Chapter 18

Dawson had not wanted to argue with Silas. He had had no intention of coming between him and Aurelia, but the sight of him grabbing hold of her wrist and speaking to her so appallingly had roused his anger. Silas had accused him of not being a gentleman, but it was Silas who had behaved in such a dreadful way – hardly with the decorum of a man who considered himself better in every way.

But none of this would have mattered if it had not been for Silas' words about a secret – one Dawson was keeping about his past. His words had unsettled Dawson, though he had tried hard not to show it, and as he and Aurelia danced, Dawson wondered what the arrogant aristocrat had discovered – and how.

"I hope you don't feel I'm taking a liberty. You can dance with whoever you want," Dawson said, for he had no intention of treating Aurelia as Silas had done.

But Aurelia only shook her head and smiled.

"But I don't want to dance with anyone else. I'm happy dancing with you," she replied, smiling up at him as they whirled across the dance floor in another waltz.

Dawson smiled. He was enjoying himself, and had it not been for Silas' words, he would have been enjoying himself even more. He had surprised himself at the force of his words about Aurelia, moved to defend her by Silas' arrogant words and knowing he had meant everything he had said.

"I'm sorry about Silas, I really am. He behaved appallingly tonight," Dawson said, but Aurelia shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. It's far better that I know now rather than when it's too late. I should've listened to what my parents said – and Reuben, and you, too. You all warned me against him," she said.

Dawson nodded. He had certainly had his doubts about Silas, but now he wondered what this change would mean. His feelings for Aurelia had crept gradually up on him – an attraction of looks now turned to something more serious. He was falling in love with her – there could be no doubt about that, and the fact of their having come so close to a kiss on two separate occasions suggested the same could be said of her, too …

"Sometimes, we have to make our own way. We have to make our own mistakes to learn from them," Dawson said, and Aurelia nodded.

"You're right. I was too quick to rush in and assume I was right. If I'd only listened, well, things might've been different. He's only interested in my dowry. That's why he wanted to marry me so quickly – he and his mother had some scheme together. They're whispering about it now," Aurelia said, and glancing to his left, Dawson caught sight of Silas and his mother in the corner of the room, watching them and shaking their heads.

A sudden chill ran through him, and he wondered if they really had discovered something about his past – a secret he would prefer to leave across the Atlantic. It was a risk and one Dawson feared would return to haunt him if he did not tell the truth. There were secrets he had left behind, but as for how Silas had discovered them …

"I'm sure it's nothing. Why don't we step out onto the terrace? I'm tired of being looked at all the time," Dawson said, and as the dance ended, they slipped through the throng and out onto the terrace, where the cool evening air was a welcome relief from the stuffiness of the ballroom.

Several other couples were doing the same, and the pair walked arm in arm along the terrace and down the steps to the lawn, finding a quiet place in the rose garden where they could sit beneath an arbor. The sweet scent of the roses filled the air, and Dawson breathed a sigh of relief at being away from the gaze of the ballroom with its judgemental stares and whispers.

"I wish they'd all just leave me alone," Aurelia said, shaking her head sadly.

"The rest of the ton, you mean?" Dawson asked, and Aurelia nodded.

"And I'm sorry you've been dragged into it all. It's not right. Silas … his mother … all of them. I'm fed up with it," Aurelia said, shaking her head sadly.

Dawson slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it. He still did not understand the English propensity for reserve. Back in Kentucky, he would have been able to tell Aurelia how he felt, and he considered it now, wondering what she would say or whether she felt the same.

It was a risk, but one he was growing ever closer to taking – having allowed himself to imagine on more than one occasion what it would be like to call Aurelia his betrothed. The more time they had spent together, the closer they had become, yet so many questions remained – not least, the question of what Dawson really wanted.

"You haven't dragged me into anything, Aurelia. I'm glad to be involved. I …" he began, poised to tell her how he felt.

But at that moment, a shout came from across the lawn. It was Joseph, Aurelia's father, the baron, and he was calling for her and hurrying towards them as he spoke.

"Aurelia, come away. We're leaving. It's time to go home," he called out, and Aurelia looked up in surprise.

"Father?" she said, as the baron now approached.

Dawson was surprised at the look on his face. The usually congenial expression was replaced by one of anger and concern, and he beckoned to Aurelia again, glancing at Dawson and scowling.

