Page 39 of Finding Hope
“I am not asking for a passive woman with no ideas of her own, but Lady Alice seems to be quite extreme in her opinions.”
“What about Lady Caroline?”
“The last option other than Miss Cunningham or Miss Whitford. She has been rather shy when I have approached her. However, she did agree to ride to hounds with me in the morning.”
“What is it you hope to prove? Or are you trying to assure yourself that Miss Whitford is the one?” his sister asked very acutely.
“Mother does not think she is suited to be a duchess.”
“Since when did you care what Mother thinks? But you always have wanted to please everyone. It is impossible, you know.”
“I do know it, but I cannot seem to help myself. Yet whilst I chafe at the very idea of succumbing to her Grace’s edicts, part of me wonders if she is not correct about Hope. Would she even be comfortable in the role?”
“What if she is not, yet she makes you happy? Perhaps she doesn’t host your political dinners? Does it matter? I think not. You may reshape the role as it fits the two of you.”
Max stared out of the window, considering.
“You must marry for yourself, dear brother. Being Duke is a very lonely place without the right person by your side.”
“I have an excellent set of friends,” he pointed out.
“Be that as it may, they are beginning to marry themselves, Westwood very happily, if what his mother says is true.”
Max smiled. “Indeed.”
“That being said, my maid says Miss Whitford has an admirer. She saw a servant slipping a note under her door.”
Max frowned. “What is the significance of that?” he asked.
“You cannot think to be the only one to appreciate her beauty.”
“Of course not. She had several offers during the Season, but did not accept any of them. Moreover, I appreciate her for more than her beauty.”
“She does seem to have a lovely disposition as well,” Diana agreed.
“Yes. If only displays like this afternoon did not seem to occur so often with respect to her and her sisters. Though I will admit that is the first time I have seen Miss Hope create such a spectacle.”
“Come now, Max. It was not so bad. She was trying to save the cat.”
“Do you see any of the other ladies finding themselves in such situations?”
“Perhaps not accidental ones, but certainly ones of their own making, which is much worse in my opinion!”
Diana was right. It was what he had been thinking himself earlier, but why did he still hesitate? Was it really some deep-seated need within him that sought his mother’s approval?
Diana stood up. “Go riding with Lady Caroline in the morning, just to reassure yourself, but do not let her Grace be the reason you do not choose Miss Whitford. You are the one who must live with your choice for the rest of your life.” Withthat sisterly wisdom, Diana left him alone to his thoughts. She was correct, of course. He still wanted to give Lady Caroline a fair chance on the morrow. At least then he would be certain he had tried his best.
However, he could not shake something Diana had said.
Who would be sending clandestine notes to Hope? Should he ask her about them? What if she was being importuned?
Max had taken it for granted that Hope would be his if he asked. The thought that she might be considering others was his own fault. However, he could hardly expect her to wait while he decided if she was good enough. He scoffed at his own thoughts, which were pompous even to his own ears.
But who could it be? Surely she was not considering Brosner? Max had not considered him to be a contender for Hope’s affections.
If that was the case, he had no one to blame but himself.
CHAPTER 10
