*
Caroline was takenaback by his statement.
Perhaps she had misjudged him when he first arrived. Maybe he wasn’t as rigid and disapproving as she believed.
And what did he mean that he was no longer in a hurry and that maybe he did need a holiday?
The idea of him lingering around Wyndview Farm was rather disconcerting given…well…everything.
Then Caroline looked around the ballroom, and particularly at the guests. Some were English and some were ancestors of the Dutch who had settled in the area during the 1600s. The first to plant grapes that created a wine empire.
And, among the English and Dutch were pretty daughters of marriageable age.
Why should Wyndham hurry his return to London when the wife he sought might be in this very room?
He was rather callous about the away he was going to decide on who he would marry by picking onefrom those available in the ballrooms of London. What were his requirements? That she be pretty enough or have the right connections, daughter of a peer?
What about love?
Except, English lords rarely considered love when choosing a wife.At least, that was what she had observed during her one and only Season.
It also bothered her that she did not want to witness any courtship that he might engage in and told herself that it was only because she pitied the woman that he chose for reasons other than the heart. Yet, she was already jealous of the woman for reasons that she could not fathom. Yes, she may have had a moment of lust, but that was all.
Was he the type of gentleman who gravitated toward the blushing and simpering misses who would obey without question or someone who showed more confidence—a challenge? Or perhaps he wanted one with more maturity than a miss fresh from the schoolroom. Who he chose to dance with and perhaps walk about the room with would tell her what type of mate he sought.
As the musicians took their seats and tuned their instruments, Caroline glanced around the room as the women nervously smoothed their skirts and cast shy smiles at the bachelors, many of them aiming their attention at Wyndham.
Quietly, she waited for him to leave her side and approach a lovely miss and ask her to dance. But, as partners were claimed and the first country dance began, he remained by her side.
She knew he danced. She had seen him do so in England, but he showed no interest here. At least, not yet.
“I brought the two of you here so that you could enjoy yourselves, not stand off to the side like wallflowers hoping to go unnoticed,” Lady Wyndham chided as she joined them.
“I was not asked,” Caroline answered. “Nor do I expect to be.”
“Of course you will not.”
Lady Wyndham proclamation rather stung, even if it was the truth.
“Not while you are standing with my son, as if he has a claim on your heart,” Lady Wyndham continued. “No bachelor will approach.”
“I hardly think that is the case,” Caroline returned.
“And you, Sterling, you need a bride.”
With that, Lady Wyndham turned and marched away from her son.
Chapter Thirteen
Sterling needed tostop his mother from playing at matchmaking. He could choose his own bride when the time came and needed no help in doing so.
Besides, he would not be here long enough to determine if any of the local women would suit. A bride picked from a ballroom in London was much safer.
If there was one thing that he had learned from being in Society, wives liked to visit their families, which was not easily done when they lived on two separate continents.
Though, he could consider the English-born misses who had traveled here with their families. They may only be here on holiday, or if their family had taken up residence, might wish to return to the country they were familiar with.
As he glanced around the room, noting the different guests, Sterling allowed himself to consider the possibility, but grew concerned that there simply was not enough time to come to know a miss well enough to be certain that they would suit. Even if he were to remain at Wyndview Farm for two or three months, it would not be enough time. He was needed at the estate and to be available if Hallaway ever found time for him, not off courting someone.
