Page 11 of A Seaside Scandal (Change of Heart #2)

I hadn’t danced with him.

Perhaps she had meant to provoke me at the refreshment table. She had picked up the glass of punch first, after all.

I watched the back of her head as she sat in her vanity chair. Slowly, she rotated to face me. “Well, are you just going to stand there?” Her eyes darkened.

I crossed my arms. “I’m sorry, Charlotte.

I shouldn’t have…” I took a deep breath, examining her pompous expression.

No. I always apologized to Charlotte, scraping up the pieces of our disagreements and making them pretty again.

I always took the blame, and she always excused herself as the poor, long-suffering friend. But we were both wrong this time.

“How could you call me a horrible friend?” I asked in a quiet voice.

She cast her gaze to the ceiling. “It was justified. You accused me of lying in front of Mr. Croft. You made me look like a fool.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t have lied to him, then.”

Her jaw dropped. “You were simply trying to secure him for yourself by making me look bad!”

I lowered my hands to my sides, my fingers curling inward. “He approached me, Charlotte! He asked me to dance.”

“I already told you I was interested in him.” Her brows drew together. “You should have refused him.”

“I didn’t want to.” My voice was firm. “I have liked him since the day I met him on the beach.”

Charlotte released a huffed breath. “Well, he won’t like you now.

Throwing punch on another lady at a public assembly is an unforgivable error.

” Her expression shifted to a look of amusement as she met her own gaze in the mirror.

“I cannot believe you would be so childish. I had higher expectations of you, Alice. Perhaps it was that dreadful yellow gown that put you in such an irrational state of mind.”

My anger surged. It would not be wise to remain in her room a moment longer. I would lose my temper again. “I’m sorry. I should not have done it.” I paused, glaring at the back of her head. “Will you not even make an attempt to apologize to me?”

“Apologize for what?” She turned around in her chair. “I will not apologize for pursuing something that I want. It’s called ambition.”

I shook my head. “It’s called selfishness.”

Her jaw dropped.

I took a composing breath, my face hot. “I don’t want Mr. Croft to come between us. You and I came to Brighton to have an adventure together, did we not? I don’t want the rest of our trip to be burdened with hurt feelings.”

Charlotte sighed, but I couldn’t read her expression. “Nor do I. Let us both agree to leave Mr. Croft behind us. Surely there are other gentlemen in Brighton with larger fortunes.”

I cringed. “And I will even help you find one. We shall both give up any pursuit of Mr. Croft.”

She nodded. “That would be for the best.”

A wave of relief passed through me. Contending with a bitter, angry Charlotte would have ruined my trip for certain. She stood from her chair, revealing her unsmiling face. Still, she walked into my outstretched arms. We hugged, and she squeezed me tight.

“I’m sorry for insulting your gown,” she whispered. “If you liked it, that is all that matters.”

I gave an awkward laugh. “I’m sorry it was such a disgrace to look upon.”

She pulled back to give me a serious look. “You must promise to trust your fashion decisions to me in the future.”

I sighed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing as we hugged again.

Her arms were stiff as she released me. We had made amends as best as we could, given the freshness of our squabble.

Despite the new smile on her face, I still felt that something was amiss.

I brushed aside my doubts. We were both tired.

Surely I would have my friend back entirely by tomorrow.

“Shall we go sea bathing in the morning?” I asked in a cheerful voice.

I had been eager to try to practice since the moment we arrived in Brighton.

The thought of wearing a strange brown dress and being dunked in the sea by a robust, strong ‘dipper’ woman was nearly enough to make me burst out in laughter.

How exhilarating it would be to feel the salt water on my skin and hair.

Would it taste as salty as I imagined? Would it sting my eyes?

These were very important questions that I simply needed answers to.

Charlotte cast me a look of disgust. “You will never find me with so much as a toe in the sea.”

I laughed at the image of Charlotte drenched in water in an unsightly brown dress. We were very different, she and I. Our differences were becoming more apparent by the day. But at least we agreed on one thing: Mr. Jonathan Croft was the catch of Brighton….and he was now entirely forbidden.

As I crawled into my bed a few minutes later, I thought of Edmund’s invitation to join him and Mr. Croft on their ride two days later.

As embarrassing as it would be to show my face to him again, it could also be an opportunity to prove that I wasn’t the madwoman I had appeared to be at the ball.

His opinion mattered to me still, even if I told myself not to care.

I stopped my thoughts. Charlotte and I had agreed to cease any pursuit of him. We had both surrendered. And I was determined to keep my promise.