The Lady and the Earl (5 page)

Edmund
Russell
frowned.  He was
so
torn.  Tonight was the night he would ask Allana to marry him.  It was only proper considering how long he had been courting her.  If he
hadn’t
intended to do so, he should not have courted her.
  He
’d
been telling
himself
this time and time again. 
He’d
always known
this would be the outcome.  Carmon did not want him.
  She had made that obvious, hadn’t she? 

A
fter asking Allana for the first dance, Edmund
had
retired to the shadows simply
to
watch the two women.  He told himself it was to protect his future bride.  She was a highly sought after woman.  He
needed
to
be aware of his competition. 
But his eyes
u
nwillingly
focused on
Carmon
Davenhue
.  He watched her from th
ose
shadows
, hidden from her view
, or
so he thought until her own eyes fell upon him.
  He did not care that she caught him staring
.  Perhaps she would tell Allana, and Allana would refuse his offer of marriage. 

He waited for
Carmon
to turn from him as she always did
.  Time seemed to stand still.  She
did not
turn.
  He was close enough he could see the sharp inhalation of breath she took when she spied him watching her.  And then she smiled the most breath taking, tender smile
he’d
ever seen
. 

Oh, how he
wanted to court her
!  If only she hadn’t
shunned him
.  A sudden thought occurred to him.  What if
he was mistaken
?  Allana
was
s
o quick to step in.  He truly
didn’t
have
a chance to gauge Carmon’s reaction to him. 
He tried to remember that day.  He tried to remember her reaction when he
was
a
nnounced as her visitor. 
She’d
seemed stunned, even speechless.  That is when Allana stepped in. 
And instead of leaving as he should have
and come back another time
,
he’d
lingered
. 
N
ow
he
found himself tied to Allana
instead of the one he truly wanted
. 

He
needed
to propose.  It was the proper thing to do.  But
a
ll he could think on was that smile Carmon
had
graced him with earlier.  What did it mean?

The orchestra stopped. 
His heart sank. 
It was time to find Allana. 

*
           *          *

Allana scanned the dance floor for Lucas. 
She
needed
to find him.  Surely he would wish to dance with her at least once. 
She
wanted to dance with him.  She wanted to be with him.  But what did he want? 
He’
d danced with Carmon three times!  Was he smitten
with
her friend?  C
ould
Allana
find a way to win his heart
and send Carmon back to Edmund
?
 
 

Allana’s mind jumped around frantically as she searched for Lucas. 
T
he orchestra stopped
, and she frowned in disappointment.  Now she would have to wait for her dance
with
him
.  Perhaps she could find
him
and
walk with him during the break.  She would have to find a way to get him to ask her though.  She
couldn’t
be that forward.

“Allana, would you walk with me?  There is something I would like to discuss with you.”  It was Edmund. 

No!
  She thought to herself irritably.  She wanted to
walk with
Lucas, not Edmund.  “I would be delighted to,” she replied sweetly,
not conveying
her irritation.

They walked in silence as he guided her to a secluded area of the house.  He sat her down on a small bench, sitting next to her
,
holding her hand in his. 

“Allana, I think you know I have
…
,” he paused as though searching for the right words, “
feelings for you
.
”

Oh no!
  S
he
panicked
. 
Please no
.  It is too soon!

“And I think you have
…feelings for me in return
.”  He hesitated,
running a hand through his hair.  Then he groaned and stood, pacing back and forth. 

“Edmund?
  Are you ill?”
Allana asked innocently. 
Please be ill. 
You are meant for Carmon, not me
. 
She needed more time.
 

He shook his head.  “No, no.  I…,” he paused, starin
g
at her strangely.  “I think I’
m in love with Carmon,” he blundered.  He looked utterly dazed by what he
’
d just
admitted.

Allana openly gaped at him.  “What
?
”

Edmund looked horrified.  “I…I…
.
”

“You love her?
  Wait!
  You love her!  This is
wonderful news
!”
Allana exclaimed
.  She jumped up and hugged him tightly.  She pulled away and
sighed in relief. 
“Oh, Edmund.
  I thought you were going to propose, and I knew I
couldn’t
say yes,” Allana confessed. 

“You seem
relieved,” Ed
mund stated in confusion.  “You
’
re not angry?”

Allana laughed. 
“Of course not.
 
I’v
e been trying to find a way to force the two of you together since I
ruined
your original attempt
.”

