She didn’t answer him, just nudged her horse into a walk, away from him and his touch. He fell in beside her again.
“I’m sorry you felt you had nowhere to run to.”
“It is done.”
“Milly, I did not mean to upset you.”
Her shoulders rose and fell, and then she turned to him with a forced smile on her lips. He hated it, and remembered why. Four years ago he had seen it often. It had been the smile she used when surrounded by her peers.
“Will you enter society?”
She sighed. “My aunt asks me that daily. We have had so many callers it is ridiculous. I have no wish for them, and refuse to spend much time with them, but still they come. They ask if I am well now, and of course your name is bandied about so much I have come to hate it.”
“That’s harsh, considering there is little I can do about that.”
She laughed. More a snuffle actually, and there was nothing remotely feminine about it. It was not a trill or silly giggle, and he thought the sound wonderful.
“Forgive me, it is just that every woman is enamored by you, and most want to ensure I have no claim upon you, so they still have hope.”
“Surely not all of them are enamored with me?”
“Most.” She huffed out a breath. “It’s your position of course, and title.”
“Surely I am not intolerable to look at?”
She gave him a look, and he labeled it almost cheeky.
“Searching for compliments, my lord?”
“I am but a poor humble man,” Joseph drawled.
They rode for a while in silence, just enjoying the quiet solitude. It was Milly who broke it first.
“I have never thought how hard it is for you, with all these woman fawning and simpering after you, but I see now it must be.”
“Sometimes. Especially when they are not really interested in me, but only what I offer,” Joseph surprised himself by saying.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault that I am an earl, and believe me, it is not all bad.”
She turned and smiled at him, this one real, and he found himself smiling back.
“’Tis funny that I am snatching a rare moment of peace here with you, the one man I should not find peace with.”
He wanted to reach out a hand and cup her neck, pull her forward and kiss those soft, rose-colored lips.
“I can be peaceful upon occasion. It is my siblings who turn me otherwise.”
“Ah yes, now that I can understand. Eleanor has visited me several times. She is most persistent.”
“She missed you.”
“And I missed her. Thank you for the race, Lord Ellsworth.”
“You are most welcome, Lady Millicent, anytime.”
He couldn’t detain her any longer, he had no reason to, so he had to watch her ride away. At least they had actually conversed, and neither of them had snarled at the other.
