He might have sensed that she was not overly pleased with him, with his decision to make the announcement without her permission. She’d not had an opportunity to speak with him alone.
“I’d like that very much, George.” She called him by his given name despite the presence of others.
She was not overly concerned with pleasing him this morning. Her finger still pained her from where she and Esther had fought unsuccessfully with the ring until finally giving up when Margaret could endure the discomfort no longer. Even this morning, the skin around the blasted thing was an angry red from their efforts.
She quite looked forward to speaking with him privately.
“And you will row me, Mr. Spencer?” Mrs. Spencer appealed to her husband, who, of course, agreed immediately.
“Perhaps Lord Rockingham will take you out on the water, Miss Crouch,” Mrs. Spencer suggested to the other girl.
George laughed beside her. “That boy. I wouldn’t take his attention too seriously. I’m surprised he hasn’t departed already, what with his feet itching for adventure. I wouldn’t dare hazard a guess as to how many broken hearts he’s left in his wake.”
‘But he’s the heir. Surely, he must marry?” Miss Crouch asked in surprise.
“And I imagine he will. In a decade or two. Presently, he’s far more interested in sailing to foreign lands.”
Sebastian had already explained as much to her but to hear it confirmed by his uncle was deflating. Not because she had designs on him herself, of course. But because he would be leaving England and she would not see her friend for years at a time.
Because he had become her friend. A little more, on occasion. But in the end, they could only be friends.
“Why would he want to leave England? Perhaps Miss Drake will change his mind. She seems quite taken with him. There’s also the possibility of him compromising some innocent and then he wouldn’t be going anywhere.” She grinned mysteriously. “You know what they say. Reformed rakes make for the best of husbands.”
“I doubt he would be so careless.” Margaret couldn’t help but defend him, but he must be cautious. There were always those young ladies who would do what they could to trap such a man. Sebastian was an heir to a duke, after all. A little subterfuge was nothing if it meant the girl might become a duchess one day.
Margaret clenched her teeth upon considering the possibility.
It would be a shame of the utmost proportions for Sebastian to be forced to give up his dreams. He would be most unhappy to abandon them and ultimately, so would his bride.
George turned to stare at her curiously. “I cannot help but agree with you. You are already becoming well acquainted with your future family. I am so pleased that he was willing to accompany you on your picnic in my absence yesterday.”
Ah, but would he be if he knew that she’d kissed him?
And again, he referred to the missed outing asherpicnic. He’d apologized the evening before for having missed their appointment but then insisted that they’d never made firm plans. She must be more clear with him in the future.
Margaret rubbed the skin around the cool metal that squeezed her finger. “His determination to travel is noble. I’d be shocked if he did anything to jeopardize his ventures.”
No one was given an opportunity to respond just then as the horses were drawn to a halt and a servant presented himself to assist the ladies down to the ground. Margaret was not all that interested in their surroundings. She’d been to the lake more times than she could count and was more concerned with the conversation she must have with George.
Why had he announced the engagement without her consent? And she must wrestle from him the answer to an even more important question. He did want children, didn’t he?
As George halted to greet Lord Riverton, Margaret wandered to the shore and stared across the calm water. A boat skimmed along the surface and she swallowed hard. Sebastian had already been imposed upon to row one of the ladies. Miss Drake, if her eyes did not deceive her.
“Remember when I pushed you out of the boat? And then you tipped it over, nearly drowning both of us in the process?” Hugh had crept up behind her. So much had changed since then.
“And Father took the strap to you,” she reminded him.
That had been a very long time ago. The last time she’d come, however, their mother had yet been alive. Not for the first time, Margaret wondered how her mother would advise her in her present circumstances.
“You miss her.” Her brother, at times, was annoyingly adept at reading her mind.
“Of course.” But then she turned to him. “You do not think I am making a mistake, do you? Marrying Mr. Kirkley?”
“I did not think you would want my opinion. I believe that on more than one occasion you have instructed me most adamantly to mind my own business where your affairs are concerned.”
She exhaled loudly. “More than a decade ago.”
Hugh looked away from her to stare at the couple floating romantically across the lake. “You do not love him.”
