He jumped down and joined her. “We’ll have to agree to our parents’ wishes.”
“What?” She puffed away a wisp of hair that had escaped from beneath her straw hat and narrowed her eyes at him. “You surely aren’t giving up?”
With a shake of his head, he studied her for a moment. “My, but you are a spirited woman, Lady Erina.”
“It’s just that I don’t wish to marry,” Erina confessed.
“Never?”
“Well, yes, of course, eventually. But not with such haste.” It seemed foolish to mention love after her father had ridiculed the notion. “I’d like time to meet the right man, enjoy our courtship. And I dislike being told what I must do.”
“A little stubborn, would you say?”
Erina frowned at him as they entered the shady rhododendron, her outraged breath drawing in the pungent smell of damp, rotting leaves. “At least I’m not one to give up when things get too difficult.”
Harry swiveled to face her. “I only meant that we should merelyappearto agree with our parents. To give us more time.”
She gazed thoughtfully into his chocolate-brown eyes. They were kind eyes, patient, humorous. A woman would be lucky to marry Harry. If she wished to live a sedate, ordered life. Erina almost shuddered at the thought. “Yes, that seems the only option left to us.”
They emerged into sunlight and walked under an arch of white clematis leading from the formal gardens onto the lawns.
Harry offered her his arm. “Shall we go in and face them?”
She nodded.
They walked into the house, where the last of the guests, anxiousto continue their journey before nightfall, were about to depart. Erina joined her father to bid them farewell as their carriages lined up on the drive. Soon the last vehicle rattled away, and the house settled into its familiar sounds, the clunk of the long-case clock in the hall, the creak and rattle of timbers.
Half an hour later, Erina and Harry joined Sir Ambrose and her father in the library. The men drank brandy while she sipped a glass of Madeira. She selected one of the small cakes on the platter. They had missed luncheon, and she was hungry. She offered the plate to Harry, who winked at her and took two.
“You two young people seem to be getting on well,” Sir Ambrose said with a satisfied smile.
“We have become firm friends.” Harry smiled at her. “Have we not, Erina?”
“Yes, very good friends,” Erina echoed, earning a suspicious glance from her father.
“Excellent,” Sir Ambrose said. “Your father and I have decided to place an announcement of your engagement in the newspaper Friday next.”
Her father looked as pleased as Punch. “Your Aunt Abbie shall be called upon to assist you with your bridal clothes and the other necessities.”
Alarmed, Erina glanced at Harry. They had less than a week to come up with an alternative scheme. “Were you planning to depart today, Sir Ambrose?”
Sir Ambrose beamed. “Don’t wish to see Harold go, eh? Won’t be long before you two can be together as husband and wife, m’dear.”
“Sir Ambrose has decided to spend another night,” her father said. “So that you and young Mr. Feather can enjoy one more evening together.”
Harry grinned at her. “What shall we play after dinner? Draughts? Cards, chess?”
She was suddenly suspicious. It occurred to her that Harry might be becoming more reconciled to the idea of their marriage. Was he merely pretending to find a way out? Men could continue their lives as comfortably after marriage as they could before it. He would just tuck her away somewhere and join his friends in London.
She smiled sweetly. “You haven’t met my horse, Jessie. It’s still light enough outside for a walk to the stables after dinner. May I show her to you?”
“Really, Erina, that horse of yours…” Her father clamped his lips, no doubt fearing she’d present as an unattractive, horsey woman to Sir Ambrose, as if being taller than most ladies weren’t bad enough.
Harry’s brows lifted, but he recovered quickly. “But of course. I look forward to it.”
When her father and Sir Ambrose became embroiled in a discussion about some bill before Parliament, Harry shrugged. A smile lifting his lips, he winked.
Erina almost giggled but fortunately was able to stop herself in time. It wouldn’t do to encourage him. She must make clear her feelings on the impossibility of a marriage between them. Trouble was, Harry had a way about him that distracted her.
