No love for Louisa

EIGHT

It was such a nice day, that Rosemary and Louisa had settled on occupying their time doing something they both liked together, having a small picnic lunch in the park, and doing some sketching of the scenery around them. Two days had passed since their night at the opera, and Louisa was still thinking about how wonderful it had been. Her cousin on the other hand, was not focusing on what had been going on with the opera on stage, which was why she decided to confide something to Louisa, now they were more or less on their own.

"I was so surprised when Adrian's brother showed up rather late to join them in their box at the opera,  as far as Adrian was aware, he didn't think he was going to be there" she remarked

Louisa took her eye if the distant trees she had been sketching, to look round at her cousin, "Oh, I never realised he had not intended to be there, from the brief conversation we had, he seemed to have enjoyed what he had seen of the opera" she recalled

"Well, I don't think he was there for the opera in particular," Rosemary then informed her, "In fact, I noticed he spent a lot of the time looking over at our box, until he realised I had caught him out, so then he looked away again," her brow creased in a troubled frown before she continued

"What if he wants to find another wife after all? and has decided to perhaps fix his attention on me. I must say,  he had a strange look in his eye when he was looking our way" she then admitted

"I am sorry, I never noticed. I am afraid I was so engrossed in watching the opera, I didn't even realise he was there until the interval" Louisa confessed a little guiltily.  But pondering on what her cousin had just revealed, she was a little bewildered " Would he fix his attention towards you when he knows his brother has an interest in you?" She asked.

Rosemary sighed, "Perhaps he couldn't help himself. I have been causing quite a stir after attending his mother's ball you know, and now perhaps,  he has realised I could be a potential suitor," she looked even more thoughtful, "but after the opera he barely paid me any attention, perhaps it was to spare Adrian's feelings, he seemed in a hurry to leave once it ended" she then realised

Louisa continued to ponder over Rosemary's speculation with a hint of uncertainty. During her short conversation with Mr Alexander Carstairs, he had made no mention of Rosemary. She supposed he might have done if he was interested in her. She had not witnessed or had the least suspicion  that he had any kind of interest in her cousin.

But then, what did she know, perhaps the reason he had approached her to talk about the opera and of course apologise to her for Mr Marchant's behaviour, had also been his attempt to discreetly enquire after Rosemary, only perhaps he had lost the courage to do so, and thought better of it in the end.

"I don't know how I will deal with it," Rosemary looked a little anguished, "to think that I might now have two brothers pay particular attention towards me, and one of them I have no desire to encourage. But how do I let him down gently, after all he's only recovering from a broken heart after being jilted at the alter.  It will put me in the most awkward position" she then realised in dismay.

"Well, we don't know for certain if that is the case," Louisa decided to take a sensible approach on the matter, "So it's no good getting yourself all turned upside down over it until it actually happens, you might have been mistaken. After all, you can't judge a whole situation just because you think he had a strange look on his face, it was dark in the theatre, you might have imagined it being something more than it was" she then pointed out in an attempt to sooth her

"I do hope you are right," Rosemary replied with a look of martyrdom, "as much as I am enjoying all this attention, it can also be exhausting but it's probably hard for you to understand" she finished with a burdensome sigh