Last Chance for the Charming Ladies: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Collection

by Fanny Finch

  Miss Worthing would have had to marry one man while loving another. And while he could hope that she would have come to love her husband, it still struck him as rather cruel. Or at the very least, unfair.

  But fortunately, that was not how things were going to go. Because Miss Worthing’s affections were returned.

  He should have known from the start. He had taken a liking to Miss Worthing at once. Had been lauding her, both in his mind and to Georgiana, for her behavior and manner.

  He had constantly compared other women unfavorably to her. He had enjoyed spending time with her and had sought her out.

  How could he have been so blind? He should have seized upon it at once and courted her while fully aware of it. He could have proposed to her a week ago, even.

  Georgiana must have sensed his thoughts, for she shook her head. “Do not dwell upon what you should or should not have done. I can read it well in your face that you are chastising yourself. You must not be too harsh on yourself.

  “What is important is not what you might or could have done in the past but what you do here and now in the present. Which, I would recommend, is first and foremost going to bed.”

  “One would be forgiven for mistaking you as the elder sibling,” Edward replied, with affected crankiness.

  Georgiana rose, elegant as ever. “In any case, I am going to bed. I suggest you do the same. Your thoughts and your love will, I should hope, keep until the morning.”

  “Perhaps…you could arrange to be out of the house for a time?” Edward asked, hesitantly. He did not wish to impose too much upon his sister, but he also did not see how he could catch Miss Worthing alone if Georgiana was in the house. The two ladies were inseparable.

  Georgiana inclined her head. “I think that I can certainly manage such a thing. I shall call upon some friends. Miss Worthing is expecting some calls, I believe, and so will have to stay home.”

  Edward felt a possessive, fiery feeling rise up in his chest. “Those calls are, I hope, from women only.”

  “I can assure you that if they are not, you will easily be able to set it all to rights.” Georgiana sounded amused.

  Edward supposed that having to dispel any illusions of courtship that various men might now possess was his just punishment for taking so long to realize how he felt.

  “Very well. I shall not expect to see you tomorrow then.”

  “Not in the morning, at least,” Georgiana replied.

  Then she went up to bed.

  Edward stared into the fire for another moment before putting it out and going to bed himself. His thoughts were still in a bit of a whirlwind. He hastily scribbled down some notes to himself. He could fashion them into a proper speech in the morning.

  His sister was right: he needed sleep.

  He wanted to be at his best tomorrow.

  Chapter 21

  Maria slept in that morning and awoke only when she heard the front door closing.

  It was a rather heavy door, and no matter how much they all tried to close it quietly, it inevitably sounded throughout the house.

  She opened her eyes. That must be Lord Reginald, going out to handle his business for the day.

  It was probably a sign of her cowardice, but she was glad. She did not know if she could face him quite yet.

  Maria sat up, looking at the clock on the wall. Oh dear. It was much later than she usually got up. Georgiana must be waiting for her.

  Fortunately Georgiana was the sort of person who could easily entertain herself. Especially if there was a book of poetry present.

  Maria dressed quickly and simply. She was not going out that day, not until the dinner party and the opera that night. Several people last night had let her know that they should be calling upon her and she would not wish to miss them.

  As she got ready, she glanced at her dance card from the night before. She had kept it so that she might mark it down for her list of potential husbands.

  She paused, her hand suspended in the air, halfway to the pen she kept nearby.

  …surely she could work on the list later. It wouldn’t do to keep Georgiana waiting any longer than she already had been.

  Maria finished getting ready and went downstairs. She had probably missed breakfast at this point. She hadn’t realized quite how much she had exhausted herself last night. If she was going to be this busy at balls from now on she would have to get used to that.

  As she got to the bottom of the stairs she headed straight for the library. That would most likely be where Georgiana was.

  But as she started to cross into the sitting room to reach the library, she froze.

  Lord Reginald was sitting there, reading the paper.

  Maria could hardly breathe. She had not prepared herself. She had not expected to see him that morning.

  She could hear her heart pounding and heat spreading over her face. He looked unbearably handsome in the late morning light. She wanted to run her hands through his pale hair, erase the worry lines from the corners of his eyes.

  Another part of her wanted to back out of the room, quickly, before he noticed her.

  Lord Reginald looked up. Maria’s breath caught in her throat. Too late, he had seen her.

  He gave her a small, almost tentative smile. “Good morning, Miss Worthing.”

  “Good morning, my lord.” She glanced around. “Is your sister not around?”

