She stared at him in shock, dissolving into fits of surprised laughter that turned the eyes of those who were around them, but she did not mind.
“Do you think that I had my heart broken and thus decided to set up on an almost impossible task to put an end to rakes?” She asked when she finally recovered from her laughing fit.
"It would explain everything. This isn't your first season, which suggests that, much like the girls you aim to protect, you've experienced heartbreak at the hands of a rake. Now, you're determined to ensure it doesn't happen to anyone else," he surmised.
“Well, it is entirely none of your business what reason I might have for doing this,” she said stiffly, losing all amusements she’d felt earlier.
“I apologize if you wish not to speak of this any further but I do have to ask. Is your negativity towards marriage a result of the hurt you might have experienced from someone you loved in the past?” he pushed.
Augusta scoffed, fixing him with a steady gaze that told her truth. “No man can hurt me because, unlike all these women here, I do not at all have any interest in being married.”
His face contorted into anger once again, the reaction fueling her. He did not seem like the sort of man to show his feelings to anyone and yet, here she was reaping one of the most passionate and sincere reaction from him. Anger.
Augusta couldn't quite fathom why it excited her so much, but it did. Perhaps it was because he managed to infuriate her equally. She was vexed by everything about him—the arching of his eyebrows when she uttered something he deemed foolish, the disdainful scoff at her words, and the distant look in his eyes, as if he were beyond her reach.
His brows arched now and she bristled, knowing what it meant. She could not comprehend how she had come to figure him out so quickly.
“Perhaps you have lived a sheltered life all along and do not know the scorn women face when they remain unwed for long. Do you want your family to be the subject of ridicule?” he asked, his voice low and serious.
“I do not believe what happens to my family is any of your business,” she said sharply.
“Well, it does not appear to be yours either since you so easily want to toss your reputation all away. Whatever happens to you affects your siblings. Trust me, I would know.”
Although she wished to argue further on the matter, something in his voice, the raw emotion it carried, stopped her. She looked at him with a frown but he turned his face from hers and cleared his throat.
"What I'm trying to convey is that there are situations beyond your comprehension, and sometimes it's better to stay out of it. Stop meddling in other ladies' prospects. You might be denying them the chance to find a husband," he advised.
“Is marriage truly all that matters? Even when there are so many signs that it could be disastrous?” she asked. “Or have you deluded yourself into thinking that happily ever after exists and the woman you would wish to marry would love and treat you with the same respect as you have for her?”
His jaw ticked rapidly at her words and his steps faltered. He rushed to catch on with the steps, a faraway look in his eyes.
Have I finally penetrated your confident exterior? Then why doesn’t it feel as triumphant as I thought it would?
She sighed, suddenly angry with herself for caring so much about whether her words had hurt him or not.
“I don’t need to be experienced in… in courtship to be able to help a fellow lady in need. I just need to look for the signs. They are always there,” she said, her voice lower, losing its fire.
“But since you are so intent on your belief, then perhaps I should try courting someone. Will that make me more knowledgeable in my task to protect the ladies then?” she suggested playfully when he remained silent.
His gaze abruptly shifted to hers, causing her to instinctively pull back at the sudden intensity. He locked eyes with her, as though he was searching for something profound.
“Perhaps I could be the one to show you,” he said quietly, his voice raspy.
His words rocked her. She was shocked by his suggestion. “You can’t possibly be serious?”
It was preposterous that this man who had stood in front of his family and chastised her after she’d saved his sister from the hands of that rake would think she wanted anything to do with him.
“Show me what?” she asked tentatively. “Never mind that. I don’t believe I want to hear whatever you have in mind. Neither do I want to be anywhere near you.”
“Why not?” he asked her calmly. “Are you worried that you would lose to me?”
His tone, much like hers, was lighter but she could detect a challenge despite the switch from the heaviness of their earlier conversation.
“I am not afraid,” she scoffed at the ridiculousness of his words. “I simply do not understand why you are suddenly so inclined to do this. One would have thought that you would run off the moment the music ends and never be in the same environment as me ever again.”
"While you are undeniably insufferable, rest assured, I am well-versed in handling rebellion," he said, his tone reminding her of her governess’s when she made it abundantly clear that she was but a mere child.
She bristled, her mind made up to reject his offer. She did not need to suffer another minute in his presence. When the music ended, she would leave and never speak to him again.
