No! What was she thinking? There would be no asking. No more time alone with him. She may be in love with him, but that was irrelevant. She had no intention of marrying him. Heavens, Neville had not asked her to marry him anyway. In the aftermath of their passion, he had withdrawn, righted his clothing, kissed her forehead, and disappeared.
She frowned.
Had he taken advantage of her? Impossible! Her silly joke telling, ridiculously handsome, golden-haired, wonderfully adept kisser Neville was not a cad or a rake. Was he?
What if he had believed all the rumors surrounding her? What if he thought she was the sort of lady with whom he could dally with ease? What if he still intended to find a proper betrothed with one of the other ladies in attendance?
Her heart gave a pang.
“Charity?” Melanie’s voice broke through her tumultuous thoughts. “What is the matter now? Are you displeased that Wilton told me one of his terrible sallies?”
“Yes.” She blinked. “No. Oh! I have no notion. I have never felt this way…”
“Are ye going to swoon?” Raina asked, looking unimpressed at the prospect.
“I know how you feel,” Clementine said softly before Charity could answer. “You do not want to admit the strength of your emotions because you are stubborn.”
True.
Charity pursed her lips just the same, feeling as obstinate as her friend had suggested she was. And defiant. Why hadn’t Neville asked her to marry him last night? It was not as if shewantedto marry anyone. Quite the opposite, of course. But that did not mean he should not have asked.
He should have asked!
“I am not stubborn,” she denied.
Her proclamation was met by the sound of all three of her friends attempting to stifle their laugher. And poorly, at that. They were doing a terrible job of it, in fact.
“Of course not.” Melanie coughed.
“Not at all,” Clementine agreed in exaggerated fashion.
“Ye are the least stubborn lady I ken,” Raina added, pressing a hand to her heart and sounding distinctly mocking.
Charity pinned her friends with a narrowed gaze. “Friends!”
Clementine patted her arm again. “Well, is that not what friends do? We see each other as we truly are, with all our faults and scars and scandals.”
“And we love each other anyway,” Melanie added.
“No one kens that better than I,” finished Raina.
Charity sighed. “Of course I love you all as sisters, and Olive and Angeline as well, wherever they may be at the moment.”
“We shan’t wonder where they are off to just now,” Clementine advised.
“Best not to ask,” Melanie agreed.
“If ye dinnae ask, ye cannae receive an answer ye wouldnae like.” Raina winked.
Was that why Neville had not asked her to marry him yesterday? Had he been fearful she would refuse him?Hmm.Perhaps Raina was correct in her assertions, in more ways than one.
“Do you want to tell us everything that happened between yourself and Wilton, or would you have us guess?” Clementine asked softly.
All the resistance within Charity crumpled. “It is what you would guess.”
“Wilton?” Melanie asked, sounding skeptical. “Truly?”
“Truly,” Charity confirmed, her cheeks flushing.
