Page 14 of Miss Hawthorne’s Unlikely Husband (The Troublemakers Trilogy #3)

It would have been better for her not to engage in the behavior to begin with.

Now she was hiding from him in his house and he was staying as far away from her as possible.

She’d made his house a source of unease for both of them because of her presence.

And her presumption. Why would she think he was in love with her or that he would see her as anything more than Ada’s friend?

It was the exact sort of thing women tried to avoid, a smile and a kind word being taken for romantic interest. How had she managed to engage in that behavior herself?

How had she managed to break her own heart?

“I will not burden him with my feelings any more than I already have; he doesn’t deserve that. He’s a good man, he was being kind to me, and in my wishful arrogance, I assumed it meant more. I just need to get through this season.”

*

Sterling House, London

Three days later

If Richard had known Elodia would have been at the Viscountess Sterling’s ball, he would have begged off, no matter how much Ada pleaded.

After the christening ceremony and the reception, he didn’t have the stomach to stand to one side and witness Elodia’s misery.

Not that she was being melodramatic about the whole affair, which was somehow making it worse.

She was as lovely as ever in her bright blue silk, with orchids in her hair, and her demeanor was still graceful and charming.

It would have taken a trained eye to notice the unusual reticence in her now.

The natural joie de vivre that allowed her to float from room to room was gone and he knew, he fucking knew it was his fault.

He wanted to believe that no matter what he had done or said, anything other than acceptance would have resulted in this for her, but he couldn’t.

Because he had done more than reject her, he had told her that she essentially meant nothing to him personally.

A callous lie that he couldn’t take back now without confusing her and making things worse.

Her interaction with him now was virtually non-existent.

It was the most jarring change. Again, it wasn’t anything glaringly obvious to others; she wasn’t sitting to one side and glaring at him or making anything awkward.

But at the christening, when he’d received his first taste of what it would be like around Elodia, he realized that he’d never not spoken to her when she was around.

He’d never realized how many of their interactions she initiated, or, more importantly, how central they were to his natural rhythm at social events.

This was the second time since meeting Elodia that Richard hadn’t greeted her almost immediately after entering a room with her in it.

Missing that step was more than awkward, it was disorienting.

He couldn’t tell if she was rightfully angry with him or if it was her way of honoring his feelings.

He’d told her to maintain a distance and he’d meant it, but he never expected to feel this bereft as a result.

If this was the new normal, Richard was not enthused about it.

Denying himself her company and her affection was painful and he didn’t know what that meant.

How much of his life had he structured around her without realizing it?

How much had he come to rely on her smiles and her bright eyes?

It only seemed to confirm what Leo and Basil had suggested, that somehow Richard’s feelings for Elodia had evolved past friendship.

Richard wasn’t convinced though. She was sweet and sincere, but part of him couldn’t shake the fact that she was the same age as his little sister.

The little sister who used to crawl into his bed when she was afraid, and ran to him whenever she scraped her knee.

He felt a responsibility towards Elodia, and an instinct to protect her, from her smile to every dark, curling hair on her head.

He regretted hurting her feelings and despised seeing her upset, but that wasn’t the same thing as love, was it?

And all of this didn’t even begin to touch her father.

Even if Richard had thought to return those feelings, there wasn’t a chance in hell the viscount would allow his precious child to marry a mixed-race merchant, regardless of how rich the merchant was, or how often he’d been to dinner at his house.

The viscount was a tolerant man, but even that seemed to be a bridge too far.

No matter how disappointed she was now, she would recover with time.

She would realize that she wanted someone who could give her more.

She would thank him for keeping his head and allowing her the time to discover the truth of her heart and keep her father.

Once she let go of her na?ve feelings, things would resolve themselves naturally.

He just had to wait it out. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was losing something more precious than he even knew, and the cost was something he would never be able to recover from.

Orange blossoms filled his nostrils and his jaw tightened.

“Lover.”

He should have known she would be here as well. “Rachel.”

“I’ve missed you.”

“What do you want with me?”

“To apologize, of course. I wasn’t on my best behavior the last time we were together.”

