After being stopped only two more times, I finally made my way to the three of them. Ashington turned to see me when Lady Welligton’s eyes met mine and widened as they oft did.
Ashington appeared unhappy to see me and that said all I needed to know. He was set on Miriam Bathurst, it would seem. Not what I had hoped. This would be more difficult. Miriam was not someone I could easily use. I had allowed myself to know her and I liked too much what I knew.
“Good evening, ladies. Ashington,” I said in greeting.
“Mr. Compton, it’s nice to see you,” Lady Wellington said, but I wasn’t sure she meant that. Her voice sounded unsure. Had my brother charmed them both so quickly?
“Nicholas,” Ashington said.
Miriam said nothing and that spoke more than anything else. She had already called me out on what she considered a game and now she was seeing my sudden appearance as part of that game. She was wrong. This wasn’t a game. It was revenge. It was more than a silly game. I wasn’t here to prove anything to my brother. I was going to humiliate him the way he had humiliated my mother. She may make that plan more difficult by being so acutely aware of the happenings around her as if he had just chosen Lydia, my task would have been so simple.
“I believe I am next on the lady’s card,” I informed them, although I knew not where I was on her card. I had just arrived and I didn’t know who she had danced with up until this point.
“You aren’t on my card tonight, sir,” Miriam replied with a false sweetness to her voice. It sounded like a challenge, however, and oh how I liked challenges.
“Are you quite certain?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded. “Yes. Most positive.”
At that moment, Mr. Needs appeared several feet behind Ashington as if he was unsure if he should approach further. I wasn’t sure what he was doing when Miriam stepped forward to take his arm. “Mr. Needs is next on my card, it would seem.”
I watched as they walked toward the dance floor.
Ashington cleared his throat. “It seems, Nicholas, you arrived too late this evening,” he said.
I forced a smile for the sake of Lady Wellington. “It does seem that way. I shall not make that mistake again.” It was a warning. One I knew my brother would understand.
“Oft it only takes one late arrival to change the course,” he replied then he turned to Lady Wellington. “As always, it was a pleasure. I will leave you with the company of Mr. Compton. Both of us can be more than any one lady must endure,” he said, causing her to laugh then cover her mouth and blush furiously.
Then, by God, Ashington winked. He fucking winked.
Turning, I watched Ashington walk away. Not toward Lydia Ramsbury but off to a corner that was empty. He stopped, directed his gaze toward Miriam and Needs on the dance floor, crossed his arms over his chest and stood there. It was a claim and everyone watching him knew it. There was no mistaking his meaning.
I looked back at Lady Wellington whose eyes were, once again, wide with wonder. She appeared to be as surprised by the turn of events as I was. What must I have missed in the short moments Miriam and Ashington were outside on the veranda? There had to be more to it than that.
“It would seem my brother has turned his attentions,” I commented, hoping for more information.
Lady Wellington nodded still watching him. “I do believe you might be right,” she whispered as if others were listening to us. There was always the possibility of such but rarely did I spend any care on the matter. “Miriam is truly a rare gem, but she makes it hard for others to see. She’s so guarded. It would seem Lord Ashington saw past her … walls.”
My brother saw something and I could easily list all he was attracted to in Miriam Bathurst. A man would have to be deaf, mute, and blind not to find himself drawn to her.
“Miss Bathurst has managed to find some good in him, I presume?” I asked, knowing full well last I spoke with Miriam she wasn’t fond of Ashington.
Lady Wellington lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I have no idea. Honestly, this is all rather fascinating, isn’t it? Here I thought a season in London would be boring and stuffy. I had no idea the drama that could come of it.”
Smiling at her rather candid response, I did so enjoy conversing with Lady Wellington. She was always amusing. “Never a dull moment,” I agreed. However, I had preferred my brother’s choice in a wife to be dull, indeed. He was rather boring, so it would make sense that he chose a countess equally so. Yet, here he stands watching the most interesting bright light in the room or make that all of England. Miriam Bathurst had managed to take his attentions from Lydia with no effort at all. She had merely been herself.
With a sigh of regret, I watched her smile at Mr. Needs and wish this could all be different. It was one thing to seek revenge for one’s mother. It was another to lose what could possibly be one’s future happiness. My brother would never make Miriam Bathurst happy. He would force upon her a life she would never fit into or desire to do so. Whereas with me, she could continue to be exactly as she is and I would enjoy every moment.
Did Ashington know I was drawn to Miriam? Is that why he was doing this? Had the revenge been turned on me and I hadn’t realized his move? Miriam was not a chess piece to be played. How could I sit back and watch him use her?
How far was I willing to go for revenge?
Chapter Twenty
Miriam Bathurst
I couldn’t remember a time in my life that joy had burst within me so brilliantly than when Whitney stepped inside the door of 18 Mayfair Street. Tears filled my eyes and my chest felt so full it might burst. I stopped but a moment on the steps and took in her angelic face before sprinting toward her, unable to believe she was finally here.
Her laughter rang through the entry way and my world was once again complete. I found myself in a mixture of laughter and tears as I held her, unable to let go. Although I had been watching for her carriage to arrive from the window in my room all morning, I was still afraid this was a dream.
“Let the girl breathe, child.” Uncle Alfred’s deep voice came from behind us. I eased my tight hold on her and pulled back unable to completely let her go.
“You’re here,” I said in awe.
“Yes!” she replied gleefully. “And you’re crying!”
I laughed again and wiped at the tears on my face. “I have missed you so. Tis all.”
She looked around in wonder. “With all this around you, how did you have time to miss me? It’s beautiful.”
“I would miss you if I were in the Queen’s castle,” I assured her then held her face in my hands to look upon it. She was truly here with me.
“I promised you I’d get Ada to send her, did I not? You’ll one day learn to trust me,” Uncle Alfred said as he approached us.
Whitney looked from me to our uncle who I knew she had never met. The time he had visited our home, I had been so young, even I didn’t remember. I followed her gaze and smiled at the tall, broad shouldered, brusque man that had been so very generous to us all.
“Yes, you did promise me and I didn’t doubt you. Tis my mother, I fear, I doubted,” I replied.
He made a tsking sound, as if my mother held no real power, then turned his attention to Whitney. “We are pleased to have you here, dear. You look much like your mother at that age. However, from what Miriam tells me, you do not have her demeanor and for that we are all grateful,” he said with a booming voice.