so very much, but no amount of reassurances budged the fellow. A steady refrain of denials kept her at arm’s length, and as their time together wound to a close, a weight settled in Felicity’s stomach.
Mr. Finch was determined to cast her aside because of his lack of funds.
Taking her by the arm, the gentleman did his duty and led her from the floor without a word. The pair moved together, though a gaping void stood between them.
Felicity’s breaths came quicker as she glanced at him (though he kept his face turned away from her) and realized that he saw her in the same light as the other gentlemen: Felicity Barrows was simply an heiress and nothing more, whose defining characteristic was numbers in a ledger. Where others used that as a reason to pursue her, Mr. Finch saw it as a reason to avoid her, but that did not negate the fact that men viewed her money first and foremost.
“So, Mr. Finch,” she said as they came to a stop, “our situation is unchanged because yours has not.”
He shifted in place, tucking his hands behind him while his eyes looked at anything but her. “I have nothing to offer you, Miss Barrows.”
Her throat tightened, and Felicity tried to swallow, though it felt like someone had tied it in a knot. While there was an admirable amount of self-sacrifice steeped in his words, they simply reinforced the fact that he was no different than the others. Taking in a breath, Felicity tried to steel her heart against the prickles of pain, but it was like trying to stop the earth from spinning.
“I see,” she murmured. “If you view one’s value only in terms of money and income, perhaps we are not suited after all.”
He flinched, though she could not fathom why those words mattered to him. This break between them was of his doing, and there was no point in belaboring the issue. Felicity would not beg him to love her.
“Miss Barrows,” called Mr. Wilson as he arrived at Felicity’s elbow. The fellow gave Mr. Finch a hard look before turning a smile to her. “As my set with you was commandeered by another, might I claim this one?”
A sigh lurked beneath her placid expression, begging to be let loose. Though Felicity wanted nothing more than to send him away rather than be subjected to his insipid conversation, there was nothing to be done.
“Of course, Mr. Wilson,” she said, taking his proffered arm.
Though she wished she felt nothing when surrendering her place at Mr. Finch’s side, Felicity’s heart was as illogical as any. Even after his rejection, she still longed to be near him and bask in all the wonderful moments to be found with him.
A fleeting hope whispered that Mr. Wilson may prove more diverting with time, but he and several other gentlemen had pestered and preened around her for the entirety of the assembly, and he’d proven thus far to be as uninterested in anything she had to say as the rest of the fellows. That might be forgiven if Mr. Wilson was a source of entertaining conversation, but alas, he was far too enamored with his horse’s bloodlines. Felicity forced a smile on her lips and nodded as Mr. Wilson began to drone on, listing off all his abilities and talents, as though petitioning an employer for a position.
At least Alastair had not approached yet. She caught glimpses of him lurking in the background, watching her with longing eyes that were likely meant to make her weak at the knees. But Felicity knew better than to think he would be content with simply gazing from afar.
Chapter 30
Content was not a word Simon associated with assemblies and dancing, yet there was no other descriptor to choose at this very moment. Standing to one side of the assembly rooms, Simon surveyed the crowd, his gaze lingering on his wife. Mina’s dark eyes sparkled in the candlelight, her hands gesturing as she spoke to Lady Lovell with a smile stretched across her face in a manner that would raise the eyebrows of the posh ladies of London.
Yes, Simon Kingsley was quite content.
Casting his thoughts to the changes fate had wrought in his world, he was startled to realize that it was almost a year ago that a ball had brought Mina into his life. That Simon of the past had foolishly thought marriage would free him from the demands of bachelorhood, such as dancing at balls and assemblies. Instead, it