Chapter Eight

"Lord Eaveswood." Henry nodded to the gentleman, the one he had once called a friend and to whom he had not spoken for some years. "Good evening." He bowed, feeling himself a little strained with the awareness of the tension growing between the Earl of Eaveswood and himself. "Thank you for the invitation."

"Thank you for accepting it." The gentleman put out one hand and shook Henry's firmly, his expression open but his eyes searching. "I did not think that you would attend."

Henry cleared his throat, shrugging lightly. "I am to make my way about society, I suppose, even though I have no real desire to do so."

Lord Eaveswood nodded as though he understood. "Of course."

"I… " Glancing over his shoulder and seeing that there was no-one present, no-one else coming through the door with an eagerness to greet the host for the evening, Henry chose to continue. "I am sorry that I have not written or the like these last few years. We were good friends and – "

"We still are good friends, old boy." Lord Eaveswood put one hand on Henry's shoulder, smiling. "Recall that I know exactly what happened and that, therefore, I fully understand why you were so determined to hide yourself away. Though I am glad that you have returned to London."

"I thank you." Henry looked away, a little surprised at how quickly his friend had forgiven him and how little there was of any sort of animosity for Henry's absence and silence. Evidently, Lord Eaveswood had not thought anything of it and had offered sympathy and understanding instead. That had been rather unexpected. "I am to throw a house gathering very soon, Eaveswood. Only a small gathering, you understand. I did not know if you would be interested in attending but – "

"How very kind of you! I have not been to your estate in some time and would be very much inclined towards returning there. And given that your estate is not too far from London, that would not be of any trouble. Two days drive, is it not?"

Henry nodded, all the more astonished that Lord Eaveswood would be so understanding, so quick to return to the friendship that Henry had broken so suddenly.

"I should be glad to attend." Lord Eaveswood's eyes twinkled. "You are also including my wife, I presume?"

Henry swallowed hard, his eyes closing for a moment. "Of course. Forgive me, I did not mean to forget the lady." In the time that Henry had been away from London, his friend had not only courted one young lady but had then gone on to marry her. Henry could recall the letter he had received from him, telling him that he was soon to wed and how much affection he felt for the lady. Henry had only rolled his eyes at this and discarded the letter, choosing not to respond to the wedding invitation either. He had not had any cause to regret it, not until this moment.

"You have not been introduced to her as my wife as yet, have you?" Lord Eaveswood's eyes softened as he looked across the room, directly towards a tall, slender lady with dark curls. "Though you were acquainted beforehand."

"Yes, that is so though I should be glad to be introduced to her now." Hesitating, Henry turned to look at his friend. "I did not reply to your news about your engagement and nor did I respond to the wedding invitation. I am sorry for such a thing." He had not meant to say any such thing as that, had not thought to even speak words of apology but now that he was standing here, in the company of his friend, Henry felt compelled to do so. "I was lost in my own grief and pain and, truth be told, in anger. I did not want to see nor even speak to anyone."

Lord Eaveswood nodded. "I understand, as I have said. I do not hold anything against you, though I should have liked to have known that you had returned to London rather than hearing it through the local gossips!" He chuckled, his eyes gleaming gently. "My wife is the most wonderful of ladies and I can assure you that she will not have even the smallest amount of irritation or upset as regards your absence from our wedding day."

"I am grateful for that," Henry replied, genuinely glad that the lady had not yet turned her husband against him. "It has been a somewhat difficult time but I am here now, at least."

Lord Eaveswood nodded. "You are. How long do you intend to stay in London? Will you return after your house gathering?"

Henry hesitated, glancing away from his friend and, much to his surprise, seeing none other than Miss Tidemore looking back at him, though she quickly turned her head away from him. "It depends on certain things as to whether or not I will return."

"Oh?"

After a moment of hesitation, Henry chose to be entirely honest with his friend, rather than keeping the secret of his present engagement. After all, the ton would soon know of it and there was no reason, to Henry's mind, to stay silent on the matter. A little surprised at how uncomfortable he was to speak of it, Henry took another few moments before he responded, seeing his friend's slightly lifted eyebrows.

"I am to marry," he said, as calmly as he could. "Well, by that I mean, I am already engaged but I must make certain that the lady is… suitable before I begin to plan the wedding."

Lord Eaveswood did not react and, for some moments, simply looked back at Henry. Then he slowly began to nod, though no smile spread out across his face. "You are being cautious, then."

Henry nodded. "I am."

"Though you could simply have courted her, could you not?"

Quickly shaking his head, Henry tried to explain. "To be courting means that there is still a chance that I might not become engaged."

Understanding shone in Lord Eaveswood's eyes. "Ah. And you do not want to be surrounded by doting young ladies."

"Precisely." Henry smiled, finding himself relieved that his friend understood exactly what he was talking about. "Therefore, after being introduced to Miss Edith Tidemore and hearing of her character and her attributes, I decided that I would propose marriage and, thereafter, take her to spend some time at my estate alongside some other guests. That way, I will be able to make certain that she is all that her father says she is."

"And you will be able to make sure she has no interest in any other gentlemen or is inclined towards deceit," Lord Eaveswood finished for him, as Henry nodded again, blinking his surprise away that his friend could show such understanding. "I see."

"I am glad you understand."

"Does the lady understand?"

Henry found his gaze pulled away towards Miss Tidemore again, though she was not looking towards him in return as she had been before. "I have informed her that she must understand the role of a Duchess and that I must be satisfied with that before I will begin to plan the wedding. That is all."

"Then you have not explained to her what took place beforehand?"

"No." Henry shook his head and then turned his attention back to his friend. "I do not feel any need to do so."

Rather than argue, Lord Eaveswood simply nodded and relief flooded through Henry. He had endured too many arguments with his mother of late to want to engage in any more.