“Ruined?  No, Carmon shunned me.  She has no interest in me,” he stated.

“Yes, ruined.  And th
e other is
quite false.  She has no interest in anyone but you.  She simply
doesn’t
know how to show it.  She is very shy, Edmund.”

“She can barely look at me without turning away.  How is that
being shy?” h
e argued. 

“She is overly so when you are around. 
She cannot look at you for fear you will see how much she fancies you.  She cannot speak for fear you will find her foolish and wish nothing more to do with her.  Simply put, she struggles profusely when in your presence and cannot be herself,
”
Allana explained. 

“She did not seem to struggle with Lucas Hoffman
to
night,” Edmund said
dark
ly.

“She
doesn’t
care for Lucas as she does you
,” Allana began, praying she was right
. 
“In all honesty, I have never seen her act toward an
other
the way she does you.  It’
s a sure sign she feels much for you, Edmund.”
   

He exhaled slowly and ran a hand through his hair.
  “
If what you say is true, t
hen what am I to do?”

“Dance with her tonight.  I will find a way home
early
so as not to interfere anymore
, and you will c
ourt her without another around
…
or at least
without another
too close to interfere with conversation.
  It will force her to speak with you.  Had I realized her feelings for you, I would
have
excused myself when
you came calling
those two months ago
.
  This
, I fear,
is
my fault.
”

He laughed. 
“Your fault?
  No, I should
n’
t have tried to court you when my feelings were elsewhere.”

Allana smiled.  “I encouraged it.”

“Then we are at a draw.”

“So
it seems.  What do we do now?”
Allana asked.

“First we must get Hoffman away from
Carmon
.  I fear he
’
s taken an interest in her,” Edmund said rather
fiercely.

Allana laughed.  “I will take care of him, but what of us?  How are we to seem to end
our courtship?  Perhaps we were not truly courting.  After all, Carmon has been
our chaperone
in most
instances.
  Perhaps we could claim you were truly trying to court her, yet I continued to get in the way.  I have been known to be overprotective of her.”

Edmund rubbed his nose purposefully.  “I can attest to that.  We could claim you were testing me t
o see where my true feelings lie
.”

“Ah, yes, a test.
 
Hmm.
  But we must bring Carmon in on this as well.  How are we to do that without making her
feel foolish?”
Allana asked.

“Find a way for me to speak to her alone.  I will trust your words and confess
the depths of my feelings.”  He took a steadying
breath. 

“I’
ll bring her to you here.  Wait for us
,” Allana ordered.

*
           *          *

Lucas escorted Carmon back into the ballroom where they were intercepted by
none other than Allana.

“Allana,” he said in surprise.  “Wh
at a
—
”

“Hello Lucas.  I would
truly
love a chance to visit with you.  Would you be willing to escort me home after I spe
ak with Carmon in private?”
Allana asked sweetly.

Lucas stared at her in astonishment. 
That was quite forward. 
He hadn’t
predicted this. 
“Of course.
  It would be my pleasure.”

Allana flashed him a smile.  “Thank you.”  She turned her attention to Carmon who was scanning the dance floor for someone. 

She’
d been doing
so frequently through
out
the night.  A
fter a bit of
prodding
, Lucas discovered
for
who
m
she continued to search: Ed
mund
Russell
, the same fool who had
occupied
most of Allana’s time thus far
.  Lucas had
the good fortune
that Carmon turned into quite a gossip once alone.  She told him all he needed
to know about Allana and Edmund;
and then he pried her little secret
from her
,
as well as some other useful info
rmation
.  Edmund was courting Allana.  Allana did not want Edmund.  Carmon did.
  Allana spoke often of Lucas.  She would not settle on a suitor, and
after seeing Allana’s reaction toward Lucas earlier,
Carmon suspected
he
just might be the reason why. 
It was fantastic information, and it meant
Lucas’s
job was going to be easier than he had imagined. 
He’d
assumed he was going to have to steal Allana from Edmund
, but if Allana
didn’t
even want Edmund
and possibly still wanted Lucas
, there would be no stealing involved
.
  Of course, that meant it
wouldn’t
be as challenging, but each time he looked at
Allana
, challenging became less and less appealing.  He simply wanted her, and the sooner the better.

“Carmon, I need to speak to you about something,” Allana said.  “Will you come with me?”