Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Mary nodded quickly. “Please don’t mind me.”
I’m not, Camilla thought as she left with a swoosh of her skirts. Excitement coursed through her as she made her way to the stage. This was going to be epic. She should make sure someone record the entire event and zoom in on Mary’s face once she heard of Camilla’s engagement to the duke.
Father and daughter met at the wings. “All set?” Wilson asked.
“Naturally.”
Her father nodded in approval. “Then all we have to do is wait.”
****
As Mary nervously scanned the crowd for any sighting of the duke, she began to hum to a Carpenters song to herself, a way for her to cope with her rising anxiety. Her guts were telling her that this night was all wrong, but she forced herself to ignore it.
It’s just your fear talking, Mary told herself, trying again to stop you from fighting for Rathe.
And then she saw him.
It was as if he suddenly appeared like magic, the crowd fading into obscurity while he remained startlingly vivid and sharply defined in her sight. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, and looking so exquisitely beautiful it had Mary sucking her breath.
This reaction of hers to the Duke of Flanders?
Her loss of vocabulary?
Her bout of incoherence?
They would never go away, she realized. Rathe Wellesley’s gorgeousness would always turn her into a blabbering idiot because he was, ultimately, the love of her life. And even when he was old with greying hair, she would still feel the same way every time she looked at him.
Now, it was time to find out if there was any way he could feel the same way about her.
Weaving her way through the crowds, half-running, half-dancing, it took Mary precious time to get close to him, enough for him to hear as she called out his name.
“Rathe!”
Rathe stilled. What the bloody hell was wrong with him, imagining that he had heard Mary’s voice calling—-
“Rathe!”
He spun around, and to his shock he indeed found Mary standing just a few feet away from him, dressed in an icy blue Grecian-styled gown, her hair pinned up with barrettes on one side while the rest was left to cascade down her shoulders and back.
He asked hoarsely, “What are you doing here?”
Déjà vu, Mary thought numbly as she did her best to thicken her skin and pretend that Rathe’s unwelcoming tone didn’t hurt. Forcing a smile, she asked him, “Isn’t it...o-obvious?”
He couldn’t find it in him to return the smile, not when all he could think about was this was the worst possible time for them to meet. Although the objective was for Mary to know about his engagement, he absolutely didn’t want her to know in his own damn engagement party.
In a few moments, he had closed the distance between them, and Rathe said harshly under his breath, “You have to go.”
Mary’s eyes widened.
“I mean it. I need you to go.” She had to leave, as quickly as possible and before he forgot all his good intentions.
Forcing himself to look away, Rathe tried to search for Camilla. Normally, her model-like height and eye-catching fashion made her easy to spot. It was just his bloody luck she appeared as good as a chamelion at hiding from him tonight.
“I just want to t-talk—-”
“We can talk next time,” he said brusquely. “But not tonight. So can you go now? Please?” His gaze switched back to his surroundings. Where the hell was Camilla? He had left all the planning to her. He had to warn Camilla that Mary was here and so she would refrain from making any announcement.
“W-who are you looking for?” Mary asked, unable to help noticing the way Rathe constantly searched the crowd of guests milling about.
“Camilla.” The swift, unhesitating answer almost had her swaying on her feet.
A second later, Rathe realized what he had just said. Remembering how Mary had become jealous of his friend, he swore under his breath. When he turned to Mary, the pain in her eyes made him grit out, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—-”
“Is she the reason why you’ve become so cold to me?” Mary whispered. “Did you suddenly realize that you love her—-”
Seeing her in pain, hearing the hurt in her voice, tore him apart, but he forced all words of comfort back in his throat. This was for the best, he reminded himself. And one day, she would thank him for this.
“R-Rathe? Do you—-”
Rathe shook his head. “Enough.” He had to get her out of here, blast it. If she was already suffering this much over something so trivial, then he didn’t want to see what the announcement of his engagement to Camilla would do to Mary.
“Please. I’m begging you.” Rathe jerked his head towards the exit. “Leave this place right now.”
His every word ripped into her, wounding her, scarring her for life. He spoke to her like he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. Like he couldn’t wait to throw her out of his life.