The intimacy of the gesture left her more than a little flustered. She smiled her thanks and told herself she was imagining things. The indecipherable expression on Carlisle’s face wasn’t because he desperately wanted to ask her an important question but had decided to hold back.
She wasn’t aware she’d licked her lips until his gaze dipped to her mouth. A swooping sensation settled low in her belly.
With a small shake of his head, Carlisle straightened and moved to take his seat opposite her.
A heavy silence had settled over the room, and Millie needed to ease the tension. “You don’t entertain often. At least, not since I’ve been old enough to attend a party.”
There was a softness in his smile that seemed to hide a world of secrets. “I’m hoping that will change soon.”
“Oh, that will be lovely.” But the words had no sooner left her mouth than she realized she probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy those entertainments. She wasn’t yet of age. If she couldn’t change her father’s mind, it was possible she’d no longer be living nearby. Next Christmas she could be living anywhere.
And then another horrible thought occurred to her. Was Carlisle suggesting he planned to marry soon? That could explain why he would expect to be entertaining more. Neither he nor his mother liked to throw house parties, but perhaps he intended to marry someone who did enjoy them.
The thought was enough to make her want to cry.
“Is something the matter?”
Carlisle’s voice distracted her from the unhappy future she’d been imagining. She tried to smooth her features, but her attempt at a smile probably looked more like a grimace.
It might be better to marry and move far away because she didn’t think she could stand seeing Carlisle married to anyone. Sitting across from him now, in the dining room he would one day be sharing with his future wife, had her thinking that perhaps her feelings for this man went beyond a simple infatuation.
She was incapable of coming up with witty banter and so she shared the truth. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t going to learn about her betrothal soon.
“I was just thinking about a conversation I had with my father before I set out.”
He stilled, a strange expression on his face. She watched him place his spoon down with exaggerated care before dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a napkin. She had his full attention now.
“An unpleasant conversation?”
Somehow she managed to keep from snorting. “You could say that.”
His brows drew together as though her statement had upset him. She must be imagining it. Perhaps he was still concerned about her health. “He’s arranged for a betrothal against my wishes.”
This time it was clear that he was upset on her behalf. “I must say that I’m confused. Please tell me exactly what happened.”
She huffed out a breath. “Papa promised that I was to have a season next year. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Sarah is one year younger than me. I was supposed to come out last year, but circumstances dictated that we stay in the country. But I was supposed to have a season.”
“And now you can’t?”
Millie pushed away her half-finished plate of soup and crossed her arms. If Papa were here, he would admonish her for behaving like a child, but what did it matter now? She’d bemarrying someone else soon, as would Carlisle. He’d probably forget all about this conversation. Really, it was a miracle he’d even lowered himself to have dinner with her at all.
“He told me that he’d arranged for a betrothal to someone I’d never even met.”
His eyes widened. “Surely not.”
“That is why I set out today. I wanted to speak to Sarah to see if she could advise me on how to change my father’s mind.”
Carlisle’s head was tilted to one side, and it appeared as though he was trying to see into her mind. “What exactly did your father say? His precise words.”
Millie had been tryingnotto think about that conversation. She’d been so fixated on finding a way to escape her current predicament that she hadn’t stopped to reconsider what exactly her father had said.
She closed her eyes as she tried to replay that scene now. She’d been happy, ecstatic about receiving news that they were heading to London in the spring. She’d asked him if it was true, but he’d said that it wouldn’t be necessary.
Because he’d received an offer of marriage.
He hadn’t actually said that he’d accepted that offer. But surely he would have known that she wouldn’t want to marry his friend. Maybe the offer hadn’t come from him but from someone he thought she’d happily accept.
Her eyes popped open, and she stared at Carlisle. This was the only man she currently knew who she’d happily marry.
