Was it too late to persuade him she was addle-pated? She’d been so shocked this morning she hadn’t said anything coherent at all to him, so perhaps it was still possible—
“Do you prefer to drive in The Ring, or walk around the Serpentine?”
Blast it.How had she so misjudged him? Her schemes were generally quite effective; her siblings had thoughtfully provided scrapes and scandals enough for her to hone her skills in that quarter, but here she’d made a tactical error, and right at the outset, too.
“Lady Eleanor, Mr. West is speaking to you.”
She’d made a mess of this, and now so she’d have to backtrack, and pray he didn’t notice. It wasn’t ideal, but perhaps all was not lost. He wanted to marry her, yes, but he didn’t seem to like her much, and unless she was mistaken, he also didn’t have any use for theton. If he already thought her frivolous and spoiled, surely it wouldn’t take much effort on her part to encourage him she was a peahen, as well.
Well, it would have to do, wouldn’t it? She’d simply present him with what he expected to see, and hope for the best. Perhaps he wouldn’t think to question it.
“Can you hear me, Lady Eleanor?”
Eleanor jumped. “My goodness, Mr. West! Why are you shouting in my ear?”
He gave her an exasperated look. “I beg your pardon, my lady, but I feared you’d fallen into some kind of a fit.”
“Fit? Why, how ridiculous. As you can see, I’m perfectly well.”
Tilly grunted again. “Mr. West asked you a question, my lady.”
Eleanor hesitated. Did she dare?
Foolish question. She did dare, because she hadn’t any other choice, unless she wanted to find herself married to Camden West.
And that was no choice at all.
She let her jaw go slack, opened her eyes wide, and turned this blank expression upon Camden West. “Question? What kind of question?”
He drew in a long, slow, patient breath. “Shall I repeat it for you, Lady Eleanor?”
Eleanor furrowed her brow, as if her answer required the utmost concentration, then turned to him with a vapid smile. “Oh, how kind. I wish you would.”
“Would you prefer to drive around The Ring, or take a walk along the Serpentine?”
“Oh!” Eleanor clapped her hands together in glee. “I do so love a drive!”
He startled, then frowned down at her. “Of course. A drive it is.”
She tilted her head to the side, as if disappointed, and sighed. “Oh, but I do so love a walk, as well.”
Too much? If the change were too abrupt, he’d think her mad.
Then again . . .
Madness.Yes, that might work, too. No gentleman wanted insanity in the family line. She’d keep it in mind in case the mind-numbing foolishness didn’t work.
“Why don’t we see which you prefer when we arrive?” His tone was polite, but his hands, which rested on his knees, closed into fists.
Not too much, then.She bit her lip to hold back a sigh. It was silly of her to be disappointed. Mr. West was giving her just the reaction she wanted, and yet . . .
She’d expected more of him. As observant as he was, shouldn’t he be able to see through such a ruse? How disheartening that even the cleverest of gentlemen should be so willing to believe a lady is a featherbrain.
She pushed the thought aside. This was what she wanted—for him to find her silly and tedious. “What a wonderful idea! How clever you are, Mr. West.” She laid a hand on his arm and gave him a dazzling, vacant smile.
A featherbrain, and a flirt.
It was a delicate maneuver, flirting with Mr. West, but there was nothing in the world more tedious than excessive adoration. One need look no further than poor Lord Tidmarsh for proof of that. As handsome and wealthy as Mr. West was, the ladies likely did fawn over him, so he might find it more tedious than most.