“Mmmm, but perhaps more yourself.”

“I wanted an opportunity to make it up to you.”

“You can do that by leaving me alone.”

“Don’t be like that, darling. We’ve had such a good run. There’s no need for it to end on a sour note.”

“As long as it ends.”

“One more night,” she purred. “I promise I’ll behave, you can do whatever you want, I’ll be whatever you want…”

“No thank you.” He began to walk away but she followed him, gripping the arm of his jacket.

“Why not? You aren’t married yet.”

“I don’t owe you a reason. Thank you for the offer but I am not interested.”

“You are being very disagreeable,” she grumbled.

“That is your opinion.” He took a small step back, removing her hand from his person and bowed to her. “Good evening, Lady Tremaine.” There was no way for her to follow him now without bringing attention to herself. He turned and walked to the refreshments table.

He poured himself a glass of madeira and choked down the sweet wine.

He hated that he had allowed her to be so close to him.

Why did it matter so much that he wasn’t interested?

There was no clout to maintain with anyone, because no one knew.

There was no reason to cling to him so damned particularly because they both knew she had other lovers.

It had been annoying before, but now it was getting unsettling. How long did she mean to persist with this?

“Goodness, are you here?” his uncle’s snarling voice came from over his shoulder and Richard’s back tensed instantly, his jaw locking against a curse. Christ alive, had he been invited as well?

He hadn’t heard or seen his uncle in years, but if he never did again in his life, it would be too soon. He didn’t turn to face him, merely waited for him to step forward.

“I thought you’d removed yourself last year,” he continued.

“How silly of you,” Richard replied, consciously relaxing his grip on his glass.

“I hear that girl managed a most advantageous match indeed.”

That girl. There were so many ways he could refer to her. His niece. His brother’s daughter. Adelaide. Ada. A’wei. That girl. “Yes. Thank you for that.”

Simon frowned in confusion. If Richard didn’t know what he knew, he would almost have believed it. “You flatter me, nephew, I am not acquainted with the Viscount Sterling.”

“Mmm, but you are well enough acquainted with others.” The words came out before he could stop them.

His frown deepened. “I don’t know—”

“What you know or don’t know is your first problem.” No, he wasn’t going to play that game. He could pretend he was innocent, but Richard wasn’t about to play along with the farce. “I know you , and your limits. That is your second.”

“Are you threatening me, boy?”

“Do I need to?” Richard gave him a scathing sidelong glance, taking in his brown hair and eyes, his weak chin, the thin moustache above equally thin lips. He had always been a perfectly average man, eaten up with bitterness over his own mediocrity.

“This conversation is growing tiresome,” Simon said, rolling his eyes.

“Feel free to remove yourself from my presence, by all means.” It’s not as if Richard had sought out the man’s company.

“It is not for me to be driven away by the likes of you,” he sneered.

“That remains to be seen. You see those you deem beneath you as resources to be plundered or obstacles to be removed, but I shall take this unpleasant moment to remind you that no one is invulnerable. Least of all you.”

“Is this an appeal to familial sentiment?” Simon asked with a haughty eyebrow lifted.

Richard’s smile was almost feral, the desire to beat him bloody almost overwhelming. “That is amusing. Incidentally, my father’s memory is the only thing keeping food in your mouth and a roof over your head. If you want to keep living the life you have then stay away from me and mine.”

The mask slipped and his beady little eyes narrowed. “You think because your sister managed to seduce the son of a viscount you can make threats to me?”

“This is your last warning, Simon. You know your nephew but you haven’t met me yet. Test my patience further and I’ll let you spend your last days in that debtor’s prison you had arranged for me.”

“You little—”

“Mr. Thornfield, and Mr. Thornfield.” A light female voice cut his uncle off and Richard turned with a smile he didn’t feel to see A’wei approaching with her mother-in-law, the Viscountess Sterling.

He smiled and bowed to her, before brushing a light kiss to A’wei’s cheek.

“My lady, sister.”

“Brother,” A’wei replied evenly before greeting their uncle. Her sweet face was hardened into something entirely alien to Richard. “Uncle Simon,”