“And most men do not want their private business, if you will, flaunted about for others to hear.”
“Well, you already know,” he allowed.
“Yes, but we have a rather unconventional relationship, I would say.”
He grinned. “I suppose that is true.”
Miss Gibbons stopped, turning toward him with her mouth set. “I want to make some things clear, if you will allow me, Lord Noah.”
“Of course. Please, do share.”
A strange look crossed over her eyes, but she finally nodded and began their walk along the water’s edge. “I have no expectations of you regarding our . . .”
“Friendship?” he supplied.
“Yes. Let us say friendship for convenience’s sake.” Something set within the rocks caught her eyes, holding her attention for a moment before she continued. “I am here because I welcome the opportunity of my voice being heard. It is not often that someone elicits my advice. But, if at any time you find I am too forward with my words, then we shall end our conversation and part on good terms. If that is agreeable to you?”
Noah didn’t say anything. He only gave her a baffled smile and nodded her on.
“Very good.” She wrung her hands together in front of her. “And—” Her cheeks suddenly turned a vibrant red. “I would like you to know that I have no expectations of you. In any regard.”
“Meaning, you do not expect me to propose to you on a balcony?”
She peered at him from the corner of her eye before turning ahead. “Precisely. Your heart is surely recovering, and I am in no rush to be married off, much to the chagrin of my mother.” Her color had yet to diminish, and she couldn’t seem to meet his gaze. She looked at the water, then down to the rocks, fiddled with her glove, and then swiped at her hair. “I’m sorry. You did not need to know that, but I had thought to make myself and my lack of expectations on your part clear.”
“I appreciate that, Miss Gibbons. It will make ourfriendship,” he said, a tease in his voice, “much more comfortable.”
“Yes. Very good.” She nodded, her cheeks now a soft pink instead of flaming red. “Now, on to the matter of why we have met today.”
“I admit I am very curious about what you have to say.” Curious and unaccountably hopeful.
Miss Gibbons straightened her shoulders, and Noah was quite sure a smirk was hiding on the other side of her mouth—the side facing the water and currently unseen to him. “I have said most of my thoughts already, but I can clarify what I mean. And, if speaking out loud helps, we could do a practice of sorts.”
His eyebrows flew up. “Practice? You would be willing to act out scenarios with me?” It brought him back to his days at the Inns of Court. Specifically, the evenings when he and the other students would dine with an established barrister. They would occasionally do mock trials together over their meal.
“What else do I have to do all day? I am the perfect little heiress. I play the piano, I know three languages, I wear the most recent fashions of London—” Her words became urgent and heated, as if his question had broken a dam and things began spilling forth that she had desperately tried to barricade. She stopped, turning to face him, her face suddenly crestfallen. “And yet, what is my purpose? Is that all I am to do with my life?”
“I would suppose your family expects you to marry, Miss Gibbons. Is that not a worthy cause?” He thought it was. In fact, it washismain goal in life. The job he had was only to provide for such a thing.
Her eyes rose to the towering cliff behind him, as if lost in her thoughts. “I would not be opposed to marrying one day. But only for a happy marriage. A man who cares for me and would love our children. I will not, however—” her eyes snapped back to him.“—be content being married off to the highest bidder.”
Noah narrowed his eyes, studying this curious young woman. Never in his life had someone spoken to him as she did after knowing him so little. Perhaps she was correct and their unconventional meeting jumbled everything—blurred lines and made them feel closer than they actually were.
Miss Gibbons dipped her head, the soft blush returning to her cheeks. “Excuse me. I have said too much. My mother would be horrified.” She covered her cheeks with her hands, as if she could hide from him on this wide open, exposed beach. “It is only . . .”
“Only what?” Noah asked. She was closing up, but she had listened to him about his troubles. Perhaps she needed someone to listen to her.
Her eyes slowly found their way back to his gaze. “It is only,” she said again, pausing for a deep breath. “We move so frequently, and I do not have the luxury of close friends. I have no one to tell these things to. And you have an ease about you that has pulled these things from me. How do you do it?” A coyness entered her eyes, likely trying to make light of things after her bold admission.
And just like that, Noah saw how they could help one another. This young woman needed a friend, though he was likely not the appropriate choice. But it was something he could offer, and he enjoyed her company. It would not be a burden in the least. “Clearly I slipped a truth potion into your food,” he teased.
Her expression lit, brows raising and lips curving into a wide smile. “Ah, yes.” She lifted a finger. “That is it. How dare you, sir.” She turned so he had a view of her profile.
“I promise it will never happen again.” Noah put a hand to his heart.
“Very good.” Miss Gibbons picked up her skirt to step over a large rock on the shore. “Enough about me. Let us speak of you now.”
“Me?” He tilted his head up, feigning deep thought as he stroked his chin. “Well,” he said, letting his gaze follow her as she picked her way about the rocky shore. “I wish to marry, Miss Gibbons. But to do so, I need to be successful in my career so that I may provide a comfortable life for my family.”
