That was harder to say yes to.
She was the unattainable spinster. She wasn’t going to accept marriage to anyone who didn’t meet her standards. That was what she had built her reputation on. It was better to remain unmarried than to marry someone who didn’t measure up.
“No,” she said at last. “I suppose I don’t think we ought to settle for less.”
“I didn’t think you would,” he agreed. “So you see, the pursuit of perfection isn’t such a flaw after all.”
“Perhaps not,” she was forced to concede.
“But you know…I wonder something about you, Lady Edwina.”
“And what’s that?”
“You’re so adamant about the fact that you don’t want to marry. But what I wonder, looking at you, is this—is there any possibility that secretly, deep down, youdowant to be married? That you long for it?”
“Of course, I don’t,” Edwina snapped. “You know I’ve had no end of suitors. If I really wanted to marry, don’t you think I would do so?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe you wouldn’t if you thought it would mean giving in to the pressures your family has placed upon you. Maybe that’s why you choose not to marry. Maybe it has nothing to do with a desire to remain a spinster—you just don’t want to give your father and your brother the satisfaction of making decisions about your life for you.”
“Do you really believe I’m so petulant?” Edwina demanded. The suggestion offended her. “Do you honestly think that if Iwanteda marriage, I would deny myself that happiness just to spite my family? That’s the kind of lady you think I am?”
“I think you’re very willful,” the Duke said. “I think you would rather do almost anything than permit someone else to make your choices for you. To be honest, it’s a trait I admire, Lady Edwina. It’s one I don’t see in very many ladies—the ability to stand up for what you want. I wouldn’t think less of you if it was the truth.”
“But it isn’t true,” Edwina insisted. “And how could you not think less of me if I was the sort of person to do what you’re suggesting? If I made the decision not to marry just because myfamily wants me to do so, that’s still allowing their desires to dictate my choices. It’s just doing what they don’t want me to do instead of what theydowant me to do. That isn’t who I am. I’m not a spinster because of what anyone else wants. It’s because of myownpreferences.”
“All right,” the Duke agreed. “If you say so.”
Edwina fumed, but she wasn’t sure why she felt so angry. If he had simply suggested something untrue, what difference did it make?
Was it possible there was a grain of truth in what he had said?
Distantly, they heard the music change, and Edwina found herself wondering how long they had been out in the garden. “We should go back in,” she said. “People may be looking for us.”
“As you wish, My Lady,” the Duke agreed.
And before she could stop him, he took her hand, bent, and kissed it.
He lingered ever so slightly, his lips pressed to her skin, and Edwina felt her whole body flush. It must have been anger that was fueling that heat. No gentleman had ever had such an effect on her before, and she didn’t know what to make of it—but she found herself slightly disappointed when he pulled away.
He smiled at her. “Thank you for walking with me,” he said. “This was a wonderful talk.”
And in spite of her confused emotions, Edwina couldn’t help but agree with that.
CHAPTER 8
Anna Millington, the Dowager Duchess of Harbeck, was a formidable lady. She frowned at Allan as he sat at the breakfast table the morning after the Pinery Ball. “So,” she said, “I trust you had a pleasant evening.”
“Well, you don’t sound as if you want the answer to that question to be yes, Grandmother,” Allan replied.
Lately, this was the way things had gone between the two of them at every meal. It always felt like they were sparring. Allan was tired of his grandmother’s constant comments on the state of his romantic life and took every opportunity to remind her that she had no business speaking to him on the subject, but it was a fact she didn’t seem able to remember.
Well, either that or she didn’t care very much.
Whatever the reason, the subject had come up yet again tonight. Allan suspected it had something to do with Lady Edwina. Evenbefore the auction, his grandmother had never made any secret of her disdain for the unattainable spinster.
“The truth is, I had a lovely time,” Allan told his grandmother. “I’m very glad I went. And,” he added pointedly, “I’m very glad about who I went with.”
“Oh, Allan.”
