I unhappily plopped myself down against the soft cushions of my bed, burring my face between my hands. “What are they saying?” I moaned in horror.

“That he’s going to propose to you. They even placed a wager on it,” she sighed and put her hand on my shoulder. “They made a laughing stock out of him.”

“I cannot believe this! Fools! Are their lives so trivial and boring they have to meddle with somebody else’s?” I spat angrily. “Why won’t they just leave him be?”

“And there you go defending him again…” She quizzically raised her eyebrows.

“I am not defending him, Edith! I just really dislike this constant ridicule!”

“Just leave him alone! He can handle himself! Stay out of his way Ashlyn, it’s as simple as that,” she stared at me with a stern expression plastered on her doll-like face. “Or do you want to marry him?”

“No!” I winced at my high-pitched shriek. “But how else am I to get close to Lord Stanley?”

“We will think of something, all right?” She rubbed her chin as if deep in thought.

Jane leaned out of the window and furiously waved her hands at us. “I believe His Grace’s carriage has just arrived.”

Edith stood up and grasped my hands in hers. “Ashlyn, you have to promise me! Otherwise, you will be trapped in a very long and miserable marriage. Once you are wed, there is no way out.”

“I promise Edith; I will stay away from him,” I squeezed her hands reassuringly.

***

I followed Edith and His Grace inside the Lord Aidan’s mansion, which mind you was much less extravagant as Lady Wyatt’s. We entered a spacious ballroom and I immediately plastered myself against the wall on the left side of the chamber. I was absolutely adamant that there won’t be any coincidences or accidents this evening.

“Your Grace, Lady Edith, Lady Ashlyn!” the joyful twins joined our side. Bonnie was accompanied by Jared, while Alison held Lord Travis under his arm.

My eyes automatically darted toward Jared and Bonnie and I was immediately stricken by a deep felling of loss. We’ve barely talked or seen each other since the day of our kiss.

“Lady Ashlyn, why didn’t you tell us you needed a ride from Lady Wyatt ‘s house?” Alison scolded me. “Lord Travis and I would’ve gladly taken you home.”

“I didn’t know my aunt was gone, not until I saw her carriage was missing. By then His Grace Read already offered me to ride in his carriage.”

“So, how bad is it?” Richard’s brown eyes stopped on each and one of us, analyzing the gravity of the situation.

“Pretty bad considering he is sending her roses with unsigned cards,” Edith shook her head.

“How do you know it’s from him?” Bonnie scrunched up her face.

Edith pointedly raised her brow at Bonnie. “A dozen roses every other day?”

I watched as recognition dawned on her pretty face. “Oh dear! His rose garden!”

“See? I told you!” Edith let out a harsh breath, before turning back to face me.

“No, I am certain you’ve got this all wrong,” I shook my head to reject her absurd argument.

“The man is giving me goosebumps. First, he followed you around like some stalker-” Jared added.

“-And now he is sending you flowers like a lovesick pup,” Bonnie finished for him, looking around for affirmation.

This was getting out of hand pretty quickly. “All right!” I raised my hands, demanding their attention. “He doesn’t follow me around and he is not a stalker. I bumped into him a few times! And he did nothing wrong, in fact he saved me! Twice!”

“And there you go defending him yet again…” Edith sighed.

“How am I defending him? I am only stating the truth! See? This is how false rumors are spread,” I raised my voice while glaring at them.

It was only then, that I realized I’ve drawn an unwanted attention upon me, including my aunt’s. Her eyes were unusually bright and her mouth twisted into a calculating and malicious smile. This meant nothing good.

“Dance with me, Ashlyn,” Jared suddenly appeared beside me. My eyes instantly flickered to Bonnie who was busy talking to her sister.

“I don’t think that would be appropriate,” I shook my head and glanced away from him.

“Would you rather face your aunt?” He stepped even closer. “Just dance with me. I promise, no antics.”

He was right, I needed a proper reason to evade my aunt’s boasting clutches. “One dance,” I whispered, but my eyes remained stony cold.

Jared tried to hide his smile as he took my hand and led me to the dance floor. Thankfully the next dance was Quadrille, which was far less intimate than Waltz.

I curtsied in front of another couple we were paired with.

Jared stood at my side when the melody started and then elegantly pulled me in front of him. “Ashlyn?”

I haven’t had a chance to answer him since the steps demanded for me to approach the other gentleman. The man clumsily spun me under his arm before guiding me back to my dance partner.

“Yes, Jared?” I breathed out as his hand gently covered mine on the small of my back.

“I cannot stop thinking about you,” he admitted when we walked in a circular form.

“You promised!” I hissed trough the clenched teeth, throwing a forced smile at the masked people around me.

“I know, but you won’t dance with me otherwise,” he whispered.

“Of course, I wouldn’t! What do you want me to do, Jared?” I hurriedly glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

I walked into the middle of our square formation, clasping a hand of the Lady from the opposite couple, carefully spinning around her.

“I want to kiss you again,” Jared stated boldly the second I returned to him. The unexpected admission made me almost trip and lose my footing.

“So, this means you are not marrying Bonnie then?” I spat at him with anger flaring inside my chest.

“I would be only marring her because of the money, Ashlyn.”