Page 47 of A Brilliant Match
“I never want to see you again.” Her teeth clenched, she punctuated each word and watched him receive them like blows.
Then she spun around and hurried to the door, just as Evo was entering it with a broad smile. He looked at her in astonishment as she pushed past him.
* * *
Miles watched Dorothea run out,feeling as though he had been punched. He had just told her he loved her. She was the first woman ever to pull such a confession out of him. And that had only made it worse, for she hadn’t believed him. There was a moment as the air whooshed out of his lungs, then his shoulders fell.
“What did you say to my sister to make her run out of the room that way?”
Evo walked over to where he stood, and although his question held curiosity, gone was the earl’s habitual grin, whether from general insouciance or pure mischief. He glared at Miles, waiting for his answer.
Miles already felt like a cad. He had hugged Dorothea and kissed away her tears. In doing so, he was trying to tell her he was sorry, that he had not meant to make her the object of his pursuit for wealth. But he had breathed in the scent of her hair, had held her in his arms, and it intoxicated him enough to tell her he loved her. What a fool he was.
“I believe you will have to ask your sister about what happened, if she is inclined to answer you,” Miles replied at last, in a suffocated voice. “I am not at liberty to discuss what went on between us without her leave.”
He wanted nothing more than to quit the premises but held his ground. He had promised Evo that he and Rock would take him to the races. It mattered not whether Evo’s sister wished him to the devil; he had engaged to help the boy, so he would.
When Evo stood, remaining motionless and unconvinced, Miles sighed and faced him. “I can assure you, I did not intentionally wound your sister.”
Evo studied him critically, understanding dawning at last. “You like her.”
“I do,” Miles admitted. “But as you know all too well, for you have told me so yourself, I am not a suitable candidate for her hand.”
“Ah, well, there is nothing for it but to give her up then,” Evo said, reverting to his usual self now that he had solved the mystery of seeing his sister cry, likely for the first time in his life. “Dorry can nag at times, you know, so you are very likely better off without her.”
“Is that so? You are probably right then.”
It took Miles every bit of his self-control to leave off meditating on the conversation he had just had with Dorothea and to enter into a discussion on the intricacies of racing with a thirteen-year-old who was going to witness a horse race for the first time. He was thankful that Rock would be joining them so he could uphold his end of the conversation.
The day passed more pleasantly than Miles had feared, as he was able to shut off the topic that hovered on the edge of his consciousness at every moment and enter into the enthusiasm for a horse race, which was always interesting. He and Rock allowed Evo to pick the winners, and they lost a tremendous fortune—all imaginary, of course. Afterwards, they examined the various foods and drinks on offer and chose something to eat from one of the stands nearby. Rock drove his phaeton back to Evo’s house on Grosvenor Square and dropped him there before riding on with Miles.
“Tell me why you wanted to take the boy under your wing?” Rock asked him conversationally as they headed to the club for an early dinner.
“He needs a father figure, and in absence of that, an elder brother,” Miles returned shortly. Without Evo’s chatter, his mood had begun to plummet again.
“And you would still like to marry his sister, I suppose,” Rock said. He directed the carriage to the mews near his house. They would be walking to the club.
“If the thing were possible, such would be my desire,” Miles admitted. He climbed down from the carriage when they reached the stables. “Alas, she never wants to see me again.”
Rock handed the reins over to a stablehand and walked around the phaeton to get a look at Miles. “She said as much?”
“Just today in her drawing room, right before her brother walked in to join us.” He took Rock’s arm and they began walking to the club. “So it matters little whether I desire to marry her or not. It’s difficult to bring a woman to the altar who does not want to see you.”
“I’m sorry, coz.” Rock walked at his side in contemplation. The sky had grown dark, and the warmth of the day was beginning to dissipate. “I don’t suppose you’re going to be very good company tonight.”
Miles returned a crooked smile. “I don’t suppose I will.”
“Then I shall not keep you.” Rock looked up at the sky with a loud yawn, before adding in a deceptively austere voice, “But escort me there so I might find someone whose company I will enjoy more.”
Miles gave another glimmer of a smile at the jest. “You may count on me.”
He was true to his word—and even though Rock protested laughingly that he had only been joking—as soon as Miles saw that Rock had all the friends around him he needed to promise a pleasant evening, he bid them good night. He reached his room at Limmer’s, stripped off his gloves and dropped them on the table, then lit a candle. He unbuttoned his coat before sitting.
I never want to see you again.
He had no reason to think she did not mean it. There had only been one thing he could truly offer her—his heart. And he had not dealt honestly where that was concerned, because a man in love did not lie to the object of his affection. He should think about what to do next with the disastrous condition of his house and estate, but no idea came to him that did not involve marriage, and he was ready to swear that off forever. If he could not marry Dorothea, he had no desire to marry at all.
Chapter18
