“Well, I am the one who told him you and Rowley were engaged,” Felicia said, pausing for just a moment to let that sink in before continuing, “I did so, because Mr. Rowley had told me so himself.”
Georgiana’s brows furrowed in confusion as she took in the words. Then, with a gasp, she turned to look at Ambrose again, seeing for the first time he was as white as a sheet.
“Ambrose?” her voice squeaked a little as she said his name, a knot forming in her stomach as the realization sank in.
He had the decency to look at her guiltily, and she was in too much shock to see the faces of the other two. She was aware Felicia had chosen that moment to take her hand, in an effort to comfort her, and that Walter was still standing nearby.
“Why?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears as the weight of the betrayal began to fully hit her.
Ambrose looked down at his hands in his lap, unable to meet any of their gazes as he replied quietly, “I did it because … because I was selfish. I know that is no excuse at all, and I don’t really have any explanation I can give you for what I did…”
“Well, try to explain it anyway,” she ordered him bitterly, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks. She leaned into the comfort Felicia was silently giving her.
He winced at her tone of voice, but he did his best to comply. “I have always loved you; I was just too afraid to say it. And then … and then you met Bartlett…” he paused to glance at the other man, quickly looking away as he was met with a well-deserved glare.
“And then, it was too late. Miss Harris was happily talking away to me one night about how you made a perfect couple, and it was just the two of us standing there at the time … I don’t really know what possessed me to do it, but I just … I told her we were already engaged. I had no idea it would lead to…”
There was a long silence between the four of them before Walter finally spoke, “I know I am partially to blame, but could you not have made things right when you saw the damage your words had done?”
Suddenly, Georgiana felt angry as well as hurt, as certain memories came to mind. “You stood there, supposedly comforting me, countless times while I cried my heart out, knowing you were the one who had … that you were the one responsible for the pain I was in?!” she accused as she rose to her feet.
He opened his mouth to reply, but one glance up at her apparently changed his mind. She could tell by the look on Ambrose’s face, he was aware of the depth of his wrongdoing, but she still couldn’t believe he could have done such a thing to her.
Felicia, still silent, stood, too, and placed a hand on Georgiana’s shoulder. Seeing Ambrose had yet to reply, she came to an instant decision.
“Well, I must admit, earlier today–and even before today–I was considering telling you I wasn’t falling in love with you and that I didn’t want you to court me any longer.”
She saw his head jerk up in surprise to face her, before a resigned expression came onto his face, but she hadn’t finished. “The only reason I haven’t already called it off was because I was afraid of hurting you … I wanted to spare your feelings.
“Now I know that is not something I need worry about, it should come as no surprise that I am ending our courtship now. Perhaps, with time, I won’t be so angry with you, but I sincerely hope not to see your face for a long while,” she announced, as she turned and all but fled down the path and away from them.
Georgiana hurriedly walked down the path, randomly wiping away the tears that still flowed, as she headed away from other people as much as she could. How long she walked, she had no idea, but she only slowed to a stop when she was out of breath.
It was only then she realized she was not alone, as she had thought. Walter had followed her. He was standing a few feet away from her, giving her plenty of space, and awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
“Why have you followed me?” she asked with a sigh. She hoped it was not to tell her that he still loved her or something like it, because she really didn’t feel like talking about that at the moment.
“Well, I … Felicia mentioned you weren’t going to be paying attention to where you were going and that you probably shouldn’t be alone…” he replied, his expression clearly stating he had no intention of intruding on her thoughts and had merely wished to make sure she was safe.
“Then why didn’t she follow me?” she asked after a moment.
He froze like a startled deer. “I … I didn’t think of that,” he told her honestly.
She managed a slight smile at his reaction. It was not hard to guess Felicia might still want them to be together. She had been very enthusiastic about them as a couple, and, no doubt, knew a little timely comfort from Walter might help draw them close again.
“If you would rather have her here, then I am sure I could go and—”
“No,” she interrupted him. “It’s … fine. I don’t mind you being here.” She wiped at her eyes one last time, as the tears finally seemed to come to a stop.
They lapsed into silence, and Georgiana found herself walking again, this time at a slow and thoughtful pace, as she tried to take in everything that had happened.
Ambrose, her dearest friend, had betrayed her. True, it had been Walter’s choice to leave for France but, considering the source from which he had heard the rumor … well, even she would have believed it if she had been in his place.
Replaying the recent conversation in her mind once again, she recalled Walter had taken full responsibility for his part. Even though he could have tried to push the blame onto Ambrose, he hadn’t.
Georgiana couldn’t resist the temptation to look over at Walter, who was still walking nearby, matching her pace. Though clearly paying attention to her, he remained several feet away, looking around at the park, so as not to bother her by staring at her. He didn’t even look as if he wanted to talk to her, being content just to be there…
She felt herself flush and instantly turned her gaze back to the path in front of her before he could catch her looking at him. After a few more minutes of silence, she stopped and turned towards him.
“We should … I mean, I should probably go home to the manor. Aunt and Uncle should be back from the luncheon by now, and I…” she exhaled sharply and looked away into the distance without finishing her sentence.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he tentatively asked.
Eventually, she replied as she started walking back to the entrance of the park. “If you and Felicia would come with me to tell them…” she drifted off again, not entirely sure how to even say it.
However, he easily caught on to what she was asking. “Yes, I have no doubt Felicia would be willing to do that with me,” he replied, as he walked a little closer beside her than previously.