“Very well,” she said at last. “I will go.”
Anne gave a small nod, as though she had expected nothing less.
“Then you will do more than simply appear. You will speak, and you will allow yourself to be seen. Hiding in plain sight is still hiding.”
The matter was settled, and she was prepared to leave.
The garden itself was already alive by the time they arrived, acquaintances mingling easily. Eleanor moved beside Anne without hesitation, her presence calm, her manner composed, allowing herself to engage where required without drawing more notice than necessary. It was easier than she had expected, the rhythm of it returning without effort. For a time, it was almost enough to distract her.
Then she saw him.
Sebastian Halford stood across the garden, already in conversation with a group of young ladies, entirely at ease within the setting as he always was. There was nothing outwardly remarkable in his appearance beyond what she already knew, nothing that marked him as anything other than a gentlemanamong others, and yet the ladies around her seemed to see something entirely different.
He turned, as though aware of her attention, and found her without difficulty. There was no surprise in his reaction, only intent. Eleanor did not look away immediately, though she felt the shift in herself, the quiet steadiness she had carried into the gathering sharpening. She had expected to see him again, of course. She had known that remaining nearby would make it likely that their paths would cross. Even so, the reality of it, beyond the structure of the estate, altered the situation in ways she could not ignore.
“He is here,” she said quietly.
Anne followed her attention and understood at once.
“Yes,” she said. “I had been told he might be.”
“You did not think to mention it?”
“I thought it better that you were not given the opportunity to avoid the gathering. Besides, you will be using him to improve your reputation. If that is your plan, then it is best that you are seen together.”
Eleanor did not respond to that, though she understood the reasoning behind it.
“He will speak to you,” Anne added. “It makes the most sense for him to.”
“I expect he will.”
“And you will not face him alone. You might believe that he has changed, but I do not.”
Eleanor turned slightly. She was grateful for her friend, but she did not want to feel like a child, or a sick animal of sorts.
“You cannot remain at my side at all times.”
“No,” Anne agreed. “But I can ensure you are not entirely without support.”
Before Eleanor could reply, the decision was taken from them. Halford crossed the distance between them, his attention fixed entirely on Eleanor as though no one else present held any significance at all. The ladies he walked away from were all staring at her, more than one glaring.
“Good day to you both,” he said, stopping before her with a familiarity that did not belong in such a setting. “I had hoped I might find you here.”
“Hello, Mr. Halford.”
“I trust you are well.”
“I am as I was yesterday.”
“Then unchanged,” he said, as though that confirmed something for him. “That is fine by me.”
Anne remained beside her, her presence deliberate, though Halford’s attention did not shift toward her beyond the briefest acknowledgment.
“You left before we had concluded our conversation,” he continued.
“I had heard enough. My decision does not require further discussion. I will return to London one day, but you and I… we must leave it in the past.”
She had not expected to say it at all, let alone outright, but it had to happen. She did not want him to think that there was a chance for them, not when she simply did not want him. Even if he had changed, it would have been unfair to him to be with him when she loved another man.