Drat! Drat! Drat!
“At the end of the fortnight…” Priscilla licked her lips. “You would end the betrothal?”
“If that is what you want. Yes.”
“And I have your word?”
“Yes.”
Not thirty seconds after the door closed behind him, Victoria, Chloe, and Addy reappeared.
“What did he say?”
And then Miss Primm, who’d escorted him to the front door, returned to the parlor as well. “That fellow did not have the countenance of a newly engaged gentleman,” she observed. “And yet, he didn’t appear wholly rejected, either.”
“This isn’t going to be as simple as we’d hoped.” Priscilla covered her face with her hands. “I need to speak with Allison.”
And then, reluctant to share her failure, she explained the terms he’d presented.
“And you agreed?” Victoria asked.
“I did not disagree. He has promised to return tomorrow for my answer.” He’d told her he intended to take his leave of Warstone Village the following afternoon. “But I cannot pretend to be Allison for an entire fortnight. That would involve lying not only to him but his family. He is not a horrible marital prospect. It may not be too late to make this right.”
All that seemed to matter to him was the contract with Allison’s father. Surely, he would forgive their small deception if Allison capitulated?
“It cannot hurt to ask her,” Primm agreed, but her cheeks had paled.
“I’ll fetch Allison.” Addy was already halfway out the door. In the wake of her exit, rather than wait quietly, Chloe turned her attention back to Priscilla. “You like him.”
Of course, Chloe would not allow that to pass.
“He saved Fiddlesticks. How could I not?”
“Oh, but you like him,” her all-too astute friend persisted.
“He is handsome,” Victoria conceded from across the room. “And I found him charming. Furthermore, Piers says he was fair in negotiating the price for Longbow Castle. They are meeting tomorrow morning to finalize the sale.”
“None of which matter one iota.” Miss Primm had left her seat to pace across the room. “So long as we’re subject to the whims of Miss Meadowbrook.”
Victoria met Priscilla’s gaze with a wince, and as they awaited Addy to return with Allison, the ticking clock on the mantle echoed loudly.
But the matter wasn’t wholly in the hands of Allison Meadowbrook—not if Priscilla was willing to embark on an even lengthier deception.
Allison appeared on the threshold wearing a frothy mint gown. “He is gone? Did he take it well?” Blond ringlets swung around her face as the girl’s cool blue eyes searched the room.
“I told you he was gone.” Addy urged Allison inside.
Any other student would appear at least a little nervous to be summoned by her headmistress like this.
Not Allison.
“Sit down, Miss Meadowbrook.” Primm gestured toward the wooden chair Lord Hardwood had vacated earlier.
“He has agreed to breaking the agreement, hasn’t he?” Allison folded her arms across her chest as she stared accusingly at Priscilla.
“Sit down, Miss Meadowbrook,” Primm said sharply.
This time, the girl rushed to take her seat.
