“Claudia! How lovely to see you.”

Jacintha smiled as her friend rose to greet her, only for the smile to fix on her face as she saw none other than Henry beside Claudia, rising to greet her.

“Henry,” she breathed, her gut tightening. “You have returned.”

“Good afternoon, Lady Jacintha,” he replied, executing a perfect bow. “Indeed, I have returned. I do hope you will not mind me staying here for a brief visit with you?”

“No, not in the least,” Jacintha murmured, still rather shocked by his presence. “This is your home after all.”

She sat down carefully, relieved that Harmonia was able to continue the conversation without her. There was a lot of discussion about wedding plans and the like but still, Jacintha found she could not quite concentrate on what was being said. The fact that Henry was here had overtaken her completely.

“Are you quite well, Lady Jacintha?”

“Just ‘Jacintha’,” she replied, frowning at him. “I thought we did not do titles, Henry.”

“I will refer to you in whatever way you wish,” he answered, with a lift of his shoulders. “I do not want to displease you.”

A little taken aback at his manners, Jacintha blinked once, twice, before shrugging and trying to smile. “When did you return to London?”

“I am only here for a brief visit,” he replied, as Harmonia and Claudia continued to converse excitedly about Claudia’s wedding plans. “I return to stay with my uncle again in less than a week.”

“Your uncle?” Jacintha repeated, wondering who this uncle might be. “I don’t think I have ever met him.”

“No, you have not,” he replied, with a small smile. “My father’s brother, Uncle Roderick, lives near the Devon coast. I am assisting him in a small operation there.”

For a moment, Jacintha was robbed of speech. This was not the Henry she knew, the Henry she had been so disappointed with. “An operation?”

He smiled, his eyes warm with no trace of the arrogance or anger she had seen there before. “I cannot speak too much about it, but my uncle is involved in attempting to stop a band of smugglers operating near the coast. I thought to help him.”

Jacintha was about to speak, when he held up one hand and shook his head. “No, that is not so. The truth is, he told me that I ought to come to stay with him for a time but I did not want to. It was only when I saw myself the way others see me that I decided to change my mind. I have you – amongst others – to thank for that.”

Jacintha blinked, hardly able to take in what was being said. Had Henry truly decided to turn his back on his rakish ways? She was not quite sure she believed it.

“I am sure you will be very much looking forward to when your time with your uncle is over,” she said, softly, watching him carefully. “The Season will be nearing its conclusion soon and you would not want to miss it.”

He shrugged, a quiet laugh escaping from him. “In truth, my dear Jacintha, I find that I could not care less whether or not I miss the end of the Season. Being with my uncle has shown me a great deal about myself and my character and it is something I have determined to change. To take myself away from all that I loved has been something of a challenge, I will admit, but it is not something that I intend to rush back into any time soon. I believe that I need to find the man I was before, back when you knew me. Back when I was sensible and dedicated and focused.” He must have seen her frown for he laughed again and shook his head. “I can tell that you are struggling to believe me but I am going to prove it – not only to you but to myself. I suppose I should thank you for your candor and your blunt words to me, for otherwise, I might never have reached this place.”

All thoughts of Lord Slate left her mind. Harmonia and Claudia’s conversation began to fade, drifting into nothingness. All she saw, all she heard, was Henry.

She could not quite bring herself to believe him, not sure that everything he said was true – yet there was a seriousness in his eyes that had not been there before. It was as though he had begun to change, slowly, into the man she had known all those years ago, the man who had almost kissed her. The man who might kiss her again, would she let him.

She caught her breath at the thought, doing her best to hide her gasp. Heat crept up her neck and into her face, making her blush all the more with embarrassment.

“And can you believe it? Henry has been back in town for three days and, as yet, has not set foot outside of this house,” she heard Claudia declare, making Harmonia exclaim in surprise.

Henry chuckled. “You are doing it too brown, sister. I have left the house.”

“A visit to the tailor and to the bookshop is hardly an outing,” Claudia replied, with a small sniff. “What I meant was, you are not going out to all the balls and recitals we have been invited to.”

“I mean not to go out to anything during this week,” Henry declared, surprising Jacintha even more. “You know that I mean to stick to my word, Claudia.”

“Yes, I do, and I am proud of you for it,” came the warm reply. “Although I will admit that I did not really believe you at the start of the sennight. It was not like my brother to say such things! I thought he was just being foolish.”

