“I see.” The need to cry hit her so hard, she had to hold her breath to control it. “Why me, my lord? Did you figure I would be so desperate for a match that I would jump at the chance?”
He finally faced her, his scowl shifting to befuddlement. “Why would you be desperate for a match?”
“Answer my question, my lord, if you please. Why me?”
With a slow shake of his head, he lifted both hands as if surrendering. “When I discovered that the lovely young woman who had takenit upon herself to feed me was not a kitchen maid, but a lady in her own right, I had to call upon you as soon as I could, before another gentleman stole you away. I was thrilled to learn your true identity.”
It was her turn to stare at him with a long, hard look. Was he lying? She so wished she were as adept as her sisters at sniffing out falsehoods. “No gentleman is about to steal me away, my lord.” She huffed a sad laugh. “Why do you think I was in Lady Atterley’s kitchen in the first place?”
Now, he looked even more confused. “I had wondered that, my lady, but thought it none of my affair, and therefore did not ask.”
“It appears you are more mannerly than my sister and me.” She watched him closely, trying to read the shadows in those hazel eyes of his. The way he quirked a single dark brow—did that mean he was lying? How could she know for certain? “I was in Lady Atterley’s kitchen because I was hiding.”
“Hiding?”
“Hiding.”
“From what?”
“Everything and everyone.” She proudly lifted her chin. “When a wallflower tires of being ignored yet cannot escape from being dragged to parties, she finds other means of disappearing.” She shrugged. “Mine is hiding in the kitchens and helping the cooks and maids with their duties.”
“Why in heaven’s name would you ever be ignored?” he asked so softly that it hurt her heart.
“It would seem I am not the pick of the Broadmere litter.”
His scowl hardened. “Who spoke ill of you? I would have their name at once.”
She shook her head. “They spoke ill of me when they thought I was nowhere nearby. When I confronted them, rather than apologize, the drink they had consumed that evening turned them defiant and proud of everything they had said. My brother, Chance, pummeledthem, as did my brother-in-law Thorne.” She wet her lips, suddenly wishing she had waited to have this discussion over tea. “It matters little, though. One cannot exactly un-ring a bell. The words remain with me to this day.”
Lord Wakefield started to speak, but she stopped him. “Do not pity me. I know one cannot help or control what another thinks. However, my brother worries about it a great deal. You see, unless I marry for love to satisfy that specific part of my parents’ will, Chance will not receive the percentage of his inheritance that is attached to me.” Stomach churning like a storm by now, she led the way back to the table. “Surely, Fipps has brought our tea. Shall we rejoin Merry and Serendipity?” This terrible moment needed to end. It had held such hope, but now she knew it for the truth it truly was.
“Lady Felicity.” He caught her by the arm. “Wait.”
“I will never marry for anything other than love,” she said with a defiance that surprised even her.
“You deserve that and so much more,” he said with surprising gentleness. He kept hold of her arm. “My only hesitation in coming here was knowing I had nothing but a title to offer you in return. As I said, when I learned my lovely kitchen angel was a lady of theton, I considered myself the most fortunate man in the world.”
The heat of him standing so close, his scent of sandalwood and spice, his rich, deep voice—they all spun their spells and made it so difficult not to believe him. She so wanted to believe him, wanted to take in the sincerity in his eyes and accept it for what it was: the truth. She tried in vain to harden her heart against him. “We have only just met. Surely, you cannot claim to love me.”
He shook his head. “I make no claim of love, but there issomethingthere. Something that, if it is nurtured, might just grow into what we both want and need.” He eased toward her, closing the distance between them. “Can you not feel it? Thatsomething?”
“I so want to believe you,” she said, then immediately wished shehadn’t. Joy would scold her for showing her hand.
“I want you to believe me, too, because it is the truth.”
If she just leaned in a little more and lifted her face, her mouth would be so very close to his. Heart pounding, she struggled to speak clearly. “Even a liar swears their words are true.”
“The only lie I have ever told is the lie of omission, and you surmised that when you saw Wakefield Hall.”
His warm breath tickled across her lips, making her part them.
“Felicity! Tea!” Merry’s boisterous shout rang through the garden. “Come along now. We mustn’t lose his lordship in the maze of Mama’s roses.”
With a resigned sigh, the earl took a step back and offered his arm once again. “We should return, my lady. After all, I would never wish to compromise you.”
That alone made her wonder if he was telling the truth about thatsomethingbetween them. If he compromised her, the dowry would be his in a handy marriage of convenience. Felicity swallowed hard at her choking knot of emotions as she took his arm. “I would never wish you to compromise me either, my lord.” Then she would never know why they had ended up as man and wife. “Come and enjoy my lemon biscuits.”
“I look forward to them, my lady.” His smile was more tender now, his eyes penitent, reflecting a contrition that reached out, took hold of her heart, and squeezed.
