“I—I didn’t mean to cause a scandal. I thought maybe I could still go through with it, for my sister’s sake. But this morning, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t marry a man like that. I left as soon as I saw the opportunity to, but my carriage broke down and I..”
“You came here,” he completed.
“I had no other choice,” her voice broke again. “I need to a place to stay for the time being. It would be outright cruel to send me back now.”
She had put him in quite a debacle. He did not wish to be cruel, especially to someone who seemed so delicate. But the prospect of keeping her here brought its own set of challenges.
“An unmarried woman,” he thought out loud, “who has people looking for her. You want me to take you in, and hide you? But what happens when they finally find you?”
Penelope pressed her lips together in a tight line. “I will try not to draw attention to myself.”
Her persistence was almost endearing.
“I would think twice before saying that,” he said, gesturing vaguely at the state of her gown that was enough to draw heads in her direction. “You seem to lack a certain level of self-awareness.”
Her cheeks burned at the comment. “I understand that you have your reservations, but perhaps I can even lend you a helping hand in running your establishment. I could help in the backrooms and…”
“Miss Morton,” he interrupted halfway, “Who is your father?”
Penelope blinked, taken by surprise at his question.
“He is an earl,” she answered finally. There was no warmth in her voice as she spoke of him, which gave Alexander the confirmation that she was not close to him.
“And your mother?”
“My mother is no longer alive,” she announced, keeping her voice steady.
Ah.Well, that complicated things.
“Do you have anyone to look after you at home?” he asked, keeping his questions precise. He did not wish to give her false hope, but he needed more information before he came to any sort of decision.
Penelope mulled over the question , and Alexander wondered if he had struck a sensitive nerve .
Alexander was never one to be too curious about others. If anything, he found them all rather bland and mostly the same. But now his curiosity had been sparked, and he found himself wanting to know more about her.
“Isadora, my sister. At least it used to be until almost a year ago,” Penelope answered, “But she has since been married, and I am largely left to my own faculties at home.”
“Your father is not involved?”
“He only intervenes when he wishes to,” she sighed. “And he only orders. The marriage was his doing, as well. And I am certain that he will make me go through with it once I return.”
Alexander’s jaw tightened. Somehow, the idea of her marrying another man whom she had no desire to marry bothered him more than it ought.
Why were his protective instincts kicking in? She was only a stranger. Albeit, a beautiful stranger.
“And what of your suitors?”
Penelope snorted a laugh at the question and shook her head.
Was something funny? He could not quite understand why it would be. He could not see why she would not have a line of suitors at any given day unless there was something hidden and wrong about this girl.
“There are none,” she said. “If I had been so lucky to find myself a partner, then perhaps I would not have been in this situation to begin with.”
Alexander tilted his head to examine her again. He did not knowwhya woman like hers – who was quite obviously beautiful and belonged to a titled household – was having any sort of trouble seeking a partner.
“You seem surprised,” she said, noticing the change in his gaze.
Alexander schooled his face back into a neutral expression.
