Page 85 of Lady for a Season
“By my parents. By your mother. Not by me.” Her eyes brimmed with tears.
He put out a hand and touched hers. “Miss Belmont, I brought you here to…”
“No.”
He stared at her.
“No, Your Grace. I will not marry you.”
He gave a little laugh, still surprised by her. “I was going to beg your forgiveness fornotasking you to marry me.”
For a moment they both stared at each other. Then she gave a small smile and indicated the bench. “Will you sit with me, Your Grace? I think perhaps it is time we spoke plainly.”
He sat beside her. There was something different about her, he thought. Her voice was stronger, she seemed certain of herself.
“You love someone else?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. The honesty of it brought a smile to his face.
“So do I,” she said.
“Then why were you so much thrust upon me?”
“I could ask the same of you,” she said.
“The woman I love is…” He stopped, not wanting to lie, not wanting to tell the whole truth.
“Unexpected?” she asked, with a small smile.
He smiled back at her. “Yes. You could say that. And yours?”
“The same,” she said.
“Will my lack of a proposal be difficult for you?”
She made a little face. “It will cause disappointment for a little while, no doubt. They so badly wanted me to be a duchess.”
“I am sorry. I should have known my own mind sooner.”
She touched his hand lightly. “It can take a while to know our own true minds.”
“I… I am sorry we did not speak like this sooner. I had thought you…”
“A mouse?” She smiled at his awkward expression. “I know everyone calls me that.”
He nodded. “I am beginning to see you in a new light, Miss Belmont. I think I like you better now that I hear you speak your mind.”
“Are you about to propose to me after all, Your Grace?”
He laughed. “No. But I would like to ask you to be my friend.”
She held out her hand. “I would like that.”
He shook it. “Will you call me Edward?”
“Only if you will call me Elizabeth.”
“I hope you will truly think of me as a friend,” he said, standing.
