Chapter 13

Chapter 13

With each passing day, Philip tried to will himself into joining the festivities.

They ate without him, at his request, and he kept himself so busy that he had the excuse not to join them at other times of day. He did not wish to be too close to them, lest they see, and more importantly judge, his appearance. Fortunately, the one person that he truly did wish to spend time with kept stumbling into his way, and he had been grateful for the distractions.

Lady Jacqueline was beautiful, kind, and exactly the sort of lady he had dreamed of marrying, the sort of lady he had once thought that he would marry before she left him. At least, he considered, that meant that she was not the person he had thought her to be, and so there had been no harm truly done to him.

Lady Ophelia had not crossed his mind too often, especially since Lady Jacqueline had arrived. He had enjoyed thinking about his guest far too much for any other lady to enter his mind. He thought about this as he looked out of his window, wondering if that counted as him thinking about Lady Ophelia, when all of a sudden, he saw something and immediately wished he had not.

He was fond of Lady Jacqueline’s blue-black hair and the way it fell like ink around her, and so it was the first thing he tended to look at when he saw her. This time, however, she was accompanied by a lady with deep brown hair, and he knew exactly who she was.

Ophelia.

He did not know why they were together, or why Lady Ophelia was there in the first place, but he did know that whatever the reason, it could only mean trouble. He had to stop it before it went too far, and he hoped that he was not too late for that.

He ran out into the hallway, realizing that he had left his mask in his study, but he did not go back for it. Lady Jacqueline had already seen him for who he was, so there was no point in hiding himself now, and as for Lady Ophelia… He had already given enough weight to her opinion of him in the past.

“Philip?” Lucien asked as he reached the door. “What are you doing?”

“I have to go.”

“What about our horse ride?” he asked. “You told me you wished to discuss something with me.”

He had, of course. He wanted to tell Lucien about his sudden attraction to Lady Jacqueline, but that would have to wait.

“I cannot. Perhaps tomorrow?”

“Philip, you are completely flustered. What has gotten into you?”

“Ophelia,” he replied bluntly. “She is in the garden, right now, with Lady Jacqueline.”

“What? But that is not possible.”

“It quite clearly is, else I would not have seen her with my own eyes.”

“I wouldn’t think much of it. Who knows why she is here?”

“That is precisely why I must think on it. She is with the lady I am courting right now. Why has she suddenly come back like this? Why is she walking and talking with Lady Jacqueline, someone she doesn’t even know?”

“It is possible that they know each other. They are of the same age, after all.”

“No, to my recollection Lady Ophelia only ever spoke to people of her social standing or higher. She made a point of it.”

“A rather nasty girl. Remind me why you were in love with her, again?”

“I do not need that right now.”

“No, no of course not.”

“I remember it all, you know, even to this day. I remember the hurt and anger of her betrayal, and seeing just how spiteful she had been all along. After everything that she did to me, I fear she might be talking Lady Jacqueline out of giving me a chance too, just to be cruel.”

“I doubt that she would go so far out of her way just to do that,” Lucien said gently. “But I do think it would be better for you to see that for yourself, because otherwise you might drive yourself entirely mad. We can forget the horses for today. Come, I will accompany you on a promenade with them.”

Philip nodded, grateful to his friend, and the two of them left for the garden. They found the ladies quickly, as they had not gone too far, and Philip tried to listen in on their conversation as much as he could, but it was no use. They were too far away, and seemingly whispering.

“Good day, ladies!” Lucien said brightly, and Ophelia instantly seemed to light up.

Lady Jacqueline, on the other hand, seemed quite relieved more than anything.

“Your Grace!” Lady Ophelia greeted, ignoring Lucien entirely. “How wonderful to see you. It has been so long since you and I have seen each other, yet it feels like only yesterday that you and I walked these gardens together, just the two of us.”

“The two of us and your maid, yes,” Philip nodded, noticing that same flicker of disgust in her eyes, even if she was doing a better job at hiding it than before.

It was a look that he did not see in Lady Jacqueline’s face, though she did seem quite uncomfortable.

“Would you like to join us?” Lady Ophelia asked.

“Yes, you are more than welcome,” Lady Jacqueline agreed. “I assure you, you are not intruding at all.”

It was strange; this was not the lady that he had spent time with at the pianoforte, the lady that he truly did think he might have a future with. He wondered if it had something to do with Lady Ophelia’s presence, and if it were the case then he could hardly blame her for that. They had been in love, once upon a time, or at least he had thought himself to be in love with her. It couldn’t have been easy for her to see Lady Ophelia again, especially if (and he truly hoped it to be the case) she harbored some kind of feelings toward him in return.

