she said, giving herself a slight shake and putting a smile on her lips which Benedict presumed was nothing more than practical. “That should not matter to you, Lord Hosmer. You are doing all you can to forget the situation, are you not? If she is returned to London, then what of it?”
Benedict shook his head, unable to sort one swirling emotion from the other.
“It is not as simple as you make out, Lady Charity,” he replied, tersely. “You understand that I have not set eyes upon her since –”
“But what does that matter now?” she interrupted, picking up her tea cup and taking a sip before she continued. “If you allow yourself to become overwhelmed, then you are remaining precisely where you are at present. You remain the gentleman who cannot forget her, who cannot let go of his pain. Were you not telling me only a few minutes ago that this was not the sort of life you wished to lead any longer? That you were eager to remove yourself from it?”
The answer was there on his lips but Benedict could not speak it. The room seemed to shrink around him, the air growing a little less as he curled one hand into a fist in an attempt to keep himself entirely composed.
“I – I must leave you.”
He rose without warning, the cups and saucers rattling as he did so.
“Excuse me.”
He was being both rude and foolish, he knew, but Benedict did not care. The only thing he wanted was to make his way out of the tearoom before Lady Norwich saw him. He needed time to think on this, time to consider what he might do, now that he knew she was returned. Everything in him screamed with either confusion or pain and, even though he wanted to look back at Lady Charity, wanted to behave with much more decorum, Benedict found that he simply could not do so. Keeping his head low and pulling his hat down a little more, Benedict pulled open the door and stepped outside into the cold air.
It was only then that he finally felt he could breathe again, his chest still tight and his heart pounding.
Lady Norwich was back in London. And it seemed that she was, once again, about to throw everything into confusion.
Chapter Nine
Walking in to dinner was one thing but being seated across from a lady who Charity knew all too well was the source of Lord Hosmer’s consternation was quite another. Charity had been introduced to Lady Norwich and to her mother, Lady Dewsbury. She had been hard pressed to keep her expression calm and clear, knowing full well that the lady before her was the one who had broken Lord Hosmer’s heart.
“You have done very well thus far, Lady Charity,” Lady Hayward murmured, as they waited in preparation for the first of their courses to be served. “I can imagine that such an introduction must have been a little… interesting.”
Charity gave her companion a quick, wry smile.
“Indeed it was,” she agreed, softly. “But I shall not judge the lady. It is not my place to do so, given that I am not Lord Hosmer and I have only heard what he has said about the matter.”
It went against her conscience to speak so but Charity was quite determined that, despite her own thoughts and determinations, she would not be judgmental when it came to the lady. She was merely another acquaintance and, should Charity not have known anything about her, she was sure that she would have found Lady Norwich very pleasant indeed.
“I was very sorry to hear of your loss, Lady Norwich,” said one of the guests, as the soup was set before them. “That must have been a very trying time for you.”
Lady Norwich smiled back at the lady, although it was, Charity considered, something of a sad expression.
“Thank you,” she said, quietly. “It is difficult to consider that it occurred a little over a year ago, for it feels like such a very long time since then.”
“But of course it must,” the same lady replied, kindly. “You must feel his loss very heavily indeed.”
Charity cast a quick glance towards Lady Hayward who gave a small shake of her head at Charity’s look. It was clear that neither of them knew precisely what Lady Norwich was speaking of but, given the time that she had spoken of, Charity began to wonder if Lord Norwich had been the one to pass away. That would make