A Wager Of The Heart

64. We come to it at last

:::Charity:::

I leaned against the wall and watched Kent watching my sister. I was confident he and Brandan would do as I asked. Geri would spend the rest of the evening dancing with two men Ursula didn't approve of, which was a perfectly wonderful situation. We could leave this house tomorrow and Geri would be spared any further interference from her grandmother. 

I smiled to myself, despite Ursula's best efforts Geri would soon get what she wanted. I focused my attention back on Kent and found my face overcome by a very different kind of smile. I knew he could not resist loving my sister and in some small way it must be happening. Why else would he stop his activities to prevent Geri from spending time with other men? It was a sad and oddly self-satisfied smile, I wanted to march to him and declare that I'd been right all along. 

A small group of women stopped between me and my view of Kent and Geri. It was led, I noticed, by the woman Kent dismissed earlier. Not one of her small army of females spared me a glance. I was not fooled by their indifference and I sighed heavily in annoyance. 

"That one," The woman said as she pointed to where I knew Kent stood. "Can you believe he said he would choose a bastard over me?" She snickered and looked at her friends. "It is most likely he took the news that I would stay pure until our wedding night as too much of a challenge. After all, we know what bastards are good for. When he's done with her, I'm sure he'll find me. The Countess warned me but I was tempted by my future as the wife of an Earl."

The group of girls laughed as one and I rolled my eyes. Kent didn't seem the fickle type and this slip of a woman would not win him simply because she wanted his title. The laughter died and one of the geese I didn't know spoke up. "The bastard is behind us, leaning on a wall and glowering. Doesn't the Countess know that bastards stain wood?" She spoke very openly and several people looked angrily at me. "We should say something."

I pushed myself off the wall and walked away. Geri would be looked after and there was no reason for me to linger and suffer abuses at stranger's hurtful words. I did not want to be in a room full of people who felt their perfect breeding made them better than me. I didn't ask for them to accept me but I had never felt more like a bastard than I did in this moment. 

I moved on the edge of the crowd, a growing need to escape their scrutiny making me move even faster. It was strange really, one minute I was perfectly fine and then, very suddenly, I wasn't. I walked toward the open doors that led to the lit terrace. Complete escape was beyond my grasp, but being alone surrounded only by a late summer breeze would calm my rampaging thoughts. 

I stepped into the night and groaned, it seemed I was not the only one who sought refuge in the open. The terrace was full of people clumped together in groups or pairs. Most of them held refreshments in their hands and their cheeks glowed with warmth. I grunted in annoyance, the air was just as thick and heavy as it was inside.

I looked for an alternative escape route and walked inconspicuously toward the darkened edge of the stone terrace and the small set of stairs that would lead me to a measure of safety. I stopped and rested briefly against the railing trying to keep attention away from myself. The ballroom was located at the back of the house and in the gloom stretching beyond the candle light I could see the beginnings of a garden. It would do for tonight but I found myself longing for the tranquility I found at Preston Palace. Even if it came with a handsome devil. I smiled and looked around, making sure no one was paying the bastard any attention. I slipped down the stairs and into the shadows. 

I walked carefully along the cobbled walkway, certain each clip-clap of my shoes could be heard by everyone behind me. The trip to the garden was a very short one, no more than thirty feet and I slipped into the secluded bushes quickly. I stepped around a tall hedge at the entrance and saw a bench and nothing more some twenty feet further into the space. It seemed an odd placement but I had no desire to get myself lost so I stepped forward and sat down.