The Secret Attachment

VII

"This was a new skill she'd acquired, the ability to look, to the outside world, utterly serene and even cheerful, while, in her skull, all was chaos." Dave Eggers, The Circle 

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VII.

Harry was met immediately by acquaintances that were bringing their daughters forward. He smiled at them courteously, before bowing his head, and introducing his sister to them.

John! Katy immediately chastised herself. His name was John, and he had lied to her. Why would he lie to her? Why would he not reveal his true identity if he was to be a resident of Wilshire? Why would he not reveal his true identity if he was to own Wilshire?

Katy's face darkened when she realised the probable reason. Perhaps John had meant to ruin her and had not given her his real name in an effort to hide his identity.

As Katy came to this realisation, her heart physically sank. No matter her reservations or nerves, she had felt a fluttering of attachment to her rescuer and learning that he might not be sincere was truly hurtful. Particularly as the accounts of him since he had arrived in Wilshire had been so positive.

She only grew angrier, embarrassed, and confused as she watched John cheerfully meet the residents of Wilshire. How handsome he looked in his ball attire. He was dressed so finely, and he looked every bit the aristocrat.

It only made Katy feel all the more foolish. How could she have ever allowed herself to feel attached to someone like him? She had run from her rescuer out of fear of these feelings, but it had not occurred to her at the time how impossible and inappropriate these feelings were!

"Katy, are you alright?" whispered Eliza when she realised just how affected Katy was.

"No!" Katy whispered back, her voice thick with the tears that wanted to come.

Eliza grabbed Katy and looked upon her with great concern. "What is it?" she asked, her eyes searching Katy's face desperately.

It then occurred to Katy that she had felt a fluttering of attachment to the man that Mrs Banes meant for Eliza! Oh, what would she say if she ever knew? The thought of hurting Mrs Banes, of causing her any pain or vexation, was unbearable. Mrs Banes would never love her if she knew.

Katy knew she was going to cry, and she could not in this room filled with people. The things they would say.

"Come now, girls," encouraged Mr Banes.

"Eliza," Mrs Banes said excitedly, pulling her away from Katy and pinching her cheeks. "Your best manners, you understand? Nothing about your books or your other nonsense," she stressed.

Katy could not go with them. Instead, she ran from the ball room and went into one of the other rooms in the assembly hall that was being used for food and refreshment. Looking around desperately, Katy decided the table was her best option. She dove underneath a table and pulled the table cloth back down over her. She brought her knees up to her chin and she let out the tears she had been holding in.

***

Harry Everett had never seen so many people in his life, and he had grown up in London. The temperature in this room made one wonder if it was indeed still winter outside, and all eyes were on him.

Harry had never known about his connection to the Earldom of Wilshire. He wondered if his father had known, but as he had died while Harry was still young, he could never ask.

He had asked his mother when the news was announced, but not even she had known. Overnight, he had packed up his comfortable life in London where he had worked for an accountant and had moved to a village in Devon that he had never heard of, where apparently, he owned everything the eye could see. But he could not deny that this inheritance was a blessing.