  “She left to make some morning calls. She told me that you had to stay at home and to let you know that she hopes you enjoy your visitors. She’ll be back in time to help you prepare for the dinner tonight.”

  He was still looking at her with this oddly anxious smile. Maria wasn’t sure how to interpret it. What did he have to be anxious about?

  Unless he had disapproved of her behavior again last night and was trying to think of a compassionate way to tell her so. Or he had noticed how she felt about him and was now unsure how to behave around her. She would not blame him either way.

  She had thought that she had behaved perfectly acceptably last night but what if she had gotten it wrong again? And of course he would be uncomfortable if he knew her feelings. He must be wondering how to act in a way that would still be kind without leading her on or helping her to draw hope where there was none.

  Maria wondered if she might beat a hasty retreat without it seeming too awkward when Lord Reginald spoke again.

  “I am glad to see that you are awake.” He stood, folding up the paper and setting it aside. “I was hoping that I might compel you to join me on a short walk through the park.”

  “I’m afraid that I am expecting visitors,” Maria said apologetically.

  “It will only be a short walk, I hope,” Lord Reginald replied. “I can instruct the servants to have any visitors wait until we return. It will not take but a moment.”

  Maria nodded. What else could she do? She did not see how she could refuse without being rude. And it wouldn’t take very long at all.

  And, God help her, she wanted to spend time with him. She was still a lovestruck fool and she wanted whatever amount of time and affection he was willing to give her.

  Perhaps, however, this was his way of taking her somewhere he could let her down gently. Maria’s heart sank and her stomach twisted painfully.

  It would make sense. A park was a public, neutral space. She could walk a little ways on her own if she needed some time to herself afterwards. Or he could remain at the park while she returned to the house to receive visitors.

  They would not be interrupted at the park, and so there was no chance of someone walking up to them while she happened to be restraining tears. And the park was a happy place for her, a calming place.

  It was very thoughtful of him, really, to put such care into selecting a place to reject her. Even the word ‘reject’ felt too strong. It was as though he was setting her down gently to the side, out of reach.

  But of course she should have known that this was coming. Miss Hennings, of all people, had noticed Mar
ia’s feelings. How could Lord Reginald have failed to do so?

  He must have seen her at the ball last night and thought she was moving on. She had done her best to showcase that by her actions, after all. He must be thinking that it was now safe to officially tell her there was no hope, now that she seemed to be showing an interest in other men.

  It explained Georgiana’s absence as well. She had told Maria that she did support the idea of Maria and her brother united in marriage. But she had also told Maria that she was not going to interfere either way.

  Whatever Georgiana’s thoughts on the matter, she was going to stay out of it. Maria was certain of that. Georgiana was not the type to sway one person in a particular direction without being asked first. And Maria could not see Lord Reginald asking for his sister’s opinion on this.

  Except, perhaps, in how to break the news gently to her. As gruff as he could be, Lord Reginald was not a cruel man. Especially after their little disagreement and subsequent apology. Maria was certain that he would be as kind and gentle as possible about the entire situation.

  Indeed, the only thing Maria could feel, other than sadness, was shame. She should have done a better job of hiding her feelings.

  How awful must Lord Reginald feel now? How embarrassed? How uncomfortable?

  She must apologize to him once he had said his piece. She would have to let him know that she bore him no ill will. That she could not blame him for anything he did or did not feel. Emotions could not be controlled, after all.

  And, of course, she must ask him to forgive her for behaving so indiscreetly enough that he knew of her feelings. She would assure him that she had never intended for him to know how she felt. That she felt nothing but kindness towards him no matter how he felt towards her.

  Maria scrambled to think of the right words, to sort them into her head, as Lord Reginald approached her. “Will you not need a coat?” he asked.

  She looked down at herself. “I’m afraid that I am not in any shape for walking. I did not think that I would be leaving the house.”

  Lord Reginald’s eyes were soft as they gazed upon her. She strove not to misinterpret that as true affection. He loved her as a sister, she must remember that. They were friends. Nothing else.

  “I think that you look perfectly well,” he told her. “Of course if you prefer it you may change. But if you are worried about your appearance you need not be. You look quite well to me.”

  Maria could feel herself blushing and did her best to ignore it. “If you think so, then I am perfectly ready to go out.”

  Lord Reginald helped her to get her coat, and then they walked in silence to the park.

  Maria was certain that she could not be imagining the odd quality of the silence between them. The household was a quiet one. Usually she and Georgiana would read when they were not out making calls. And Lord Reginald would be out doing business, or else quietly writing in his office. Even when they were all engaging one another in conversation, it was quiet.

