Was that what he wanted? To keep her at arm’s length?
She tried to study his face in the dim lighting. His eyes were half-lidded and guarded, as though he didn’t want her to see into his heart. Why? Because she would see his doubts?
Maybe she just needed to accept that he would never want to be with her again. He’d made that clear enough over the past few days, and especially this afternoon, when he’d told her he didn’t want to kiss her again.
All he was doing was helping her, not only with the offer of the maid job but now with the plan to marry her. She had to stop reading more into what he was doing.
Did she want it all to mean more to him? Did she want him to want her?
She shook her head. That wasn’t fair to him.
“Don’t say no tonight.” He held out a hand as if to stop her protest, then took a step toward the back door. “Think about it, and we can talk again in the morning.”
He’d mistaken her shaking her head as her opposition to his second proposal? Not that it had been anything like his first proposal. Maybe it couldn’t even be considered a proposal. Whatever the case, she couldn’t deny his request to at least think about it.
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
He released an audible breath.
Was he relieved? Had he hoped she would want to go through with this? What did he have to gain except for a lot of hassle?
He backed up another step. “I’ll come for your answer at dawn.”
She could only watch as he swiped up his hat, placed it on his head, and then finished crossing to the door. Once the door closed behind him, she grabbed hold of the nearest chair and lowered herself. Her legs and hands were both shaking.
Marry Sterling Noble?
Could she do it this time?
She buried her face in her hands, and the tears came before she could stop them. She wasn’t exactly sure why the emotion was so strong or what she was feeling. Maybe surprise. Maybe frustration. Maybe even some fear. All she knew was that her chest was swelling with an overwhelming need to cry.
Gentle hands squeezed her shoulders. Hyacinth’s hands.
Had her sister been standing outside the kitchen and listening to the conversation with Sterling? A part of Violet wanted to be upset at Hyacinth’s eavesdropping. But another part of her knew she would have had to explain everything to Hyacinth eventually anyway.
Hyacinth gently brushed Violet’s loose hair.
Violet blinked back her tears and tried to swallow the swell of emotion. Then she lifted her head and peered up into Hyacinth’s green eyes, so much like her own. “What should I do, Hyacinth?”
Hyacinth continued to caress her hair. “You can only do one thing.”
“What?”
“You have to marry him.”
“Why?” But even as the question slipped out, Violet already knew the answer.
“Because you love him.”
Violet nodded. Was it really that simple?
“And because you need to do it to finally overcome your fears.”
More tears slid down Violet’s cheeks. “But he doesn’t want it to be real, and he wants it to only be temporary.”
Hyacinth shook her head, her long loose hair swaying. “Maybe he was thinking of the last time and trying not to pressure you into something real and permanent if that’s not what you want.”
Was that part of it? Violet sniffed back her tears.
