difficult for him to contain it. “You have done enough, Lady Kensington.”
“I have done very little!” she protested, smiling at him as though they were great friends. “You have been very willing thus far, Lord Richmond, and such willingness must continue. There is, as I have said, only one small matter remaining. And I will inform you of it tomorrow morning, by letter.”
“I will not read it.”
“You will.” Leaning a little closer, she set her cold, hard gaze to his. “Just because Lady Rebecca has seen us conversing does not mean that I cannot have her thrown from society for good. Do you really wish to allow that to happen?”
Jeffery dropped his head, his resistance gone. Lady Kensington laughed softly, clearly aware of her victory. She reached out and squeezed his hand before making her way into the parlor herself without so much as a glance back towards him. Jeffery remained precisely where he was, his whole body tight with fury, his anger burning hotter than it had ever done before, although his heart pounded and ached with pain. He wanted to rush in after Lady Kensington, to grasp her arms and shake her until she realized that he was not going to go about her bidding any longer.
But he could not.
There was one last thing for him to do. One last request that Lady Kensington was to put to him. And then, it seemed, it would be at an end. He could not quite understand why it would be so, what had changed for her to decide that he would be free of her grip on his life, but Jeffery did not care. It was too late. Lady Rebecca had already seen him conversing with Lady Kensington and had come to the worst possible conclusion.
And yet, he would protect her. He would do as Lady Kensington asked without hesitation so she would not injure Lady Rebecca in any way.
Lifting his head, Jeffery followed after Lady Rebecca back into the hubbub of guests, although, by now, he had very little idea where she had gone. His shoulders slumped as he meandered forward, not looking to the right or left but making his way through the crowd, a broken man. It was time for him to leave this place, time for him to return home where he might nurse his broken spirit in peace.
“Richmond!”
Lord Swinton’s bright voice was nothing more than a fresh agony to Jeffery’s soul.
“Where have you been?” Lord Swinton exclaimed loudly, his face a little red from dancing. “I have danced every dance thus far, and I am sure that there would be some here willing to dance with you also, if you would wish it?”
Jeffery lifted his head and looked at his friend, seeing how his smile began to fade away at Jeffery’s expression.
“I am returning home,” Jeffery said heavily. “And then, once tomorrow comes and the responsibility towards Lady Kensington comes to an end, I will make my way back to my estate.”
Lord Swinton blinked in surprise. “Your estate?” he repeated, all the more astonished. “Why ever should you do so?”
Jeffery shook his head and raked one hand through his hair, his spirits lower than ever before. “Lady Rebecca came upon Lady Kensington and I conversing,” he said, each word seeming to bruise his lips as he spoke. “There is nothing left for me here. It is all at an end.”
Lord Swinton made to stop him, but Jeffery ignored him entirely, walking on towards the door, desperate to escape. Once outside, the darkness of the night wrapped him in a shroud and added its heavy weight to his soul, leaving him feeling weary and entirely broken. There was not even a single modicum of hope remaining. Everything was at an end, and he would never see Lady Rebecca again.
“You will write to Lord Bellingham, meet with him, and will give him the box you purchased from Sturrock and Sons as well as the other items that you have kept in your care. He is expecting you to do so. Thereafter, you will write a short note to me and inform me that all has been done as you intended.”
The note from Lady Kensington made very little sense to Jeffery, but given that he had no hope, no flicker of happiness nor murmur of content in his soul, it made very little difference. He would do as he had been asked and then would remove himself back to his estate. Lady Kensington would have no further part