Page 19 of The Gentleman Was Right
He chuckled. “Remember that I havethreeyounger sisters. I am more than familiar with their ability to wreak havoc.”
She nodded and then, for no reason at all, said, “Isabelle thinks you would make a splendid husband.”
He didn’t hesitate to agree. “Isabelle is correct.”
“I do not find arrogance attractive,” she told him.
“Ah.” He chuckled again. “Whatdoyou find attractive?”
Her steps faltered. It was not a difficult question, and she ought to have an answer, but try as she might, her mind remained blank. No longer trusting herself to identify attractive traits in men, she pointed in the direction of the village and avoided the question entirely. “If you’d like, I could introduce you to the townsfolk this morning”—she gestured in the other direction—“or we could simply walk.”
Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for his response.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to walk this morning and socialize this evening.”
Relieved, she released her breath and turned in the opposite direction of the village, dodging around the muddy patches as she lengthened her stride.
His legs were longer than hers, so he easily matched her pace.
The beauty her sister had referred to was untamed—almost stark—and while she found peace in its wildness, she wasn’t sure exactly how to share her appreciation, so she kept her mouth closed.
She was not the sort of woman who was uncomfortable with silence. However, the farther they walked without speaking, the more her thoughts began to plague her. His arrival the prior day had destroyed her carefully constructed lie, and she could no longer ignore her predicament. Running away had done nothing but postpone the inevitable. Basil was still in London, and unless a miracle had occurred, he still intended to marry her. She’d had more than enough time to come up with an idea or a solution to free herself from him, and she hadn’t.
Probably because there wasn’t one.
Before she could sink too deep into melancholy about her future, Edward eyed the clouds and said, “We’re going to get caught in a downpour.”
The heavy grey clouds hadn’t changed since they left, so she wasn’t particularly worried. “I thought you didn’t melt.”
He scanned the empty field. “Is there somewhere we can take cover if necessary?”
“No, but if you’re worried, we could turn around and walk back.”
“I’m not worried.” He kept walking. “You don’t mind being caught in a storm?”
“It isn’t going to storm,” she insisted. “It’ll rain or drizzle or mist. Just like it’s been doing for weeks.”
“You’re an expert on the weather.”
“Not at all. However, the weather in these parts is rather consistent, and I don’t melt either. A bit of rain will not hurt us.”
“We’ll be chillier if we get wet,” he remarked.
She refused to acknowledge that she hated being wetandcold, so she stubbornly stayed quiet and when she didn’t respond, he asked, “Do you like it here?”
“It’s pleasant enough.” She was purposefully vague, because she didn’t want to admit how much she loved it.
“If I hadn’t come, would you have stayed indefinitely?”
“Maybe,” she responded, even though it was unreasonable for her to pretend she could stay forever. She’d always known she’d have to deal with the mess her life had become eventually.
“I’m sorry I’ve made your life more difficult.”
She hated that he was willing to apologize for something that wasn’t his fault, and that his apology seemed genuine. Why was he so damn nice?
And why hadn’t she pledged herself to a man more like him?
She bit her lip and admitted, “I’ve always known this was a temporary solution, so you have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I’m probably the one who should be apologizing.”
