Page 18 of The Rules of Courtship
He looked past Ruth, his eyes glossy, lost in thought. When he settled his attention on her once again, it was sharp. “I can see the benefit, certainly.”
“Wonderful.” They reached the top of the hill, and Ruth breathed in the fresh morning air, mist still clinging to the grass and hovering around plump oak trees. She turned her face toward the rising sun, enjoying the wispy pinks and oranges threading across the wide, cloud-dotted sky.
When she looked back at Oliver, her breath caught. She had found him watchingherinstead of the sunrise. His skin glowed from the warmth of oranges and yellows brightening the sky, the glare of the rising sun shining in his eyes. Her throat grew dry from the naked look in his eyes, so vulnerable and plain. She could not determine what it was, which was unsettling.
“What are your rules, then?” she asked, desperate to puttheir conversation back in the proper lane. Her voice was rich, husky, like she needed to quench the dryness.
“Rules?”
“For courtship. You know most of mine. Never court a man who chews with his mouth open. Never court a man who speaks of politicians for more than thirty minutes at a time. Never?—”
“Yes, Ruth, I do know most of them,” he cut in with exasperation. “But you cannot expect me to remember the nuances. You ought to do away with your rules and put your trust in me.”
She grew still. Do away with her rules? They’d been her guiding light for the last few years. These Rose cousins and their ploys to remove her protection were relentless. “Impossible.”
“Difficult, perhaps. But I do believe I could find you a husband that suited your tastes well enough. Even if he occasionally breaks a rule.”
“Who?”
“I do not know himyet. I’ve only just developed the idea.”
“It’s intriguing,” she said. He spoke as though her rules had been getting in the way of her finding love.
“Take Dr. Burnside, for example. What rule did he break that sent you up into the tree?”
Ruth felt her cheeks warm, which wasn’t usual for her. When phrased in that manner, he made her sound immature. She set her eyes on the surrounding lands, looking at the various trees, so she wouldn’t have to meet Oliver’s eyes. “He is kind, of course. But he lives in Harewood.”
Now she just felt silly.
“I see.” Oliver had the chivalry at least to not bring attention to her embarrassment. “Does he chew with his mouth open? Speak only of politics? Own at least one dog? Wear boots that squeak?”
“You are mocking me,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“I am trying to prove a point. Your rules might have helped you once, but they also seem to create a wall between you andthe possibility of making a connection with a decent man who has polite manners and no great love for politics.” Oliver looked away. “It is only a fortnight, Ruth. We can try for two weeks, and if you do not find a reasonably acceptable husband in that time, you can easily reinstate your rules.”
Ruth warmed to the idea. She trusted Oliver above any other man she knew outside of her family, and he knew her well. If anyone else could find a good husband for her, it would be him. If it did not work, then all she did was pass the house party without a marriage. Most people did that, so it wouldn’t be too large a sacrifice.
“Very well,” she agreed. “You will find me a husband, and I will find you a wife.”
“No rules,” he said.
“Well, I think there ought to besomerules.”
“Ruth—”
“No, listen. We ought to set acceptable parameters. If I find a woman I deem acceptable, you must be willing to give her a chance without argument.”
He leaned forward to run his hand down his horse’s mane. “I see. Then the first rule for you is this: if someone asks you to dance, you must accept.”
“And if I tell you to ask someone to dance, you must do it.”
“Fair,” he agreed. “The second rule: you must give each candidate three chances before striking them from your list.”
“Three?”
“Yes. If they spend the first meeting speaking of nothing but politics for the better part of an hour, you would typically discount them immediately. I am saying you must give them an additional two chances before determining they aren’t acceptable.”
Ruth narrowed her eyes, searching for his reasoning behind this idea. He had always provided sound advice in the past, and yet she hesitated. “Why do I feel I shall regret agreeing to this?”
