I noticed him sticking his index finger in the air, before he narrowed his eyes with concentration. Was he measuring the temperature? Surely not!

The second Baxter lifted his head, his gaze collided with mine. He immediately jerked his arm back down and stuffed it inside the pocket of his trousers. While hastily averting his eyes, his face once more turned into a deep shade of red.

“What is he doing?” I mumbled under my breath, giggling.

“Well, Baxter is a bit … eccentric,” Stanley fondly smiled at his friend. “But also an incredibly good man with the heart of gold.”

Gentleman in question stepped backward, accidentally kicking the big potted tropical plant in the process. He spun around and caught its looming stem with admirable, lightning fast reflexes.

Lord Stanley pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply. “Oh, Baxter…”

“I a-am so s-sorry!” Baxter turned around, apologizing to every person the plant had smacked over the head. “I a-apologize!”

He painfully stood out in the circle of pompous and sophisticated upper-class society. Truth to be told, the poor gentleman was in fact sticking out like a sore thumb.

“Have you known him long?” I inquired Lord Bradford.

“Since we were little kids,” he nodded. “He was the brains; I was the social butterfly,” he gave me a lopsided smile. “His parents practically adopted me since I was always staying at their house. Really good people,” he murmured.

“I heard they passed away a year ago. I am sorry for your loss,” I said earnestly.

“Thank you, Lady Ashlyn,” he smiled warmly. “It was quite a terrible experience, especially for Baxter. It hit him pretty hard.”

“I can only imagine,” I nodded with sadness. “It’s obvious he is very uncomfortable amongst the high society, so why is he here then?”

“For the same reason as you, Lady Ashlyn. He is searching for a wife,” he explained to me, while his eyes still lingered on his trusted colleague.

“I assume he wasn’t successful in his search yet?”

Lord Stanley’s eyes darkened with concern. “Ladies want nothing to do with him," his tone turned hushed when Baxter Read excused himself and joined us by the window.

“It l-looks l-like it’s g-going t-to rain,” he tripped over his tongue so badly, I had to lean forward to understand him better. But soon as I did so, I noticed how small of a distance remained between our bodies. I immediately straightened my posture and carefully backed away.

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“S-see these rain c-clouds?” He pointed at the almost black sky. “And i-if you’ll l-listen intently, y-you can h-hear the r-rumbling sound o-of the thunder,” his amber irises travelled between us. “Did y-you know t-that sound t-travels considerably s-slower than l-light? This way we c-can estimate h-how far a-away the b-bolt of lightning is b-by timing the interval b-between seeing t-the flash and h-hearing the thunder.”

“Oh really?” I said, interested. “How if you don’t mind me asking?”

“T-the lightning is a-approximately one m-mile distant for e-every five seconds t-that elapse between the f-flash and the f-first sound of t-thunder,” he explained.

“Fascinating, I didn’t know that, Your Grace,” my mouth curved into a bright smile. “So…” I listened intently. “About five miles away?”

“C-correct My L-Lady,” he nodded enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling.

“You must be quite a reader, Your Grace, since you possess such a vast knowledge.”

“I, uh.. Yes, I-I read a-a lot,” he massaged the side of his neck, appearing thoroughly embarrassed by my compliment.

“Lady Ashlyn!” I suddenly heard Jared’s call. “Excuse me gentlemen, but I need a word with Lady Caldwell here,” he nodded at His Grace Read and Stanley before he slowly maneuvered us away.

“I have to ask you Ashlyn, what in God’s name are you doing?”

“Whatever do you mean?” I yanked away my hand before I looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“Do you intend to marry him?” Jared threw his hands in the air. His piercing glaze was downright accusing as if I’d lost my mind.

“Of course not! Dear God, why?” Lord Read was definitely not the kind of gentleman that I would fancy. We were simply too different him and I.

“Then why do I keep seeing you around him?”

“Andrew Richards introduced me to Lord Stanley and His Grace is his friend. Being around him is unavoidable,” I glared at him.

“So Lord Stanley? He is the one you are after?” He spat, his eyes blazing with irritation. His eyes scanned the room before he grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer.

“I wouldn’t use the word after. It sounds… wrong.” I once again pulled my hand out of his firm grasp. Why was he suddenly so interested in who I chose to speak with?

“What about me, Ashlyn?” Jared took a step closer, his eyes simmering with such desperation that made me uneasy.

“What about you, Jared?”

“You know what I mean. I miss you.”

“Miss me? What about Lady Bonnie?” I couldn’t believe him. “You’re a grown man Jared, you cannot simply wait for a heavenly sign to show you which Lady should you choose.”

His face looked pained. “I am so confused, Ashlyn. I am wrecking my mind every night, barely getting any sleep. I think I love you both.”

“This is insanity! Well, since you cannot marry me anyway, you already know your answer. And your answer is coming this way.”

He hurriedly clasped his hands behind his back, straightening his posture. “Bonnie, darling!” He beamed at her as if nothing happened.

“I came to fetch you, My Lord. We are about to leave,” she smiled at us both, clueless of what lied inside Jared’s scrambled thoughts. “It was nice to see you, Ashlyn.”

“Likewise, Bonnie! Well, I’d better find my aunt and Lord Sutton before they depart without me," I plastered on a joyful, yet overly polite smile before whirling around. It didn’t take long for me to realize that my aunt was nowhere to be found. I frantically combed through the rooms in case I’d spot her extravagant dress, but had no luck. I pushed open the main door to look outside, but was horror-stricken upon noticing it was pouring now.