The Return (Book One in the Wattpad Featured Return Series)

Chapter Eight

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Disappointed that the evening has been such a colossal failure, I search the house for Charlotte, hoping that she'll be agreeable to sneaking off upstairs and calling it a night. It's been a long day and after all I've been through, I'm ready for it to end.

I meander through the different groups of people spread about, but Charlotte is nowhere to be found. I search the main hall and even peek in the library, but only find a group of older gentlemen having one last nightcap in there. The next room down is Mr. Aberson's study, but the door is closed, so I continue on to the conservatory where it seems a sizable crowd has gathered.

I turn back when I hear the sound of a door opening behind me, and am surprised to see Ambrose, leaving the study. Preparing to call out to him, I stop when I see his expression. Ambrose is generally upbeat and vibrant, but even from here I can tell that something isn't right. He looks worried, buried in his own thoughts, and I don't want him to catch me lurking, so I hurry and duck into the conservatory before he notices.

For a while I mingle with the other guests, trading local gossip and making small talk, but when there's still no sign of Charlotte an hour later, I finally decide to retire on my own.

I'm about to step out into the corridor, when I stumble upon Levi Harrington and Nora Potter there on the other side of the door. They look as if they're having a private conversation. Levi's back is pressed up against the wall, and Nora is using her body to pin him there.

A thorn of envy burrows inside me, and I pray I have time to retreat before either of them sees me.

But just as I'm drawing back, Levi looks up, and quickly calls out my name. "Miss Blackwell!"

With nowhere to hide, I slap on a stiff smile and force myself to step out into the hallway.

"Mr. Harrington." I barely nod in his direction, avoiding his eyes. Perhaps I'm a little disappointed to have found him out here with Nora, of all people; especially so soon after we danced. Although, I suppose it shouldn't surprise me. The two of them make sense. I'm the one who comes from a different world.

"It appears as if we're developing quite a pattern here." Levi smiles, and that aggravatingly easy grin of his returns.

He squeezes out from behind Nora whose long skirts brush against the floorboards as she's forced to shuffle back. She scowls at me from behind him, furious that I've interrupted them, but Levi seems to have forgotten all about her.

He drops his voice down into a deep whisper and his eyes sparkle with undeniable charisma. "Why do I always seem to run into you at the most inopportune times...?"

For a moment the world stops moving, and all I see is him. His black hair falls over his gray eyes which search my face, like he's looking for some sort of answer.

I lick my lips, not quite knowing what to say.

"Perhaps you've been cursed," Nora cruelly mutters from behind him, just loud enough for both of us to hear.

Levi pauses. The infatuation that just had ahold of him is now replaced by curiosity. I see it ignite in his eyes. He shifts his head, and I'm pretty sure he's about to ask a question. Suddenly, I fear what it might be, or, worse, how Nora will force herself into my answer.

I step back, raising my hands in an apology. "Pardon me," I mumble, before either of them can get a word out. "I need to be going."

The emotions of the day have gotten the better of me and I don't care about proper etiquette anymore. I've had enough for one night, and I'm ready for it to end.