A Christmas Match (Landon House #4) - Rose Pearson Page 0,60
helplessly after him, feeling all manner of nervousness flood her.
“Why should they wish to call, after what happened last evening?” Lady Hayward asked, her voice holding a faint trace of anger. “Do not listen to a word that they say, Lady Charity, I beg you. No doubt, Lady Dewsbury will do much the same as last evening and Lady Norwich will attempt to convince you that there is a connection between herself and Lord Hosmer which can never be broken.” Her eyes held Charity’s firmly. “Do not allow them to convince you of it.”
“I – I will not,” Charity answered, forcing herself to find the same strength of resolve that had been present within her spirits only a short time before. “Lord Hosmer is not here to either argue or defend himself, which means that I must do it on his behalf.” Her fingers twisted together as she set her shoulders. “They will not convince me, Lady Hayward. Not after what you have said. I can assure you of that.”
Lady Hayward looked all the more pleased, although there was a flicker of anger in her eyes that only grew rather than faded.
“I am very glad to hear you speak so, Lady Charity,” she said, as the quiet knock to the door came again, announcing the arrival of their afternoon callers. “Now, let us be pleasant but firm. Steadfast and determined.”
Charity nodded and rose to her feet.
“Of course, Lady Hayward,” she answered, just before her chaperone called for them to enter.
“You must be wondering why we have called, Lady Hayward.”
Charity reached out and lifted her teacup and saucer, glancing towards Lady Hayward as she did so. Both Lady Dewsbury and Lady Norwich had been present for some ten minutes and with the tea already poured, it now appeared time for them both to speak purposefully about what their true reasons were for coming to Lady Hayward’s home.
“You are welcome to call, Lady Dewsbury, without any particular reason,” Lady Hayward answered, speaking quite calmly and with a small, if not rather cool smile on her face. “There is no need to express any reason, as such.”
“Oh, but we must!” Lady Norwich exclaimed, as Charity took a sip of her tea and did her best to remain quite calm. “There has clearly been some sort of misunderstanding and we did not want either yourself or Lady Charity to be left in a state of confusion!”
Lady Hayward blinked in surprise, then looked towards Charity, her eyebrows lifting.
“Confusion?” she repeated, as Charity allowed herself a small smile. “Forgive me, Lady Norwich, but I assure you that there is no confusion here at present.”
“Oh?” Lady Norwich’s eagerness seemed to leave her as she looked towards her mother – and Charity did not miss the way that Lady Dewsbury frowned at her daughter, clearly encouraging her not to stray from their predetermined path. “That is to say, I am glad that there is no confusion. I should not like Lord Hosmer’s intentions to have been so misconstrued.”
Charity bit her lip and forced herself not to speak harshly, not to retort to the lady. Instead, she took in a breath and waited for a moment or two before she responded.
“There is no confusion when it comes to Lord Hosmer,” she said, quite firmly. “I can assure you of that, Lady Norwich.” Lady Norwich’s eyes glittered with a malevolence that threatened to steal some of Charity’s confidence but, with an effort, she continued to speak in the same calm, quiet tone as she had done before. “Lord Hosmer has made himself very clear when it comes to our acquaintance,” she continued, as Lady Norwich sighed plaintively and shook her head. “I have no doubts or fears in that regard, Lady Norwich, I can assure you of that.”
“I am afraid that you are quite mistaken there, Lady Charity,” came the swift reply. “Last evening, once you had departed, Lord Hosmer sought me out.”
“He did,” Lady Dewsbury interrupted, as though her word would give all the more assurance to Charity’s heart. “He did find my daughter and spoke to her at length.”
No flare of doubt stole Charity’s breath and she remained precisely as she was, with what she hoped was a disbelieving expression on her face.
“I see,” she replied, in a somewhat bored tone, before reaching for her tea again.
“He has told me that I was quite right to come to him as I did,” Lady Norwich continued, her voice growing a little more fervent. “That he had been torn between