Page 44 of Snapdragons
He wasn’t just frustrated; he was angry.
“The situation was bad enough in Cornwall,” he continued. “A gentleman being unsure of a match his family arranged on his behalf to a lady he had no acquaintance with is understandable. It doesn’t reflect poorly on her. But for him to actually make her acquaintance, come to know her better, and then beeven lessenthusiastic about the match is... humiliating. For everyone concerned.”
“There are worse things than being embarrassed.”
His mouth tightened into a sharp line. “That is an easy declaration to make when one is not the person constantly being humiliated.” He set his horse to a slow walk once more. Penelope nudged Midnight with her knees, and the mare began walking as well.
“I was jilted by a gentleman in a very public manner,” she said. “I assure you that was inarguably humiliating.”
“You are intelligent and personable. You are adept at all the social niceties. You are beautiful. You have a very fine estate. Gentlemen should be lining up for the chance to secure your hand.” He looked increasingly frustrated. “Yet you are spending an inordinate amount of time trying to convince one to accept your hand who clearly doesn’t want it.”
She winced. “You do not have to be cruel.”
“I am not being cruel,” he insisted. “I am beingreasonable. The only one of us who is, I would add.”
“I do not think it so unreasonable that Mr. Greenberry might decide that he would, in fact, like to marry me.”
Liam looked over at her. “I can’t justify remaining more than two more days. Though I do believe I made progress in forgingsomething of a connection to the gentlemen, it will never be enough to warrant outstaying our welcome.”
“Mr. Layton hasn’t seemed truly upset about our visit.”
“Do not mistake civility for acceptance, Penelope.” Liam’s sigh was one of embarrassment every bit as much as exasperation. “Two days is all we can justify.”
“Two days isn’t enough time,” she insisted.
He set his shoulders. “Do not make the mistake of assuming you are the only one disappointed by how this visit has played out. You did not win the regard of a gentleman who had already rejected you. I did not gain any degree of connection to a group of people who could have given me a place in Society, a better chance of making a good match myself, and a less rocky future for the family estate.”
“Is something the matter with the estate?”
That was apparently the wrong question to ask. He prickled up on the instant. “I am the head of our family,” he repeated. “And it is my estate. Please stop knocking my legs out from under me.”
“I wasn’t—”
He set his horse to a canter that sped into a gallop, leaving her behind.
She and her brother had certainly had disagreements in the past, even a few rows, but Liam had never seemed this angry with her before.
He was angry. Lord Aldric was issuing warnings. Violet and Nicolette were helping her but with firmly worded caveats. Niles watched her with suspicion.
How had everything gone so wrong?
“I’m not a horrible person,” she whispered. But her assertion didn’t reassure her. She wasn’t cruel, but being disingenuous was not precisely the behavior of a kindhearted person.
“I’m not lying to him.” But giving an impression one knew was deceptive was not very honest. “I’m not horrible, and I’m nota liar.” Her whispered words broke a little. “I just need him to believe me enough to—”
There it was. The unvarnished truth. She needed him to believe whatever it was he needed to believe in order to move forward with the match that had been arranged.
Not precisely a paragon of sincerity, am I?
She had ridden, without truly noting it, back to the stables. Liam didn’t appear to have done the same.
A groomsman met her and assisted her in dismounting before leading Midnight away.
As Penelope turned to go, she spotted Niles at the edge of the silver-gray filly’s pen.
He looked over at her. She held her breath. He put a finger to his lips and held his other hand out to her. She set her hand in his.
“The filly has been inching closer to me for a quarter of an hour,” he said in a whisper as he tugged her over to the fence.
