But Georgiana cut him off, “Oh, go on, Ambrose. I will just sit here for a while and watch the next dance. If I do decide to get up, I will come and find you.”
“Yes, do come with me to meet him,” Jonas encouraged. “In fact, if you are worried about leaving Georgiana alone, I believe I know where Adelaide is. We can ask her to come and keep Georgiana company.”
Ambrose clearly still did not like the idea, but he finally relented. “You will come and find me if you need me?” he asked anxiously.
“Yes, of course. Now, go,” she told him.
Even then, he glanced back at her repeatedly as he walked away. She found his protectiveness endearing. He knew the evening was not going to be easy for her, and was doing everything in his power to protect her…
While she knew there was a risk Walter might approach her in Ambrose’s absence, she was not afraid of it. In fact, she rather wished he would find her, so the matter could be done with.
Ambrose would not be pleased to learn she planned to forgive Walter, but he would make the best of it. She wondered why she had gotten the impression Ambrose was strongly against her talking to Walter at all. There were moments when she felt there was more to his behavior than simply looking out for her.
Chapter 20
Walter had not particularly wanted to come to Lady Jane’s debut at Dalwater Manor, but he hadn’t complained. Even when his mother found herself unable to attend because her head had started to ache earlier in the day, he did not even try to get out of it.
He could tell she was mildly impressed at him for not showing any signs of wanting to stay home when he had last checked on her before leaving. He hoped she would be able to rest and would feel better the following day.
Now he was at the ball, he was almost glad he had come. He had forgotten Georgiana was related to Lady Jane and, therefore, was bound to be in attendance.
He was determined to try once again to apologize to her; he simply had to find the right opportunity to do so. With that in mind, he watched her, hoping Rowley would leave her side at some point during the evening.
True, he could technically still apologize to her with Rowley present, but he got the strong impression it would be doubly difficult if that were the case…
Fortunately, Miss Rutherford and her family were not in attendance that evening, so he did not have to spend any time trying to entertain the young lady or be questioned by her as to why his gaze drifted to Miss Montgomery so frequently.
He thought for a moment, Georgiana was about to come to him. It was while she had been dancing with Ambrose that her eyes met his own, as he stood by the punch bowl. It reminded him of the time when he had first met her; the way their eyes had locked…
Finally, he saw his chance. She was sitting alone on the other side of the room, with Rowley nowhere in sight. Moving quickly in her direction, he lost sight of her for a moment, but soon spied her again.
His heart was thudding in his chest, with what he was certain was nervousness, as he drew near. Somewhat regrettably, her aunt had now joined her, but he was not about to stop now.
As he finally reached her, the orchestra struck up the chords of the next dance, which proved to be a waltz. Her conversation with her aunt ceased the moment she noticed him. His heart thumped louder in his chest when she didn’t immediately turn away, and he noticed her glare was not so cutting as it had been outside the theater a few nights ago.
He could not have said what possessed him to do it, but he found himself bowing slightly, holding out his hand to her as he asked, “Miss Montgomery, may I have the honor of the next dance?”
Walter felt the silence to be almost deafening. The only sound he could hear was the pounding of his own heart, as he waited for her to refuse. Yet part of him dearly hoped she would accept, though he knew she had no reason to.
He watched with bated breath as she glanced at the countess, pursing her lips for a moment before reluctantly nodding. “I suppose you may,” she finally said, and daintily put her hand in his.
He felt every tiny place where her hand touched his, and a thrill of awareness coursed through his body. He carefully placed a hand on her back to lead her out onto the dance floor, feeling very aware of how close they were.
They face each other as the waltz began and, in that moment, he knew it. There could no longer be any doubt in his mind—he was still in love with Georgianna.
The way his heart was beating, how he couldn’t take his eyes off her, how she seemed to be the most beautiful woman in the room to him, all were all clear signs she still held his heart.
She, however, was looking at the other dancers, at his shoulder, at anything besides his eyes. This reminded him of what he must say to her, preferably before the dance ended…
“Georgiana … Miss Montgomery, I … I want to apologize. I have a lot to apologize for, I know. So much so that, if I were to list all the things I have done wrong, it would probably take me all evening.”
He paused and felt encouraged when she glanced up at him fleetingly. “I think the worst thing I have done was to think for a moment you would have … well, that you wouldn’t have told me if you were engaged. I should have had more faith in you.”
“You could have asked,” she replied sharply and without looking at him.
“Yes, I should have. And that is my second biggest regret after not trusting you, and I made the worst mistake of my life in leaving so abruptly as I did, without a word. I convinced myself my pride had been hurt, and I simply … left.”
At some point, she had looked up at him, her eyes staring intently into his own, as she seemed to gauge his sincerity. He held his breath and nearly lost the rhythm of the waltz as he waited to hear her reply.
Finally, he saw her nod slightly, seemingly satisfied with whatever she had seen in him. “I suppose I can forgive you… Though it was your fault, you didn’t mean to hurt me … and I am certain you hurt yourself, too. Holding it against you wouldn’t do either of us any good.”
Walter was able to let out the breath he had been holding, as he felt genuine happiness start to bubble up inside him. However, he refrained from letting his hope grow too much.
“And what … do you think that…” He fumbled for the right words, wanting desperately to directly ask her if there was any chance of winning back her heart.
She looked at him and seemed to be vaguely aware of what he wanted to ask. “Perhaps we could be friends. I … I wouldn’t mind talking to you … on occasion,” she told him as she looked away again.
Walter felt his heart sink. After realizing he still loved her, to be told he could never be anything more than a friend was crushing, but he knew he had no right to ask for more and did not even deserve her friendship.