a glass of champagne and continued to inquire as to what she had been doing these last few months, Timothy tried not to notice Miss Mullins nearby. He told himself that there was no need to feel any sort of guilt or embarrassment, for he had done nothing wrong. And yet, with every word he spoke, he felt himself grow more and more twisted inside, fearful that she would think all the worse of him.
“I must excuse myself now, Lord Coventry,” Lady Rachelle smiled as an older lady, whom Timothy recognized to be Lady Rachelle’s companion, drew near. “I am to dance with Lord Tomlinson, I think.” She glanced at the companion, who nodded but said nothing. “I must hope that one day soon, we shall be able to dance together again.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if she would be able to spare him a dance this evening, but for whatever reason, the presence of Miss Mullins stopped him from doing so. He was sure he caught a flicker of disappointment in Lady Rachelle’s eyes as she bobbed a curtsy, his skin flaming hot as she touched his arm as she passed. Why had he not asked her? Given all that she had said, it seemed quite reasonable to expect that she would accept a dance from him, no matter what the ton might think! Turning around, he made to go back to her, only to see Lady Newfield rise from her chair and take a few steps towards him. He had no other choice but to allow Lady Rachelle to depart, his name not written on her dance card.
“Lady Newfield,” he said as easily as he could. “Good evening.”
Lady Newfield lifted her chin and glared at him. “Good evening, Lord Coventry. Are you having a pleasant evening?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Might I remind you,” Lady Newfield said with a fierceness to her voice, “that you are, at this moment, meant to be courting my goddaughter? In the last sennight, I have heard you only called upon her once to take tea! And given that there have been no social occasions that you were able to attend alongside her, I would have thought that you would have shown her a little more interest.”
Timothy swallowed hard. The truth was, this last sennight, he had been caught up thinking about what had happened at the evening assembly and had entirely forgotten about courting Miss Mullins.
“Her uncle might not have a great deal of consideration for what occurs between you and Miss Mullins, but I do,” Lady Newfield continued firmly. “If you wish to find yourself betrothed, as you agreed with her uncle, then might I ask you to do all you can to court her so that she does not go into this marriage not knowing anything about her husband.”
A little ashamed and realizing that he had been entirely caught up with all that worried him rather than what he was meant to be doing regarding Miss Mullins, Timothy had no other choice but to speak honestly.
“I have every intention of courting Miss Mullins a little more openly,” he told the lady, whose hard gaze showed she did not believe he was telling the truth. “I have not wanted to rush her into this, knowing that she only discovered the truth about our engagement recently.”
Lady Newfield’s eyes narrowed all the more but she stepped to one side, gesturing to where Miss Mullins still sat. “Then might I suggest that you do as you have said and go to my goddaughter, Lord Coventry.”
Feeling as though he had been given a stern talking to by a person of authority, Timothy cleared his throat and made his way towards Miss Mullins.
She was not smiling and did not even glance up at him as he came to sit down beside her.
“Good evening, Miss Mullins,” he said with what he hoped was a welcoming smile. “I hope you are able to dance this evening?”
Her eyes slid towards him, one eyebrow lifted. “Do you intend to go in search of my uncle again to seek his permission and use that as an excuse to remain far from me for the rest of the evening?”
He was taken aback by the sharpness of her tone, the mockery in her words. It was clear that she was angry with him, that she was deeply upset, but he had not expected her to speak so cruelly. The shock he felt must have shown on his face for Miss Mullins’