“I have had quite enough of being foolish, I assure you,” Henry replied, rather firmly. “That part of my life is over.”

Jacintha looked over at Claudia to see whether or not her friend was rolling her eyes or the like but found, much to her surprise, that she was looking over at Henry rather affectionately. Evidently, Henry’s sister believed him, which meant that Jacintha had very little alternative but to do so herself.

“My goodness, Henry,” she murmured, looking over at him. “If I had known my words would have had this great an effect, then I would have said something to you a long time ago!”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I probably would not have listened to you then, Jacintha. It seemed to have all converged at once – you, my sister and my uncle. What must it say about me that it took three people to convince me of my folly!”

Jacintha was surprised to see regret in his expression, watching him as he passed a hand over his eyes, evidently frustrated with himself. Had he truly begun to regret how he had been living? She had heard him speak so proudly of his freedom and now, it appeared, he was realizing that it was no freedom at all. His vices were keeping him prisoner, changing him to their pleasures. This was certainly not the Henry she had first met when she had come to London. When he looked up at her, their eyes meeting yet again, a deep piercing sadness hit Jacintha’s soul. She realized just how much she had missed Henry, albeit the Henry she had known all those years ago. To see him now, slowly changing back, brought her a happiness she had not expected.

“You are looking at me rather strangely, Jacintha,” he said, quietly, a small smile curving his lips. “Is everything all right?”

Jacintha tried to laugh but it came out as nothing more than a croak. “I am quite well, I assure you. I am just quite taken aback, Henry.”

“None as much as I,” he replied, with a laugh. “But what of you, Jacintha? What has happened whilst I have been away?”

Jacintha made to shrug off the question, not wishing to talk to him about Lord Slate, when Harmonia piped up, her eyes bright.

“Oh, Lord Slate has been very attentive to Jacintha, I must say.”

“Lord Slate?” Claudia repeated, leaning forward in excitement. “Goodness, Jacintha! He is a man to be much admired, you should do well if he is inclined towards you.”

Jacintha did not know where to look, wishing Harmonia had not said a thing about him. Seeing Claudia look at her expectantly, she tried to smile and appear as casual as possible, not wishing to draw attention to him.

“He has been very attentive, yes, but we shall see what follows. Papa is not feeling all that well, and so we may soon have to return to the country.”

“You need not be so coy, Jacintha, not when we are amongst friends,” Harmonia said, looking puzzled. “It is quite all right to state that papa has given Lord Slate his consent to court you. You appeared quite excited about it only recently!”

Jacintha felt her throat close as she saw the disappointment on Henry’s face, which was, after a moment, quickly replaced with a bright smile.

“How wonderful!” Claudia exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “My dear Jacintha, Lord Slate will make a wonderful husband, I am quite sure of it.”

Jacintha cleared her throat, holding up one hand. “Do not be too hasty, Claudia. He has not asked for my hand yet.”

“But when he does, why would you not say yes?” Claudia asked, sounding slightly confused. “After all, he is courting you now.”

Feeling heat rise in her cheeks, Jacintha tried to change the subject. “I take all my decisions with a great deal of seriousness. Now, Claudia, you must tell me all about your own wedding arrangements. They sound quite wonderful, from what I have been hearing.”

Thankfully Claudia was more than delighted to talk about her wedding plans and was soon chattering merrily about them. Jacintha was required only to listen, giving her ample time to glance over at Henry who was, much to her dismay, now sitting with a somewhat dejected expression on his face. It cut her to her very heart, wondering if she was the cause of such sadness. Was it because she was now being courted by Lord Slate? Had he hoped that she might turn back to him, to finish what had been started all those years ago? Jacintha closed her eyes and drew in a long breath, before sitting back and trying to listen attentively to all that Claudia was saying. She felt as though she and Henry were engaged in some kind of dance, a dance where they were entirely separate yet longing to draw close to one another. If she spoke to him about how much she had missed him, about how surprised she was at his change in character, would anything come of it?

You have just told Lord Slate that you accept his suit, she told herself, forcing her gaze to remain on Claudia. Stop thinking about Henry. You have made your decision. Now accept it.

And yet, no matter how forcefully she spoke to herself, no matter how hard she tried to prevent herself from thinking of him, still her gaze returned to him over and over. Each time, he would look back at her for just a moment before she averted her eyes, telling herself to focus only on Claudia.

Dancing around each other all over again.