“If you’d like. A game for me to see if I can charm you. A game for you to see if you can resist.”
“You won’t win this game.”
“But it will be so much fun to play.”
Edwina looked at him for a moment.
He had a sparkle in his eye, and she had to admit it intrigued her. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps there would be something enjoyable in this little jousting match. And when she won, everyone would finally have to acknowledge the truth she had always known—that she was truly unattainable.
“Very well,” she agreed. “I’ll play your game. We’ll enjoy ourselves, just as you say.”
“I don’t think you’ll regret it. And I’ll show you a good time along the way,” he promised. “Aren’t you having fun tonight?”
“More than I expected I would,” Edwina admitted. “You are good to talk to. I’ll say that for you.”
“Of course, I am.”
“You’re still very arrogant.”
He laughed. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Perhaps you’re right about that. My friends tell me the same thing. Your sister’s husband is forever telling me all about how arrogant I am.”
“Well, Seth is a very wise man,” Edwina observed. “I would tend to trust his advice.”
“I don’t mean to be. I suppose I’m just confident. But you’re the same,” he pointed out. “You’re one of the most confident ladies I’ve ever known.”
“I don’t talk about how wonderful I am all the time, though.”
“Oh, come on. I don’t do that.”
“Say something you’re not proud of about yourself.”
“What?”
“I want to see if you can do it,” she said. “If you really want to charm me, if you want to win me over, that’s a good way to begin. Show me that you have the ability to be humble—if you do. What could you improve about yourself?”
“I’mnota great dancer,” the Duke confessed.
Edwina frowned. “You’re not a bad dancer. I just danced with you.”
“I’m not terrible, but I’m not the best around.”
“Do you need to be the best at everything you try?”
“I like to be.”
She laughed. “Perhaps that’s the thing you shouldn’t be proud of,” she said. “It’s all right to be less than perfect sometimes.”
“Is it? What about you?” he asked. “You won’t settle for less than perfection in your choice of a husband.”
“You won’t settle for less than perfection either,” she pointed out. “The perfect duchess, that’s what you’re looking for. That’s why you haven’t married. You said so yourself.”
“All right, then we have this in common,” he said. “Both of us are chasing perfection.”
“I suppose we are.”
“Do you feel as if we should both learn to settle for less?”
Edwina paused, confused. If he had asked her whether she thoughtheought to settle for less than perfection, she would have answered yes without missing a beat. But wasshewilling to settle?
