“You sound like Matthew. This is exactly the sort of thing he says to me each time he introduces me to a suitor.”
“I heard you met another one just last week.”
“A horrible man.”
“What was wrong with this one?”
“He spent the whole time talking about his business. It was dreadfully dull.”
“I heard that you didn’t give him the time of day,” Lavinia said. “Matthew says you sent him away from the house without even giving him a chance. You say he was dull, but how much did you speak to him?”
“I spoke to him,” Edwina argued. “I spoke to him as much as I needed to know that he wasn’t right for me.”
“You aren’t even trying.”
“You’re right. I’m not.”
“Edwina…” Lavinia hesitated. “You told me what happened with Lord Essington all those years ago, and I agreed that you were right to turn away from him. He shouldn’t have treated you the way he did. That was wrong. But a lot of gentlemen aren’t like that. You can’t think that all gentlemen are going to be the same, surely. What about Seth?”
“Well, no, of course, your husband isn’t that kind of man. But most of them are the same.”
“Matthew says the gentleman he introduced you to last week was perfectly nice.”
“He kept tugging at the hem of his shirt and clearing his throat.”
“He was probably nervous, Edwina. It’s something I can relate to, to be honest with you. I was nervous all the time before I got married. He probably thought he had to come up with something impressive about himself to win you over. After all, you arethe unattainable spinster.”
“The worst thing about that name is that it makes men feel as if they ought to compete for me,” Edwina grumbled. “As if this is some sort of challenge to see who canwinme.”
“Perhaps one day someone will win you,” Lavinia replied.
There was something strange about the way she said it. Edwina wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but something about her sister’s tone made her uneasy.
“It isn’t going to happen,” she said firmly. “Not for any of them. I have no interest in a match with any of the gentlemen of the ton, and I’ve told Matthew this. I’ve told him countless times. He ought to just give it up.”
“And let his sister grow old as a spinster? You can’t expect him to do that. You can’t expect either one of us to do that.”
Edwina frowned. “What do you mean, I can’t expect either one of you to do it? You’ve never arranged a suitor for me.”
“No, that’s true, I haven’t.” Lavinia turned to straighten one of the paintings on its stand.
“What’s going on, Lavinia? I know you better than anyone,” Edwina said. “I can tell when you’re keeping a secret, and right now, there’s something you aren’t telling me.”
“We should get back out there,” Lavinia decided. “Seth will be waiting for me, and you ought to take your seat for the auction.”
“Perhaps I’ll just go home,” Edwina considered. “I wasn’t expecting to face this kind of pressure from you today, Lavinia. I thought you were on my side in all of this.”
“You can’t go now,” Lavinia said firmly. “People have already seen you arrive. It would be enough of a scandal if you were to miss my auction, but to arrive and then leave at once—that would really set tongues wagging. I know you don’t care about gossip,” she added quickly, “but you know that Idocare about it. I don’t want my event marred by something like this, and I don’t believe you would do that to me.”
Edwina sighed. Her sister was right. She loved Lavinia too much to put her in that position. “Very well,” she agreed. “I’ll go and take my seat.”
“You’re in the very front row. Sit with Matthew.”
“I don’t know why you insist on putting me on display like that. You know I don’t like it.”
“You’re beautiful, Edwina. People are going to look at you no matter where you sit. They always have. You know that as well as I do. You might as well accept it. You might as wellenjoyit.”
“You have funny ideas about what people should enjoy, Lavinia. Besides, you’ve never been the type to crave attention. How would you have felt, before you were married, if you had been thrust into the public eye over and over? You wouldn’t have liked it at all.”
