A Season of Masks and Masquerades

Chapter 11: Time To Head Home

The bright victorious smile on Lady Sherborne's warm face announced that she, unlike her daughter, was well aware of the Duke's visuals. She had clearly recognized him very well and the way her eyes kept dancing between him and Esther proved she was undoubtedly the happiest woman present in the gathering.

Her daughter, however, was the very picture of frustration. She looked up at Edward as her mother greeted him with 'Your Grace' and when met with a bright rakish smile, she lost her last ounce of patience, unaware of which, Lady Sherborne continued to speak addressing the Duke.

"How pleasant to find you here this warm afternoon. Looks like you had a good long conversation with my daughter h-"

"Mother!" Esther all but yelled. "He is not-"

"Oh no, Lady Sherborne, don't mind your daughter." Edward interrupted louder, causing Esther to stop speaking. "She's trying to protect me, however, I am truly the one to blame for stealing your daughter away. I wanted to have a look at the famous Radcliffe backyard. Apologies for the inconvenience."

Esther glared at him, trying to understand whatever he was meaning to imply while he rejoiced at the expense of her discomfort yet again.

He could read the question clear in her eyes; Why are you pretending to be the Duke? The answer to which was necessary and he had to figure it out very soon, for this misunderstanding although, had fortunately helped him this far, judging by the level of curiosity and confusion in Miss Sherborne's green eyes he was certain it was now difficult to hold the fort any longer.

"Don't embarrass me, Your Grace. It is no inconvenience at all." Lady Sherborne replied evermore warmly, her eyes still bouncing between the two of them with joy and ecstasy. "I am certain you had a good conversation, my daughter is remarkably great with her words."

"Oh, she is." Edward's reply earned him another death-inducing glare from the daughter in question however, unmoved he continued. "She certainly is. In fact, our conversation was only far from over but Miss Sherborne was concerned about you, hence we had to-"

"Oh, dear! You didn't have to." Lady Sherborne jumped at his words. She looked at her daughter with a hint of motherly reprimand and disappointment.

Esther looked away in defeat and situated her gaze at a vase of daisies. Not a move Edward had expected out of her after witnessing her furious side.

"It's fine, Lady Sherborne. I think Miss Sherborne is not feeling well. It'll only be better to take her home, we shall find more such opportunities to continue our conversation."

Esther's head snapped towards him once again. She couldn't understand what on earth was happening there. The last thing she wanted to do was to ruin her image in society for yelling at a gentleman but that seemed like the only alternative.

"Of course, Your Grace. It's always a pleasure."

That was it. After fighting the dangerous urge with all her willpower and failing, she opened her mouth to speak just when her eyes fell on a bunch of golden heads in the crowd of onlookers. The Frampton sisters with their mother.

Esther's eyes settled on Juliette's, the eldest Miss Frampton, and the crystal clear betrayal they read, made her lose all the words on her tongue.

Their eyes only stayed connected for a few seconds before Miss Frampton turned on her heels and vanished behind the wall of gossiping ladies and intrigued men.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to rush after her and tell her how extremely wrong she was reading the situation and how this wasn't what it looked like however, that wasn't a socially acceptable way for a lady to end a conversation with a gentleman of regards as high as the one standing next to her.

She turned to him and managed a forceful smile on her lips. "That's true mother," she spoke looking straight into Edward's eyes, "I feel undeniably unwell for any more socializing. I believe I should head home now."

She tried looking for Juliette, her cousin, in the crowd on her way out but she was lost in the sea of attendees. The carriage was soon arranged and without wasting much time, Esther was escorted back to her home with Lady Sherborne.

Florence and her mother Mrs Levis, the Sherborne house's head maid, were not expecting such a quick return by the Sherborne ladies. They were not invited to the luncheon as they did not fall on the unwritten list of the most well-off families of the ton, but Florence couldn't wait to get all the stories out of Esther. She knew more than anyone that the more exclusive the gathering, the juicier the gossip.

However, as unfortunate as it could've been, Esther's tight face said it wasn't a great time to ask her any questions whatsoever.

Florence helped her get out of the hectic day dress and change into a light bedroom gown. She deemed it better to let Miss Sherborne be the first person to speak hence they stayed silent for a long time.

The frown on Esther's forehead took long to ease. With a deep heavy sigh, she retired to her bed. Florence sensed the tension losing and gently sat next to Esther.

"Would you like some warm milk?" She asked softly.

Esther only shook her head negatively but Florence was glad that she responded, so she put forward another offer. "Some fruits?"

Esther shook her head again.

"Perhaps some fresh air? A quick walk in the backyard?"

Florence had hardly completed her sentence when Esther jumped with a finger pointed straight into her face, "A walk in the backyard is the last th-"

Florence was baffled by the inappropriate reaction and could not see a safe escape for the situation, however, she was in good luck.

A loud knock on the door interrupted Esther's declaration of war and she turned around with her finger now not as sharply poking the air in the room as earlier to allow the footman in.

"Miss Sherborne, a letter for you." He held forward a shabby-looking envelope.

Esther instantly got off her bed to receive it before Florence could. From the looks of it and considering the kind of day she's been having since morning, she did not have a good feeling about its content but when she saw the footman holding her fan that she had absolutely forgotten about after letting it fly away earlier that afternoon, in his hand along with an envelope, she knew who it was from. She only wished she was mistaken.

"Who is it?" Florence asked once the footman left.

Ignoring her name on the top of it, Esther flipped the envelope open to read the letter.

Dear Miss Sherborne,
        Here's to completing our interrupted conversation...