“I simply must speak with you, Your Grace,” Lady Ophelia said suddenly. “Your mother told me you were busy today, but now that I have you, I have to talk to you about why I am here.”

“That sounds perfect,” Lucien replied for him. “This way, I can acquaint myself with our guest.”

Philip was stunned at how quickly Lucien had left him with Lady Ophelia, but Lady Jacqueline did not seem to mind, being led away by Lucien quite quickly.

“So?” Lady Ophelia asked, beginning to walk and waiting for him to follow, which he reluctantly did. “Wonderful. So, I have had a long time to think, and I had to see you so that I could tell you how I have been feeling.”

It had always been about how she was feeling, he thought, but he was too kind to say it aloud. Besides, he was far too busy watching Lucien and Lady Jacqueline. In spite of his usual lack of jealousy, he couldn’t help but think they looked good together.

At last, Lady Jacqueline was smiling again and talking away. He was listening to her rather than Lady Ophelia, even if her words were not meant for him, because quite frankly he would rather hear Lady Jacqueline talk about her sister than Lady Ophelia talk about herself.

“As for how I am feeling,” she continued, “I have been quite miserable of late.”

“Yes, quite,” Philip responded absent-mindedly.

“Yes, and my poor mother has been trying with all of her might to find the cause of such an ailment. It has been taking up the majority of her time, and so at last I have had to tell her the truth. It was a difficult confession, I must admit, but now that I have told her, I feel ready to tell you.”

“Yes,” he nodded, his focus entirely on Lady Jacqueline’s hair as it bounced when she walked.

“You see, I truly do regret how we left things. You might think me heartless, but I assure you that it is not the case. In fact, I have thought of you each and every day since, and I would do anything at all to make things right. I was hoping that you might feel the same way, and that we could become friends once more. I truly have missed you, after all. You and I have known one another for so long that I do not know any other way to be.”

“To be sure.”

Lady Jacqueline was now telling Lucien about her passion for music, and so now there would be no way of preventing Philip from listening in. She had not been feigning interest just for him; she truly was passionate, and her face lit up when she discussed it. She truly was a beautiful lady, and he couldn’t imagine someone like her with him at all.

Suddenly, she fell.

Fortunately for her, there was a gentleman beside her that caught her perfectly, putting her back on her feet with ease. Unfortunately, that gentleman had not been Philip, but his good friend instead.

“Oh!” she gasped. “Thank you, my lord. I should have been watching my step.”

“There is no need to thank me, nor to excuse anything. I like that you are passionate about the things that bring you joy. We are similar, in that sense.”

There was that jealousy again, and Philip hated it. He was not a jealous man, not even when he had heard word that Lady Ophelia was once again being courted by another man, but in that moment, it was all that he could feel besides uncertainty.

He had only just come to realize how attracted to her that he was, and suddenly his friend had stepped in and now…

He shrugged it off. He knew that Lady Jacqueline liked him, and she knew that they had a deal. If she wanted to, she could have left and yet she hadn’t. She must have liked him too, even simply as a companion. He had to trust her.

“We ought to see if she is alright,” he said quickly, hoping he had not interrupted Lady Ophelia but not giving too much thought to it.

He strode forwards to the two of them, Jacqueline laughing as he approached.

“Lady Jacqueline, are you alright–”

He felt a hand on his arm, firm and tense. He turned to look at Lady Ophelia, who was clinging to him in a strangely possessive way, looking up at him with wide eyes.

He ignored her, turning back to Lady Jacqueline, but she was no longer laughing. She was hardly even smiling. Philip froze. Did she not like the sight of Lady Ophelia on his arm? If that were the case, he could not have her thinking that anything untoward would happen.

“Lady Jacqueline, I–”

“I ought to leave,” she said, a pained smile on her face. “I have left my sister with the dowager duchess, which was terribly rude of me, and I have been away far longer than expected. Thank you for accompanying me.”

It pained Philip that she directed the last part to Lucien and not to him. She left, Lucien on her heels, and asking her if she was feeling unwell.

“Goodness, some ladies can be so dramatic,” Ophelia sighed, her hand still on his arm. “Was I ever like that?”

He did not dignify her with a response. He wanted her gone, back wherever she had come from, and quickly.

“Regardless,” she continued, louder this time. “I am so glad that you return my wishes, and that we can be companions once more.”

Lady Jacqueline turned to face him at this, and he could not at all read her expression before she turned back and walked away.

Philip sighed, concerned that whatever they had shared would be over before it could even properly begin. What he certainly did not like, however, was the sickeningly sweet smile on Lady Ophelia’s face.