on anyone else’s whim or want. It had only been a way to escape the pain at first, but it was growing more and more real every day.
She fell asleep, awash in self-pity, desperate to find a way to live life on her terms.
Chapter Seven
“N O, L ORD D AVID,” Mia Castellano insisted, “I have no idea how long my maid will be ill and I will not wait here until she can travel. Travel sickness is a burden to Janina and when she is ill she prefers to be alone. It is one of the reasons I rode with the coachman yesterday.”
David could see that this “No” was not halfhearted. They were in the same parlor they had shared last night and had managed a polite if silent breakfast until he had suggested, quite generously he thought, that they delay a day until her maid was well again. He could work anywhere. He finished his coffee and poured more from the pot.
“One day will not be enough. She seems much worse than usual and I would estimate a week before she can travel. You will leave me behind long before that.”
“How perceptive.”
She stood up as though she had enough of the discussion. “Janina is very important to me. I will find someone to care for her and she will stay here until she recovers and is able to join us later.”
David could see that she would not budge. But if he let her have her way this time, he feared there would be no end to the demands she would make.
“Be reasonable, Lord David,” she began.
“I am always reasonable,” he interrupted, exasperated beyond endurance. “We will wait one day,” he said again, this time much more firmly.
“No,” she repeated with an irritated edge in the one word. “If the entire party stays behind it will only add more pressure for her to recover. Janina will pretend she is well and will most likely not recover for months. I will not endanger her health that way.”
“So you are willing to travel without a maid and risk another scene like last night?” The woman was a confusing mix of spoiled and generous. Impossible to understand or predict how she would react to anything.
“My lord.”
The way she said his name made it sound like she doubted his intelligence. He nodded.
“We are stopping at a Pennistan holding this evening, are we not?”
“Sandleton. Yes, we are.”
“Sandleton. Thank you.” Her nod was as queenly as her “No” had been shrewish. “I am sure there is a girl there or in the village who would be willing to wait on meuntil Janina is well again.” She raised two fingers to her lips then dropped them. “I know, I will ask the lady who is to act as chaperone this evening. She will know someone who would like to travel to Pennford, to have a small adventure. We can take Janina’s things with us and then she can travel by
When she danced more than once with the same man, William teased her about her weakness in arithmetic. When she walked on the terrace with an older gentleman, William found them and suggested that she come back inside as the night promised a storm, even though the sky showed the moon and stars. That was the closest he came to acting the jealous fiancé.
He ignored her trifling indiscretions until that evening with the son of the Duke of Hale, when she went one step too far and William and Lord David had found them. Within days her world changed forever. She’d wondered, more than once, if William would have cared at all if Lord David had not been with him.
At night, alone with her thoughts, the past hauntedher. The embarrassment she had caused, the hurt she had suffered.
At first Mia had been shocked at the way the ton had shunned her when she and William were no longer together.
She had tried so hard to belong. Anger soon followed. The last straw came when she was not even invited to a musicale, much less asked to play. Music should transcend rank and, even here, the ton had turned their collective back to her.
That night Mia began to consider a life that was not dependent on anyone else’s whim or want. It had only been a way to escape the pain at first, but it was growing more and more real every day.
She fell asleep, awash in self-pity, desperate to find a way to live life on her terms.
Chapter Seven
“N O, L ORD D AVID,” Mia Castellano insisted, “I have no idea how long my maid will be ill and I will not wait here until she can travel. Travel sickness is a burden to Janina and when she is ill she prefers to be alone. It is one of the reasons I rode with the coachman yesterday.”
David could see that this “No” was not halfhearted. They were in the same parlor they had shared last night and had managed a polite if silent breakfast until he had suggested, quite generously he thought, that they delay a day until her maid was well again. He could work anywhere. He finished his coffee and poured more from the pot.
“One day will not be enough. She seems much worse than usual and I would estimate a week before she can travel. You will leave me behind long before that.”
“How perceptive.”
She stood up as though she had enough of the discussion. “Janina is very important to me. I will find someone to care for her and she will stay here until she recovers and is able to join us later.”
David could see that she would not budge. But if he let her have her way this time, he feared there would be no end to the demands she would make.
“Be reasonable, Lord David,” she began.
“I am always reasonable,” he interrupted, exasperated beyond endurance. “We will wait one day,” he said again, this time much more firmly.
“No,” she repeated with an irritated edge in the one word. “If the entire party stays behind it will only add more pressure for her to recover. Janina will pretend she is well and will most likely not recover for months. I will not endanger her health that way.”
“So you are willing to travel without a maid and risk another scene like last night?” The woman was a confusing mix of spoiled and generous. Impossible to understand or predict how she would react to anything.
“My lord.”
The way she said his name made it sound like she doubted his intelligence. He nodded.
“We are stopping at a Pennistan holding this evening, are we not?”
“Sandleton. Yes, we are.”
“Sandleton. Thank you.” Her nod was as queenly as her “No” had been shrewish. “I am sure there is a girl there or in the village who would be willing to wait on meuntil Janina is well again.” She raised two fingers to her lips then dropped them. “I know, I will ask the lady who is to act as chaperone this evening. She will know someone who would like to travel to Pennford, to have a small adventure. We can take Janina’s things with us and then she can travel by
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