A Past to Forget by Rose Pearson

Author:Rose Pearson [Pearson, Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Landon Hill Media
Published: 2020-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

She is coming this way.

Leonard did not know what to make of this. He had not expected Miss Brooks to be present this evening and certainly had never even thought that she would come near to him!

“Goodness,” he heard Lord Repington say, although his voice seemed faint and far away. “It seems that Miss Brooks is not quite prepared to step away from you, in the way that you are with her.”

Leonard tried to speak but found his lips fastened together. His lungs began to burn, and he realized he had been holding his breath. Everything in him wanted to run to her, to catch her hands in his and to beg her forgiveness, but the knowledge that not only was Lady Moore present but, most certainly that she was probably watching him, made him all the more wary.

“Lord Stafford.”

He swallowed hard, his voice rasping as he spoke. “Good evening, Miss Brooks.”

She was paler than he remembered her, although her eyes were just as dazzling as before. When she spoke, however, there was a certain hardness to her voice, and her entire frame seemed fixed and steady, as though she wanted to make quite certain that nothing he said or did could injure her again.

“I—I did not expect to see you here this evening,” he found himself saying, not quite sure why he was stating such a thing. “I myself have no desire to be present.”

“And yet, here you are,” Miss Brooks replied, walking past him towards the back of the ballroom—and Leonard found his feet following without even thinking about what he was doing or why. “I am glad to have found you, however.” She turned to him, her face half-hidden in shadow. “You have not replied to my letters.”

Leonard turned helplessly to Lord Repington, only to see that he had been pulled aside by Lady Newfield, who stood a few steps away from both himself and Miss Brooks, effectively shielding them from view.

“But that does not matter,” Miss Brooks said with evident determination. “For I have come to inform you, Lord Stafford, that I will not simply accept what you have thrown at me. I will not merely stand aside and allow this circumstance to take hold of me.”

Blinking rapidly, Leonard tried to find something to say but instead found himself shaking his head.

“No doubt you will try to dissuade me,” Miss Brooks continued with a slightly scornful look in her eyes. “But I am quite determined, Lord Stafford. I will not be pushed aside. I will discover the truth.”

“The truth?” he croaked, a great and terrible fear catching him. “What do you mean?”

Miss Brooks looked at him steadily, her gaze not flickering for even a moment. “I mean that I shall find out the reasons behind the ending of our betrothal,” she told him plainly. “You are determined not to permit me to know, but that shall not deter me. Whether you wish to be of assistance to me or not in this matter, I assure you that I shall not rest until I finally know all.

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