"I have not told society as yet," Henry finished, speaking a little more quietly. "Nor has Lord Tidemore which I am surprised about. He stated that he would keep it discreet and I privately thought that he would soon be shouting aloud of this engagement, but he has proven his words correct."

"Which does bode well for Miss Tidemore's character also, does it not?" Lord Eaveswood suggested. "I am acquainted with Lord and Lady Tidemore and their daughters, though not particularly well. From what I know, they are quite a proper family with a good reputation."

"Yes, I believe that is so."

"Then do you want to tell of your news this evening?" Lord Eaveswood asked, quietly. "If you wish for the ton to know of it, then is not this evening a good place to begin?"

Henry sighed. "I suppose so."

"You do not want to?"

"I do not want the attention," Henry admitted, finding himself falling into the old familiarity which had been between them both before. "I do not want society to congregate around me, to whisper about me and the like. Though, I am about to go back to my estate so that I might prepare for the house gathering so I suppose such a thing will not be too onerous."

Lord Eaveswood chuckled. "It will have to happen at some point, will it not?"

Henry heaved another sigh and then gestured to Miss Tidemore. "Let me go to inform the lady and then, yes, I shall make an announcement. Thank you, my friend."

Lord Eaveswood only smiled and then turned to speak with another guest, leaving Henry to make his way across the room directly towards Miss Tidemore. Much to his surprise, his stomach lurched, nervousness beginning to flood him as she turned her head to look at him. Licking his lips, he kept his chin lifted as he drew near, seeing her turn to face him.

"I am going to make an announcement, Miss Tidemore," he informed her, choosing not to greet her formally or make any sort of mild conversation before he did so. "I thought it best to inform you."

Her eyes grew a little wider as she gazed back at him, saying not a single word.

"The ton will have to know of our engagement and I can see no reason to delay. It does mean that there will be some scrutiny and much conversation and whispers and the like but these things must be endured." He looked away and sniffed. "We will be making our way to the estate very soon regardless and such things will be kept from our ears in that regard, I suppose."

"You are taking my daughter to your estate?" Lord Tidemore stepped closer, his eyes wide but a broad smile on his face. "Goodness, how exceedingly generous of you – and how kind! It is an excellent notion, of course, for it means that you will be able to converse with one another on the drive there and that will be all the more pleasant for both of you."

Henry drew his brows low, turning to look at Lord Tidemore. "Good evening, Lord Tidmore. I am afraid that – "

"I shall go to inform Lady Tidemore at once," Lord Tidemore interrupted, evidently not hearing Henry's last sentence. "How very generous, Your Grace. I will make certain that she is quite prepared to take her leave so that there will be no delay. I presume that you will be making the arrangements as regards the overnight stop?" The gentleman laughed rather ruefully and waved a hand. "Of course you will be. That was a foolish thing to say. Do excuse me!"

A scowl pulled at Henry's features as he folded his arms across his chest, his eyes following after Lord Tidemore. That had not been at all what he had been intending to say and yet there seemed to be no way to escape from it now. When he made his way to the estate, he would be bringing Miss Tidemore in the carriage with him.

"The announcement, Your Grace? When will it be?" Miss Tidemore caught his attention and he nodded, his brows still furrowed.

"Yes, yes, Miss Tidemore, do not rush me into such a thing."

"I – I did not rush you."

It was the first time she had ever spoken to him in such a way, the first time she had ever said more than a few words to him and shock ripped up through Henry's chest, making his eyes flare as he looked sharply at her.

"You are the one who stated that you wished to make the announcement, Your Grace. I was only asking you when this evening it would be."

Henry kept his gaze fixed to hers, hoping that she would quail under his sharp eyes but instead, she simply just kept looking back at him without any sort of fear or concern in her eyes. She had given a clear statement and now was clearly waiting for him to respond, though Henry did not like what she had said in the least.

"You are quite right, you did not rush him." A lady with dark curls came to stand by Miss Tidemore's side, her lips curved into a light smile as she looked up at him. "Forgive me for interjecting but I could not help but overhear the conversation. Lady Eaveswood, Your Grace. We are already acquainted, though that was before I was married."

Henry forced himself to drop into a bow. "Yes, of course."

"I heard Lord Tidemore's effusive exclamations and came to speak with you, Miss Tidemore, to congratulate you on your engagement," the lady continued, turning to smile at Miss Tidemore. "I presume that this is the announcement that is to be made?"

"It was, yes, though it seems now that Lord Tidemore has already begun to speak of it before I have had opportunity." Henry threw a glance over his shoulder in search of the gentleman, only for Lady Eaveswood to laugh.

"No, no, not in the least, Your Grace. He spoke only to his wife but I was standing just behind her and heard every word. Though I do think that you should speak of it soon, for I will not have been the only one who has heard it!"

With a brief nod and fighting to keep the scowl from his face, Henry forced himself to walk away from the two ladies, going to fetch a glass of brandy and, after a moment, tapping it lightly with a spoon he procured from a footman. Every eye turned towards him and with his heart quickening, with his stomach twisting, Henry fought to speak without hesitation.

"I should like to inform you all that a recent engagement has taken place between Miss Tidemore and myself, daughter to Viscount Tidemore," he began, all too aware of the many gasps of surprise which filled the room. "We shall marry soon, once my house gathering has taken place. Good evening to you all."

The task was done and though Henry forced a smile, he felt no joy nor delight within his heart. Studying Miss Tidemore, who was now still talking with Lady Eaveswood, he waited to see if there was any smile or any expression of happiness on her face.

There was not.

She was quickly surrounded by many a lady all clearly eager to give their congratulations to her and though she accepted them all, and responded graciously, never once did a smile grace her lips.

It seemed that Miss Edith Tidemore was just as unexcited about this engagement as he.