Page 46 of The Lady No One Noticed

“Ah, my memory must have failed me. Though it doesn’t matter, we are talking now, and we have all the time in the world,” Lady Beatrice replied, making herself comfortable. Esther had no idea what to say next, so she simply nodded before resuming to eat. She needed to do something to escape this situation though there was no way she could stand up and leave.

“I must congratulate you on your courtship with Lord Gilbert. I was so delighted to see you two together last night. He looks quite devoted to you,” she said, and Esther turned crimson. She looked down before finally replying.

“Thank you, My Lady.”

“I have seen several young couples, Lady Esther, but you and Lord Gilbert look as if you were made for one another. Each extremely devoted to the other,” she went on while Esther simply stared down at her plate. Esther knew that Lady Beatrice was simply trying to get Esther to divulge something private.

Esther was raking her mind to find an escape. She needed an excuse to leave the table immediately. If it were not for Ian, Lady Beatrice would have never even acknowledged her, much less sat down for a chat. This sudden attention was unsettling.

“After what happened three years ago, I thought the poor man would never find true love again. Though, I couldn’t be happier that he has found a soulmate in you,” her words hit Esther like a brick. The long dramatic sigh at the end of her sentence was enough indication to Esther that whatever had happened three years ago was supposed to be sad. Though what had happened, Esther had no idea.

Esther suddenly remembered that Ian had told her about being estranged with Adam, though he had never told her the reason. Could this be somehow linked to that, Esther wondered.

“Poor child, your confused expression tells me that you have no idea what I am talking about! Of course, the Duke of Gilendale used all his power to conceal the matter to save his family name from scandal. I only found out through a mutual friend of Lady Lisa’s mother. But I thought that perhaps Lord Gilbert had let you in on the secret,” Lady Beatrice went on, confusing Esther even further.

Esther knew she was doing it all on purpose. She was hiding the actual information and simply building suspense to make it sound even more dramatic. But how was Lady Lisa a part of this? Esther knew only that Adam and Lisa were married.

“I am not aware of any secrets,” Esther said, her voice small. She didn’t know if she really wished to find for she was sure Lady Beatrice had only sat beside her to give her this snippet of information.

“Well, Lord Gilbert was madly in love with Lady Lisa and courting her for marriage. However, Lady Lisa and Lord Gilbert’s younger brother Adam were seeing each other secretly and fell in love. Poor Lord Gilbert was left devastated after this betrayal at the hands of his own brother and the love of his life. He left London without even attending the wedding. He was so distraught that he felt the need to find solace in many women’s arms,” Lady Beatrice narrated the entire tale with a sigh, and Esther stared at her, shocked. The matter was far worse than she could have ever imagined. Ian must have been devastated over it.

Esther felt suddenly insignificant. She wished Ian had told her about this himself. When she had noticed Lady Lisa staring at Ian last night, she had seen something odd about her gaze. An unwavering heat that had radiated through her eyes directed straight at Ian.

Esther would have been perfectly fine if Ian had told her himself but perhaps he still harbored feelings for Lisa? A sudden sense of fear gripped her heart.

“That sounds like a terribly awful situation, Lady Beatrice,” Esther whispered, knowing that Lady Beatrice was waiting for a reply. She had to choose her words wisely and not display any emotions on her face. The task was challenging as Esther’s insides were roiling.

“Of course, if it weren’t for the prominent position of the Duke and their immense wealth, it would have been a huge scandal. Even Lady Lisa’s mother only told very few friends. Hardly anyone in the ton knows. I only mentioned it because I thought Lord Gilbert would have told you,” she said.

Esther breathed in sharply at the well-concealed taunt. Why hadn’t Ian told her?

“I do not think that Lord Gilbert felt there was any need to bring up the past,” Esther said, not caring about offending Lady Beatrice any longer. The woman had pointedly singled out Esther to tell this tale so she could hurt her or coax a reaction out of her. This was another reason Esther preferred being invisible amongst this vicious lot of humans that formed high society.

Lady Beatrice nodded, a forced smile on her face. Esther’s lack of reaction must have come as a shock to her as she had been expecting drama.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my Mother,” Esther said standing up.

“Of course,” Lady Beatrice replied as Esther turned and walked away.

Her heart was raging inside her chest and dread encapsulated her senses. She couldn’t help but be hurt that Ian had not told her this himself, even after he had mentioned his strained relationship with Adam. But Ian would probably have a logical explanation for not telling her.

Lisa most likely didn’t matter much to him anymore, and he might have not wished to worry or hurt Esther needlessly. Also, she knew she could always ask him. Ian would never deliberately hide anything important from her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Ian stepped inside Jackson’s, his mind clearly not in the right place. It felt as if everything that had been happening in the last few days was finally taking a toll on him, and he couldn’t tolerate it any longer. He knew that he needed to let out the slowly rising mountain of frustration inside his brain, and boxing was the perfect way to do it. Physical exercise always helped him ease his mind.

“The Marquess of Ilenshire decided to show up at last?” A very familiar voice greeted him from behind, and Ian turned around to find George standing in front of him. George was an old friend that Ian had met when he had first started coming to Jackson’s during his youth. George was roughly five or six years older than him.

“The Marquess of Ilenshire? Since when do you address me by my title?” Ian asked, smiling slightly. He was glad that George’s presence was already making him forget about his montage of problems.

“Since you disappeared for three years without any word,” George replied sarcastically, and Ian visibly grimaced. He had offended too many people by suddenly leaving London, and George was one of them. Ian knew that he had no idea about what had happened at that time ago, but that was no excuse. His actions had been careless.

“I deserved that,” Ian replied before laughing. He relaxed a little when George joined in the laughter, indicating that he wasn’t really angry with Ian. It was good to know that he had a friend, someone he could trust in this largely unpredictable scenario unfolding around him.

“I left a boxing match when I saw you enter. I will return to it. Meanwhile, you can pound a sandbag. I’ll come meet you shortly,” George said and Ian nodded in agreement. He watched as George turned around to leave while he walked to the corner of the cavernous space where a lone sandbag was hanging. Ian stripped out of his morning coat and prepared himself for the exercise. He had not practiced for years, and despite having been in a few brawls and skirmishes over the past years, he needed to brush up on his skills.

Right now, he simply needed to focus on letting out the sea of frustrations that was residing within his heart and mind. He had hardly slept at all last night and was already tired after just a few initial punches. However, he had no intention of stopping. He needed to rid his mind of the thoughts that were consuming him. He had shared a beautiful evening with Esther and found himself thinking about her endlessly. Her smile, her laughter, the way she talked, the way she scrunched up her eyebrows when perplexed, her movements as they danced, her kind nature, and absolutely every single thing about her excited him. He couldn’t deny the fact that he loved all of it. He had feelings for Esther, feelings that ran deep, feelings that simply couldn’t be denied or ignored any longer.