Page 30 of Snapdragons
So, Niles paused and breathed in and out, giving his mind a chance to decide what he meant to say. “I am absolutely certain Miss Seymour was flirting at me.”
“Flirtingwithyou,” Digby corrected.
Niles shook his head. “When have you ever known me to flirt?”
That seemed to give Digby pause.
“I have watched ladies flirt with the rest of you, and all of you do plenty of flirting as well. This was different.”
Digby dropped into a nearby chair. “In what way?”
“It started suddenly and stopped just as abruptly. And in the moment before she started, there was a look in her eyes as if she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. And the expression that immediately replaced the coquettish looks was something I would interpret as contemplating her next strategy.”
“What do you think her aim is?” Digby asked.
Niles shook his head. “I’m not entirely certain. All I know is it feels insincere, as if she wants me to think her feelings for me aremore tender than they are.”
“Thus, your declaration that you think she’s lying.”
“I do think it is insincere, which is disappointing. Is it so outlandish of me to hope that someone couldgenuinelyfeel tenderly toward me?” He’d been wishing for that for so long.
“Not outlandish at all,” Digby insisted.
No woman had ever shown more than a passing interest in him, and he’d never had his head turned in any meaningful way. But the Gents had never belittled his wish to eventually fall entirely in love with a lady, no matter how increasingly improbable that had become over the years.
“Do you think I incorrectly evaluated Miss Seymour’s flirting this morning?”
“It’s possible,” Digby said. “But given your situation, I would say you have ample reason to be at least a little wary.”
Niles held his hands up in a show of frustration. “How will I know which it is?”
“You are attempting to sort out a woman.” Digby shook his head. “You have little chance ofeverknowing whatanythingis.”
“That isn’t very comforting,” Niles said.
“Monarchs do not exist to offer comfort, Puppy.”
Niles pushed out a tense breath. Why did everything have to be so frustratingly complicated?
Lucas returned with both Kes and Wilson in tow. Considering the young man was attempting to learn skills that would provide him with employment for possibly the rest of his life, he looked cool as a cucumber. Kes, on the other hand, seemed anxious.
“Have a seat, Niles,” Digby instructed, rising from the chair he’d been sitting in and offering it.
Digby and Wilson gathered behind the chair after Niles sat.
“Mr. Greenberry’s hair curls when it’s wet,” Digby said to Wilson, “but the curls pull out as it dries. Lord Jonquil’s, on the other hand, retains a noticeable wave even dry.” He continuedon with his instructions.
Kes pulled the other chair in the room over and sat facing Niles. “I heard something from Violet last evening that I’ve been pondering, and I’ve decided you need to know what I heard.” His earnest tone didn’t bode well. “Miss Seymour has hopes of moving forward with the marriage her brother and your grandparents arranged.”
Niles had more or less assumed that. Why else would she have tracked him to Yorkshire?
“I heard Violet ask her how the courting was going,” Kes said. “And Miss Seymour said, ‘It has not yet begun in earnest, but I have hope that it will prove effective.’”
“Prove effective?” Niles repeated the phrase, trying to sort out what Kes had overheard.
“Violet asked aboutcourting.” Lucas looked from Niles to Kes a few times. “Does Miss Seymour think Puppy is courting her?”
“I can’t imagine why she would think that,” Niles said.
