Edgerton opened his mouth and then closed it, glancing down as if examining the toe of his boot. “I don’t know. I . . . I wanted to speak to her alone, but she refused to go to the courtyard with me. The truth is, Nicholas, I do love the girl.” He looked up and grimaced. “I’m sorry if I upset her, truthfully. I have never been very good at wooing. I intend to marry her, but she doesn’t quite fancy me yet.”
Nicholas debated with himself what to say to Edgerton, whether to believe he was sincere. Finally he said, “She will never fancy you if you treat her in such a way.” His stomach sank at the thought of poor Miss Grey trying to make herself love a man like Edgerton simply to please her uncle and avoid becoming a governess. “But if you ever treat her in that reprehensible way again . . . she is a friend of my sister’s, and, as such, you are never to go near her again unless you are sober and ready to treat her like the lady that she is.”
Edgerton looked askance at him. Finally, he used his elbow to push himself off the wall. “Very well, I shall take your advice. Any other tips you might have to make her want to marry me?”
Nicholas clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to be giving Edgerton pointers on how to woo Miss Grey. He still wanted to punch him in the face. “No.”
Miss Grey still stood talking with Miss Mayson. Had Nicholas harmed her situation with her family, with her aunt and uncle and cousin, by dancing with her twice in one evening? Though he hated Edgerton for pointing it out, Miss Grey probably was a bit desperate to avoid becoming a governess. But would she be desperate enough to marry Edgerton?
Either way, Nicholas could not help trying to see that she would get home safely. There was something almost sinister about the way her guardians, the Wilherns, treated her.
Nicholas had no desire to dance anymore that night, but while Miss Grey spoke with her friend, he turned and asked the first girl he saw, pasting a smile on his face and vowing that no one would say he favored Miss Grey or was paying her undue attention.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As Julia walked away from the dance floor, the crowd around her blurred. Thankfully, she noticed Felicity subtly waving her over, so she headed in the direction of her friend.
The hand she reached out to Felicity was shaking.
“Julia!” Felicity said in an excited whisper. “Mr. Langdon danced with you twice.”
“Please don’t speak of it,” Julia whispered back. “Just imagine what Phoebe will say, what my aunt and uncle will think.”
“Oh.” Felicity’s mouth hung open in realization. “I didn’t think about that. But do you believe Mr. Langdon is in love with you?”
“No, no. At least, I hope not.” That’s not entirely true. “Phoebe would never forgive me. How could I betray her that way?”
“You wouldn’t be betraying her, Julia. Mr. Langdon hasn’t shown any undue interest in Phoebe, hasn’t led her to think he had any intentions toward her. She will simply have to get over her infatuation with him and learn to be happy for you.”
“Felicity, he hasn’t exactly asked me to marry him! He only danced with me a second time. Now everyone will think—oh, what will I do if my uncle casts me out?”
“He wouldn’t do that.” Felicity squeezed her hand extra hard. “You are getting upset for nothing.”
Her aunt and uncle loved Phoebe, but she wasn’t at all sure they loved her. To them, she was only a poor relation.
A servant walked up to Julia and bowed. “I beg your pardon, Miss Grey.”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Wilhern asked me to inform you that he and Mrs. Wilhern are waiting for you in the carriage.”
Julia felt the blood rush from her cheeks. Her uncle must be furious.
“Julia?”
She glanced up at Felicity.
“Don’t worry.” A crease between Felicity’s brows showed that even she was worried, perceiving the seriousness of her situation. “I will call on you tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Julia tried to squeeze her friend’s hand, but she seemed to have lost strength in her limbs. Still, she must walk, must put one foot in front of the other and obey her uncle and make her way to the carriage without crumpling to the floor. She must not create a disturbance. A well-brought-up girl never did so if she could help it. She must behave properly. After all, if she were going to have to make her way by becoming a governess, a spotless reputation would be essential to her survival.
As soon as the set was done, Nicholas thanked his partner and turned to see Miss Grey leaving the ballroom.
He followed her, though at a far enough distance as to not seem as though he were following her. He tried to look nonchalant as he went, barely glancing at her to make sure she was still in front of him. When she went to get her wrap, while no one was looking, he slipped outside.
The Wilherns’ carriage was there, waiting. At least they were taking her home. He should probably go back inside. There was nothing else he could do. But something made him slip into the shadows by the front door, into a small alcove where there was just room enough for a small bench and a potted bush. Miss Grey emerged from the house only a few feet from him and proceeded down the front steps to the waiting carriage.