“And I was supposed to know that wink meant ... what exactly?”
She released a sigh. “That Edward’s obviously smitten with Lottie, and that I was going to arrange matters so that he’d have an opportunity to spend additional time with her.”
“You thought I’d glean all that from a wink?”
“It was an obvious wink.”
“Not to me. But ... you think Edward’s smitten with Lottie?”
“I don’tthink, Iknow. But you didn’t pick up on that?”
Owen raked a hand through his hair. “I might have thought he was acting somewhat peculiar, considering he stopped talking when he was introduced to Lottie, but I didn’t take that as a sign he was besotted with her.”
“Of course he’s besotted with her. In fact, I think we just witnessed that whimsical love-at-first-sight scenario.”
“That’s only in fairy tales,” Owen argued before he frowned. “However, your interest in Edward, Lottie, and a belief you just witnessed them falling in love suggests you now have matchmaking on your mind. To remind you, you’ve been quite vocal regarding your hanging up of your matchmaking hat, except for those two men you mentioned you were unofficially sponsoring.”
“If you’ll recall, I didn’t mention that. Mr. Timken did.” She smiled. “He finally revealed who his good authority was regarding that matter—Petunia Wetzel, Charles’s mother.” Camilla shook her head. “Petunia’s been quite persistent with her desire to see her son married, interrogating me at every turn to see if I’ve made any progress finding Charles a suitable match.”
“I don’t imagine you appreciate being interrogated.”
Camilla waved that aside. “It comes with the territory of being a matchmaker, but returning to Edward and Lottie.” She leaned forward. “Surely after seeing the sparks fly between those two, you can’t believe that I, a former—and need I add, very successful—matchmaker could ever ignore such a delightful opportunity, can you?”
“When you put it like that, probably not. Nevertheless, while I’ll admit Edward was not himself during his introduction to Lottie, I didn’t detect anything curious about Lottie’s reaction to him, something that suggests you’re mistaken about the love-at-first-sight scenario.”
“I’m never wrong about affairs of the heart, and while Lottie’s reaction could have been easily missed because it was very subtle, she blushed. Lottie isn’t a lady prone to blushing.”
“I definitely missed any blushing going on, but have you considered that her face was merely flushed due to all the steam that was filling the train yard?”
“She wasn’t flushing, but blushing, and before you argue with that, know that I wasn’t overheated in the least. If you’ve forgotten, I’d been standing out in the train yard longer than Lottie and had also taken a bit of a gallop around the yard with Gladys.”
“I’m sure you had to have been a little overheated after your gallop.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Must you argue with everything I say?”
He wrinkled his nose right back at her. “I wasn’t arguing, merely pointing out the obvious. I noticed you were blotting your forehead after Gladys plopped to the ground.”
She blinked. “Are you suggesting I was perspiring earlier because ... I wasn’t.”
Owen opened his mouth, realized he was about to argue yet another point, and settled for sending her a quirk of a brow.
“I wasn’t,” she reiterated again.
“It’s not a crime to perspire.”
“It’s considered a serious breach of etiquette for ladies, which is why I’ve taken steps to avoid perspiring in general, such as limiting myself to two dances in any given evening and always having numerous handkerchiefs at the ready.” She lifted her chin. “With that settled—and no, I won’t discuss perspiration further with you—allow me to return to Edward and Lottie, a match just waiting to happen if there ever was one.”
“Not that I want to argue with you again...”
“But you’re going to,” she muttered.
“Well, quite, because I think you’re conjuring up a romance where none exists. Edward and Lottie don’t even know each other, nor do I imagine they have anything in common. Edward is a respectable man of business, as well as a man with a philanthropic heart, devoting his spare time to building schools for the underprivileged of Wheeling and the surrounding area. He also volunteers his services teaching in those schools. Lottie, on the other hand, is a former criminal.”
“It’s hardly gentlemanly of you to point that out.”
“And if you’ll recall, I told you I’ve never claimed to be a gentleman, but I don’t see how pointing out the truth is wrong.”
“You could have stated it differently instead of speaking so baldly.”
