He pulled out her chair for her, his hand accidentally brushing her wrist as she stepped forward to take her assigned place. Hannah drew in a swift breath at the contact. With their gloves removed for the meal, the heat of his bare skin on hers had startled her.
She sat down, too flustered to thank him for his assistance.
Don’t get distracted just because he has a pretty face. You need to be on your toes tonight.
“Where is your family from?” Mama resumed her inquiries the moment they were all seated and Molly brought out their first course, the consommé, and began to serve the sherry. It was strange to eat a meal served so informally with a guest in the house, but Janeand Eli didn’t have the income to keep a full staff with a footman quite yet.
“Staffordshire, ma’am,” Mr. Corbyn answered. “Burton upon Trent.” That should be a point against him, seeing as how Mama was always saying that she wanted to find Hannah a husband close to home.
Then again, if Mama had gone all the way to London without Papa, there was no telling how far she might be willing to run.
“IthoughtI detected a northern accent. It’s very faint, though.”
“I left home young.”
“How old were you?” Hannah asked. It wasn’t only that she wanted the chance to wrest the conversation from her mother’s grip; she was also curious to know more about Mr. Corbyn. For a man who’d become her partner in duplicity, she knew precious little about him.
“Eleven.” He delivered this news as if it were perfectly ordinary, though Hannah couldn’t receive it with quite the same composure.
“So young! How could your parents bear to let you leave home?”
Mr. Corbyn seemed as if he were about to shrug, but suppressed the gesture while it was still a mere twitch of his shoulder. He reallywastrying to be on his best behavior tonight.
“Most cabin boys start on at about that age,” he replied lightly. “It’s not that young.”
If his naval service had been anything like her brother’s, he probably hadn’t had the chance to come back and see his family since then either. It struck her as terribly sad. At least Eli had been a young man when he’d joined the navy, but Mr. Corbyn had been nothing more than a child. At eleven, Hannah had still been ensconced in the safety of her schoolroom, under the watchful eye of her governess. She couldn’t imagine being thrown into the dangers of a storm or battle at sea. He must have been so scared.
Perhaps his experiences were what had hardened him into his present, rather gruff exterior.
“The navy isn’t really supposed to take them any younger than thirteen now,” Eli added. “But exceptions are made. It helps young men get their six years of sea time faster so they can take the lieutenant’s exam.”
“Did you take the lieutenant’s exam?” Hannah asked.
“Yes.” Mr. Corbyn spoke without any emotion. “I passed, but there wasn’t a vacancy for me. The wait can be long if you aren’t well connected.”
He’d been discharged before his chance had come.How thoughtless of me.Hannah should have realized he wouldn’t want to talk about his service. She didn’t dare another comment for the rest of the main course, afraid to put her foot in her mouth again.
When the meal was done, they all retired to the parlor together, their number being too small to support the division of the men from the ladies. Sensing her chance, Hannah contrived to place herself next to Mr. Corbyn on the settee. All she needed now was a distraction so that she might whisper in his ear.
“Won’t you please play a song for us, Jane?” she asked hopefully. “Something lively, if you please.”
By which I mean something loud.
Jane—who regularly neglected her practice in favor of such things as caring for her daughter or earning her livelihood—shot an indignant look in Hannah’s direction. “Why don’tyouplay, Hannah? You’re much more talented than I am.”
“I couldn’t,” she replied swiftly. “Nerves, you know.”
Jane proved unable to find a polite way to refuse the request, rose from her seat, and marched stiffly to the instrument. Despite the occasional false note, she managed a passible rendition of a folk song by Haydn. More importantly, everyone in the room turned to listen.
“Stop trying to please my mother,” Hannah whispered quickly, while the music hid her words.
“I thought that’s what you wanted,” Mr. Corbyn hissed back, leaning in a little closer as he spoke, the heat of his breath tickling her ear. Hannah’s skin turned to gooseflesh at the sudden nearness of him. His familiar scent of freshly laundered sheets and something warmer. “Why did you call me here, if not to pretend to be your suitor?”
She’d forgotten how fierce he looked when he was cross. His blue eyes were so intense that she had trouble holding their gaze for more than an instant. Just as well. It was safer to keep her attention fixed ahead; she didn’t want Mama to notice them whispering if she happened to look over.
“I need you to pretend to want to marry me, butnotto win my mother over,” she explained quickly. “She has to be the one to refuse the match. If I do it, she’ll only try to pair me with someone worse.”
Corbyn shot her a look.
