George grimaced as Major Ridding appeared at his door, not even getting to his feet when his so-called friend walked into the room.

“Come now, Eccles – I mean, Warwick,” Ridding exclaimed, spreading his arms wide. “You have been in London for some weeks now and you will not so much as greet me whenever we attend the same event. Why such callousness?”

Grunting, George shifted in his chair. “I do not wish to speak to you, Ridding.”

“Why ever not? What have I done but be kind to you, shown you friendship and camaraderie?” the Major whined, coming over to stand in front of George, his expression a little lost. “I have done nothing to harm you.”

George’s lip curled and he looked steadfastly into the fire, unable to get the memory of Lady Jessica and Major Ridding out of his mind. He still did not understand why she had been so warm towards him, why she had appeared so affectionate and even loving, giving him hope for a future together with her -only to dash it all away without explanation.

“Come now, you cannot ignore me forever,” Major Ridding continued, sitting down opposite George. “The reason I came to London was to search for you, to discover whether or not all was well, and I can see now that all is not well in the least! You are a shadow of yourself, man!”

“A broken heart will do that to a man,” George muttered, glaring at him. “Not that you would understand, you who seems to get all that you want.”

Major Ridding frowned, his expression growing serious. “Whatever it is you are trying to accuse me of, Warwick, I can assure you now that I have done nothing to harm you. If it is Lady Jessica you are speaking of, then I cannot be faulted for her decisions now, can I? They were made entirely of her own volition and to hold such a grudge against me seems entirely unfair.”

George drew in one long breath and let it out slowly, dampening down his furious anger. He wanted nothing more than to challenge Major Ridding to a duel or something equally as ridiculous but knew he could do nothing of the sort. Besides, there was some truth in what the man said. Lady Jessica had made her own choice and that choice had not been George. Could he really remain as angry as he had been towards Major Ridding? After all, it could be said that he was being rather selfish in refusing to allow his friend any form of happiness with the lady he had mistakenly thought belonged to him.

“What is it that you want, Ridding?”

The Major smiled, relaxing just a little. “There now, at least I am to have a semblance of conversation with you! I come with news that there is to be a masked ball at Lord and Lady Ridgley’s abode tomorrow. You have received an invitation, I am sure, but have you yet responded?”

George lifted one eyebrow. “I am surprised that you would ask.”

“I just wondered whether or not you expected to be in attendance,” the Major said, nonchalantly, lifting one shoulder. “It is the start of the little Season after all, and from what I have been hearing, you have been throwing yourself into society’s events of late.”

Sniffing, George shrugged his shoulders, lifting the brandy to his lips. That was true, at least, although he had begun to attend events less and less the moment he realised Major Ridding was in town. He was also a little unsure as to whether Lady Jessica had returned to her father’s townhouse and had not wanted to ask, for fear that he would discover that yes, she was in town but clearly had not sought him out. He was in a quandary, for he did not want to return home if she still remained at Northfell, but nor did he want to ask one of his friends whether or not she was in London, for fear of making his love for her clear to them. It remained a closely guarded secret, held deep within the confines of his heart. He had no intention of sharing his daily burden of love and sorrow and pain with another living soul, not unless he absolutely had to.

Major Ridding sniffed and looked away from George, his expression inscrutable. “So you have not yet made up your mind,” he murmured, glancing over at him for a moment. “You will need to act quickly if you do wish to attend, Warwick. A mask for the event cannot always be quickly purchased and the event is tomorrow evening.”

“Why are you so interested in what events I choose to go to?” George exclaimed, rounding on Major Ridding. “Have you not noticed that I am taking myself as far away from any event you attend? Have you not wondered why I have been absent of late from society? It is because I do not wish to speak to you, Ridding.”

“Why ever not?”

“Because I saw you with Lady Jessica!” George shouted, unable to hold in his anger any longer. “The night of the ball, I saw you embrace her. Is that why you have come to London? Is she here? Are you soon to announce your engagement?”

Major Ridding dropped his glass of brandy onto the carpet, his eyes wide with shock. He made no move to pick it up, the amber liquid quickly soaking into the carpet.