"Now, Aurelia. I won't tell you again," he said as Aurelia rose to her feet with a look of confusion.

"We were just talking, Father. Dawson was …" she began, but her father interrupted her.

"Was nothing, Aurelia. Come along. Don't dawdle," he said, and now he seized Aurelia's hand in his and pulled her towards him.

It was as though he was afraid of something – anxious to get her away from Dawson as soon as possible.

"Joseph, I …" Dawson began, but again, the baron interrupted.

"Thank you, My Lord. That's all. We're leaving," he said.

"But perhaps I could come with you. I don't want you to think I …" Dawson said, his words trailing off as he wondered what had occurred to bring about this odd change in Aurelia's father.

The two had got on well since Dawson's arrival from America. If anything, Joseph had been his strongest supporter, but now …

"She doesn't want anything more to do with you," Joseph said, and Aurelia let out a cry of protest.

"Father? What are you saying?" she exclaimed, but the baron would have no further argument, and now he insisted on Aurelia coming with him.

Dawson stood in disbelief, watching as they made their way across the lawn towards the house. Aurelia kept glancing back, tears running down her cheeks, as she continued to protest against her father's strange behaviour. Dawson was left alone, his mind racing with the possibility of what had brought about this strange change in the baron's behaviour. But as he stood thinking, a sudden thought occurred to him – the memory of Silas' threat – "a secret" he had said.

"What lies has he been telling?" Dawson asked himself, fearing the baron's change of heart had come from a revelation of Silas – true or not.

He waited a while before returning to the house. The ball was ending, and there was no sign of Aurelia or any of her family. As Dawson prepared to leave, he caught sight of Silas and his mother whispering to one another in a corner, and his anger was roused. But what good would it do to challenge him? This was not a saloon.

A dispute could not be settled with twenty paces and a pair of pistols. England was different, and if Dawson were to discover the truth – and triumph over his adversaries – he would have to behave in an "English" manner.

But that did not stop him from glaring angrily at Silas, who returned his gaze with a smug and satisfied look. Dawson had been on the verge of telling Aurelia of his feelings for her, and now that chance had been snatched from him, he was even more certain of those feelings than he had been before.

"I know I'm falling in love with her," he told himself as he and Roxanna left Bankside Grange that evening, and in truth, he already had …

***

"Father, what's going on? Why are you doing this?" Aurelia exclaimed.

She did not understand why her father was so angry – or what had happened to make him so. He and Dawson had always got on so well, but now he had dragged her away from him and was refusing to listen to reason.

"We're leaving. We're taking you home," her father said as he hurried Aurelia through the ballroom.

Her mother and Reuben were waiting for them, and the baroness shook her head, holding up a handkerchief to her eyes and dabbing them.

"Oh, Aurelia …" she said before breaking down into a fit of sobs.

Reuben put his arm around her.

"Come now, Mother. We'll leave. Don't upset yourself," he said, leading her away.

Aurelia was thoroughly confused, and now she looked around, realizing they were being watched and whispered about by most of the room. Silas and his mother were standing by the refreshment table, and Silas glared at Aurelia as they passed, his mother shaking her head.

"Father? Please, tell me what's happened. I don't understand. Why are you so angry with me? And what about Dawson?" Aurelia asked as her father now hurried her out of the ballroom.

They did not even pause to thank their host for her hospitality, but as they emerged from the house onto the steps, Aurelia caught sight of Eliza Beresford smirking at her from her carriage window.

"I'm not surprised you're leaving so hurriedly, Aurelia – I'd do the same if the rumours were about me. What a terrible scandal you've got yourself involved in. Goodbye," she said, waving to Aurelia, who stared at her in astonishment.

"Rumours? What rumours?" she exclaimed as Eliza's carriage drove off.

"I think you should get in, Aurelia," Reuben said, pointing towards their carriage, the door of which a footman held open.

Aurelia was too shocked to do anything but comply, her mind a whirl of fears and possibilities. The door of the carriage compartment closed behind them, and now she sat back, staring at her mother and father, with Reuben at her side. The baroness was sobbing, and her father looked stony face and angry.

"Will someone please tell me what's happened?" Aurelia said as now the carriage pulled away.

Reuben sighed and shook his head.

"You've brought a scandal on yourself, Aurelia – and so has the new Earl of Wimbourne," he replied.