  It was what Maria had been used to at the plantation, honestly. She would chat with the servants in a way that she simply couldn’t here in England. She’d had no idea until coming here how strict the rules for interacting with servants were.

  But otherwise, it was just herself and Father in the house. It wasn’t much in the way of being raucous and social. And so she was glad that the Reginald household was rather similar.

  But during those times, the silence had always been comfortable. Something that she could relax into. Something she didn’t have to think about. It simply was three people who enjoyed one another’s company spending time with one another.

  Now…now it was something entirely different.

  She could feel the tension coming off of Lord Reginald in waves. Maria wondered if she should simply tell him that she knew. That she understood. Perhaps that would ease the way for him?

  A broken heart was not an easy thing to deal with and she was not going to pretend that it was. But she was an adult. She could handle this with some level of maturity, surely. Lord Reginald need not worry about her crying or pleading with him or doing anything else to make him uncomfortable.

  She would respect his decision. She could not guarantee that she would not cry to herself when she was alone in her room later on. But that was just between her and the four walls of her bedroom.

  As they entered the park, Maria could not help but recall how they had done this just the other day. Only it had been under much different, and happier, circumstances.

  Oh, how happy she had been that day! How much she had enjoyed their talk and sitting quietly sketching while Lord Reginald had watched.

  That had been such a perfect day in her eyes. And then she had gone and ruined it that evening with her behavior.

  But up until then, it had been lovely. At the time she had looked forward with eagerness to when they might return to the park. She had longed for a repeat of those precious hours.

  Now…now, she was dreading it.

  The sky was no grayer than it had been on that day. The flowers still bloomed. There were children running about the green. And yet everything felt more subdued. Sadder. More… muffled, almost.

  It was as though there was a happy layer to the world from which she was now separated.

  Lord Reginald directed them into a path that would lead them around the circumference of the entire park. It afforded a lovely view while simultaneously keeping them separated from the main groups of people who were more towards the middle.

  Maria couldn’t help but think it was clever. It allowed them a good view but gave them privacy for their discussion.

  She wanted to scream at Lord Reginald to spit it out already. She knew what he was going to say. The continued silence only tortured her further and delayed the inevitable.

  At last, after what felt like hours, Lord Reginald cleared his throat. Maria might have been imagining it, but it looked as though he drew a small folded piece of paper out of his pocket, glanced at it, and then put it back into his pocket.

  Had he prepared a speech? Had he truly worried that much over how to let her down? He was too kind to her.

  “Miss Worthing,” he began. “I hope that what I am about to say will not seem presumptuous. I have struggled as to how to properly address the issue at hand. But I fear that, in the end, there is no way to be completely delicate in such a matter. Not when there are such strong…emotions, involved.”

  Maria’s eyes were already beginning to burn. She blinked quickly and forced herself to keep breathing normally, taking slow, deep breaths.

  She very carefully did not look at Lord Reginald. She did not dare, for surely if she did, she would burst into tears and that would be awful for the both of them.

  “It has come to my attention that I have been remiss in my presentations to you. I was a fool who did not know my own heart. In doing so, I fear I have put you in a most cruel position.”

  He was being awfully kind about it, and unnecessarily so. There was no reason for him to put it on himself like this. The fault of her feelings was hers alone. He did not compel her.

  “Believe me, had I been aware of things, I would not have kept you hanging in such painful suspense for so long a time.”

  Was she imagining it, or was he speaking to her with an added layer of tenderness? He almost always spoke to her with kindness and attentiveness. But this was something else. Something more.

  “I must confess, however, that I have learned something about myself over the last few days of knowing you. I have learned that I am not so astute when it comes to my own motivations, and my own behavior, as I once thought.

  “Indeed, you have assisted me in providing me with some of those insights. I found myself relying upon your observations of human character at least once during the course of the previous evening.”

  Maria turned and looked at him instinctively, despite her initial decision not to. She had to see if he was jesting with her. But when she looked at him, Lord
Reginald merely gave her a small, fond smile.

  He seemed to be in earnest.

  It was affirming to know that he listened to her and respected her so much, even after her mistakes. But what was it leading up to? Was he trying to reassure her that despite his lack of romantic feelings he still valued her?

  Maria looked away again. Because she was a coward.

  Lord Reginald continued on. “I…I am not good at this sort of thing. Just as I suppose anyone who has never done a thing before cannot expect to be all that good at it on his first attempt. But I shall try. I want to try.