“I am afraid so, My Lady,” he whispered. “It w-was a r-recent arrangement.”

I knew this was the perfect opportunity to let him believe I was interested in Lord Stanley, so I remained silent. It felt mean, however far less comparing to outright telling him I had no interest in him.

The Waltz slowly came to an end and I yanked my hands away as if licked by the scorching flame. “Thank you for your dance, Your Grace,” I stated awkwardly.

He wore a forlorn smile as he slightly bowed. “I-I think t-that was supposed t-to be my l-line.”

His smile however fell when I averted my gaze. “I should find my companions. Enjoy your night, Your Grace.”

“You too, My Lady.”

He didn’t move as I rushed off the dance floor and I still felt his eyes burning into my back, even after I was long out of sight.

“Who was that?” Alison stepped on her tiptoes, straining to spot my mysterious dance partner.

I dismissively waved my hand. “I don’t know; I haven’t recognized his face.”

“Weren’t you talking to him?” She dubiously raised her eyebrow, closely studying me.

The false smile I plastered on my face was so stiff it was almost painful. “It was only a meaningless chatter, a pure formality.” I was never going to tell her it was Baxter Read, because I would never hear the end of it. And this time around it was definitely not my fault that I stumbled into him.

“Well… What about Lord Stanley?” She pushed on.

“Lord Stanley is apparently betrothed,” I sighed. He indeed was a good suitor, but somehow the expected disappointed never showed.

“Betrothed?” She squeaked. “Are you certain?”

“Absolutely.”

“Lady Ashlyn, what are you going to do now?”

There was a feeling of pity in her eyes which I disliked greatly. Correct, the season was storming by like a summer breeze but I still had a little time left.

“Don’t worry about me, Lady Alison,” I turned to her and lowered my voice. “Tell me about you… What are you doing with Lord Travis? He is a terrible choice for a husband!” I hissed at her.

“I… Love him,” she admitted, her eyes softened when they landed on the man standing a few feet away. “I realize that this may go wrong someday, but right now it feels right. Please, don’t judge me,” she exhaled. “I was already scolded enough.”

“Oh, Lady Alison,” I clasped her hand in mine. “I only want for you to be happy.”

“I am,” she assured me. “I really am, Lady Ashlyn. Besides love is blind, so let me be blind for a while longer,” she whispered with a hushed voice.

“Just be careful, all right?”

“I will,” she smiled at me fondly. “I am a grown woman; I can take whatever is thrown at me.”

Not long after we joined a bigger group that gathered on the left side of the ballroom.

“Where is Jared?” Edith leaned into me.

“I don’t know, isn’t he with Bonnie?”

“No, Bonnie is standing right there,” I followed her finger, discretely pointed at the brunette. She indeed was surrounded by the circle of knowledge-hungry debutantes, cheerfully sharing advices about the art of seduction.

“I am sorry; but I haven’t seen him.”

The awful summer heat stuck to my overheated skin and suddenly breathing seemed impossible. I badly yearned for some fresh air.

“If you’ll excuse me, Edith,” I whispered to her. “I need to use the restroom. I will look around if I can spot him somewhere, all right?”

I hurried out of the chamber to the great hall, looking around to find a room where I could relieve myself. The grand house was a maze in which I became lost quite rapidly. I blindly stepped into the space that was probably a drawing room and prayed to God I wasn’t trespassing. Seeing this most certainly wasn’t the right way to the ladies’ rooms, I whirled around but halted abruptly when I heard giggling noises.

Cursing my curiosity, I crept closer and peeped through the door where the noises were coming from.

My body jerked with pure shock at what I’d witnessed. I covered my trembling lips with horror, stuffing the fist into my mouth to prevent myself from gasping out loud.

I saw Jared between the bare legs of Lady Wyatt, frantically pushing into her. Her eyes rolled with pleasure as she shamelessly moaned into his ear.

I fought the overwhelming waves of nausea as I slowly stepped backward, one step at the time. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Of one thing I was certain - Bonnie will not marry Jared. I won’t allow him hurt her so.

When I was far enough for them not to hear me, I raised my skirts and ran. I ran through the endless corridors and into the safe embrace of the lush gardens. I did not fear the looming darkness for I only sought solace and peace.

I plopped myself down on a cold marble stone and hopelessly stared into the distance. The chirping of the crickets drowned the soft tones of the instrumental music, the evenly pulse of their rubbing wings making me calmer.

I knew Jared was a charmer, but I certainly didn’t expect him to do such a vile thing. He claimed to love Bonnie, he even said he would marry her and yet there he was with Lady Wyatt. Lady Wyatt! What on earth possessed him to go after my aunt’s self-centered friend? Her sublime riches, I presumed.

I sat there for a while, hidden in the shadows of the trees, completely invisible to the naked eye. I should’ve been worried about rumors, especially if someone saw me sitting in the dark - by myself - but I had no wish to leave the safe heaven I found. I was buried deep in my thoughts when I suddenly realized that I - as a matter of fact - wasn’t alone at all. There, in the distance, behind a hedge wall of a beautifully constructed maze lingered a dark figure. If I hadn’t raised my head, I would’ve missed the movement entirely. But now, looking closely and straining my ears was able to distinguish evident sound of heaving. The person was bent over while struggling to breathe – almost choking. Their hands desperately grabbed at their chest to stop the torturous pain, but to no avail. The terrible anguish of the person was enough to send me running.

The closer I got, the more panicked I felt seeing who the man standing in the darkness was.