Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

S eraphina had to think long and hard about what to do. She thought it unlikely that Gerard would not hear about Ruebridge coming for dinner. Regardless of the reason, he was bound to take it askance.

Perhaps I should invite him to the dinner as well.

At first, she dismissed the idea as ridiculous but after some thought she realized it would solve her problem quite neatly. It would let him know the reason for Ruebridge's presence in her home without it looking that she was trying to make excuses.

She nodded excitedly.

Yes, it's the perfect solution.

There was a knock at her door. "Come in," she trilled.

Tessa stuck her head in the door. "What are you so happy about?"

Seraphina got to her feet and hurried over to her sister. "I just solved the dilemma I've been having. Have you sent out all the invitations for dinner?"

"Well, I have invited Benji and his brother, as well as the Portswicks. Were there any other invitations I was supposed to send?"

"Yes. You need to invite my husband."

Tessa's eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. "Really? I thought that you were fighting."

"That is neither here nor there. Convention demands that you invite him so that's what you're going to do."

Tessa's brow furrowed in confusion "All right," she said. "I shall go and do that right away."

"Thank you, darling." Seraphina gently ushered her out the door and closed it behind her.

Now all she had to do was worry about whether Gerard would accept the invitation or not.

If he does it is going to be terribly awkward. What shall I do?

After an intense amount of thought she decided that if he did indeed decide to accept the invitation, she would place him between William and Tessa. Those were two people she was sure he liked, and they would keep him occupied for the entire evening.

I wonder if I should invite Dorian.

The duke was not exactly a friend of her family's, but should Gerard attend he would at least have a companion. Seraphina began to pace wondering if she should wait for Gerard's respond in order to know whether to invite Dorian or not.

"Maybe it will be too late by then. How rude would it be to invite him on the day of?"

She was in a tizzy not knowing what to do. Thankfully, a footman sent by the French chef Rosalind had sent over, arrived just then to summon her to the kitchen because Pierre had questions. Satisfying the chef's exacting standards distracted her for the rest of the day.

It was just as the bell rang for dinner that a messenger arrived with Gerard's reply.

He regretted to inform them that he would not be able to attend but sent his felicitations to the happy couple.

Gerard could only assume that Tessa had invited him by accident.

Or perhaps she is trying to play matchmaker.

Whatever the reason, he knew he could not attend. For one thing he did not know if he could remain civil in front of Lord Ruebridge, and he did not want to spoil Tessa's day. He wasn't blind to how besotted both she and Mr. Larson were with each other.

Should Seraphina and Ruebridge also decide to declare their love, they would have a nice, neat family circle, he thought bitterly.

He hated that he knew that the earl would be at Seraphina's home tomorrow evening. He hated that they might get a chance to speak and deepen their connection. He almost changed his mind about attending, if only to keep them apart.

Were it not for the potential for public spectacle—which he hated with a passion—he might have thrown caution to the winds and changed his mind.

Instead, he decided to finally give in and go to the club for a lot of drinking and a game of billiards.

Perhaps listening to gossip about other people would distract him from his own gossip-worthy situation.

"Good evening, Your Grace." Lord Ruebridge took her gloved hand and kissed the air above it.

"Good evening my Lord, and welcome."

Ruebridge straightened up, looking her in the eye. "My brother and I would like to thank you for your gracious invitation. We do not take this blossoming of new relationships lightly, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that they continue to thrive."

Seraphina nodded jerkily. She understood what she was saying and was grateful that he did not mean to capitalize on the drama they were all living through. It didn't even matter since Gerard was not willing to participate.

Her heart squeezed with sadness, and she determinedly pushed the thought away and put a smile on her face.

"Thank you for your words, my lord." She gestured towards her father. "This is Lord Northwick, my father," she said.

Ruebridge immediately moved forward to engage Lord Northwick in conversation while Seraphina turned to greet his brother this time with a genuine smile. "Benjamin. I want you to know how happy I am for your news. I wish you and Tessa a long and happy life."

He embraced her. "Thank you very much, sister. I cannot wait to whisk Tessa off her feet and give her everything her heart desires. She is the gift I never knew I needed," he gushed excitedly.

Seraphina felt tears prick her eyes. She loved this for her sister; it was like watching somebody else get everything that she had ever wished for.

She could not help but feel a little wistful. She wanted to run out of the house, and just go and find Gerard, beg him to listen, plead with him to believe her.

She pushed those feelings away. "Go on. Ingratiate yourself with my father." She gently pushed him on with a smile, and then gestured to their temporary butler, that it was time to serve drinks.

Her only regret was that she could not stop her father from also partaking on this night, as he had already gone through one bottle of whiskey before the guests arrived.

If it had not been for William and Rosalind, she wasn't sure what she would have done to him. They kept her calm and focused on the task at hand.

Still, as she took a glass of port and downed it, she was already tired.

This is going to be a long night.

Thankfully, there were some things he did not have to worry about.

Dinner was scrumptious, the French chef had outdone himself. Rosalind especially kept the conversation flowing at the dinner table. She essentially took over the duties of hostess.

Tessa and Benjamin kept flicking each other long, longing glances. She doubted they noticed anyone else at the table.

Lord Northwick continued to drink at an alarming rate but instead of becoming loud and belligerent as he was wont to be, he just grew quieter with every glass.

Seraphina was at least grateful for that.

Still the dinner dragged on interminably and by the time it was over, she was ready for her bed.

Rosalind gave her a hug, before cupping her cheeks and looking deep into her eyes. "Are you quite sure you're fine? You're looking a bit peaky there, my girl."

Seraphina smiled tiredly. "Yes, I'm all right. Just tired."

"Well, all right then. I shall let you go to your rest. Tomorrow let's meet for coffee and gossip like a couple of old biddies."

Seraphina huffed in silent laughter. "Fine. But only if you make it late afternoon."

"Of course." She kissed Seraphina's cheek. "I shall see you there."

"Goodnight." Seraphina waved her friend away.

She turned to go to bed but then noticed that Tessa and Mr. Larson were still lingering at the door. She paused, watching them get closer and closer until their faces were mere inches apart.

She cleared her throat loudly and they jumped apart guiltily. Benjamin turned and waved at her sheepishly, before finally taking his leave of Tessa and stepping out of the house. She stood at the door watching him go until even Seraphina heard the slow clip clop of the horse's hooves disappear as the carriage got too far.

Tessa turned quickly, skipping for the stairs as quickly as she could.

"Goodnight," Seraphina called.

Tessa paused and looked down at her apologetically. "Goodnight, sister."

Seraphina walked to her room smiling to herself. Overall, the night had been a success. A wedding date had been set. Her father had remained coherent long enough to discuss the marriage agreement with Ruebridge and no new scandals had arisen.

Most importantly, the earl had remained very respectful and kept his distance from her.

She decided that tomorrow she would send Leticia to the house on an excuse just in case Gerard wanted to hear a report of the evening.

She realized she had not quite given up on Gerard or her marriage. If she was honest, she could admit that she did not want to. She and Gerard were too good together to simply fall to pieces over a stupid lie. She kept praying every day that she would come to his senses, or at least hear her out.

That was another reason why she wanted to send Leticia—just to get a gauge of his mood and his inclinations.

She clung on to the fact that he was still taking care of her, at least financially, and had made no complaints about the cost of the dinner, and the extra servants.

She didn't know whether this was a good thing or bad.

She let out huff of breath and shrugged. "Time will tell."