“The purpose of our own enjoyment.”
“And is that all?”
“It is.”
She watched him carefully. She was quiet for a long moment.
“You may bring your mother,” he added. “Or one of your friends. I have no intention of placing you in an awkward position.”
“How thoughtful.”
“So?”
She turned slightly toward the garden at the center of the square, thinking. He did not interrupt her. He had learned quickly that she disliked being hurried.
“At what hour?” she asked at last.
“Tomorrow at six.”
“So soon?”
“Yes. I believe it will be wise to prepare you for residence there, should that be where this leads.”
The words settled between them.
“You speak as though it is decided.”
“It is not decided,” he said evenly. “It is anticipated.”
“By whom?”
“By everyone.”
“That is precisely what unsettles me.”
“You may refuse,” he said.
She looked at him sharply.
“You know that I may not.”
“On the contrary. If it is what you wish–”
But of course, he knew that she could not. If she ended the courtship, it would put her family at risk, and he was quickly realizing that that was something she would never do.
“I dislike owing anyone,” she said after a moment.
“You do not owe me.”
“But I do,” she argued. “You may not order it, but I feel it. You have shown me such kindness, and I do not know what you stand to gain from it. You must allow me the dignity of contributing something, lest I feel like I do not have a say in the matter at all.”
“You contribute more than you think.”
“How?”
“You are offering me your company. People do not– they do not often do that, and it is a welcomed change.”
She did not say anything, but she did not need to. He could tell by the look on her face that she had acknowledged it, and thatmercifully she believed it too. It was the truth; with his sister in hiding he had not had the luxury of company, at least not in the way he had before, but he had found a friend in Miss Fairleigh, and he was determined not to ruin that.