“I thought you were my friend,” George finished, his breathing coming quickly. “I thought you understood the depths of my affections for the lady, and yet here you are making to take her into your own embrace the very moment I am gone form her affections! How could you do such a thing to me?”

Major Ridding swallowed hard, apparently unable to speak for a moment or two. “I…I…I did not think you would know.”

“So, you were trying to protect me, were you?” George sneered, his face lined with pain. “You did not want me to know, so persuaded me not to come to your ball by telling me exactly what Lady Jessica asked. You hoped that I would not attend so that you might get your claws into her, is that it?”

Major Ridding lifted his chin, his shoulders squaring. “Now see here, Eccles,” he began, referring to George in the way he had always done when they had both been in the army together. “I was trying my best to protect you. I am your friend and I could not confess to you that Lady Jessica and I were forming an attachment, not when I could see just how much you felt for her. I was honest enough to tell you what she asked of me, in the hope that your affections might begin to fade but I could not tell you all, not when I knew it would wound you so. Can you not see that, in all of this, I am trying to be your friend?”

George shook his head, nothing but pain slicing through him over and over and over again. “I can see nothing but betrayal,” he said, slowly slumping back in his seat. “We cannot be friends any longer, Ridding. Go to her. Marry her, if you will. I cannot be a part of your life any longer.”

Major Ridding rose slowly out of his seat, his expression somewhat triumphant, although George barely glanced at him. “Then it is best you do not come to the masked ball tomorrow evening,” he said, calmly. “I intend to propose to Lady Jessica there and I have every hope she will accept me. I am sorry it has come to this but I will not allow your pain to prevent any future happiness I will have with the lady. Under the circumstances, perhaps it is best that you return to your estate and we are left with the memories of the friendship we once shared. Good day, Eccles. I wish you well, with whatever your future may hold.”

George did not move, did not speak. He waited until the door closed tightly behind Major Ridding before closing his eyes and screwing up his face in a desperate attempt not to scream aloud in pain and frustration. Major Ridding was to propose to Lady Jessica? And he expected her to accept? My goodness, it was as though he had never truly known her. He would never have expected her to fall for another, not after how she had spoken to him, not after the intimacies they had shared together.

“Then I shall have to return to my estate,” George muttered, trying to get a hold of himself. “There is nothing else for it.” Major Ridding was right, there was nothing for him here.

Getting to his feet, George poured himself another, larger, brandy and leaned heavily on the mantlepiece, looking down into the flames. He felt as though there had been a large hole torn in his chest, an empty space now bleeding and ragged. Would he ever be able to heal from it? Was there any way it could, one day, be mended? No matter how hard he tried, George had not been able to find any delight in spending time with other eligible young ladies, for none of them had compared to Lady Jessica. She was still the only one he thought of, the only one he longed for.

“Can you imagine it if I appeared tomorrow and spoke to her of what she had done?” he said to himself, shaking his head as a rueful smile crossed his face. “What a look on her face there would be!”

He paused, the grim smile fading from his expression. Mayhap that was what he needed to do. Mayhap he did need to speak to her, to demand to know why she had turned from him so abruptly in order to give her affections to another. It might bring about the healing he so desperately needed. It would bring an end to all the questions that penetrated his mind over and over.

Putting down his brandy, George hurried out over to his desk, leafing through the piles of invitations that sat, unanswered, to one side. The masked ball was here somewhere, he was sure of it. It had been thrown aside, along with the rest of the invitations.

“Here it is,” he murmured, running one finger along the edge of the velvet ribbon that tied the invitation together. He had not replied to it as yet, and certainly did not have a mask for himself, but a determination grew within him to both attend and to speak openly with Lady Jessica. Sitting down at his desk, he quickly wrote a reply and, ringing the bell, handed the note to his butler with an instruction to have it sent straight away. It was late already which meant that he could not find a mask until the morning, but, with the decision made, George finally felt a little more settled.

“I shall find you tomorrow, Lady Jessica,” he promised, going in search of his brandy and lifting the glass in a toast to her. “And then you shall explain all to me. I will not leave your side without an explanation for the wrongs you have done me.” So saying, he threw back his brandy and, as the warmth spread through his chest, allowed himself a small smile. Finally, he would have some answers.