Caroline gave a perfunctory smile and looked out at the waves. She was the one who had introduced the topic of his desire for her support in the election, so she had no one but herself to blame that she disliked his reaction.
Some part of her—the silly, idyllic girl within, no doubt—wanted Mr. Yorke to be here with her simply because he enjoyed her company. Not because it was part of his attempt to persuade her into giving him her votes.
“I have been wishing to discuss something with you,” he said.
With a little gallop of the heart, she met his gaze. “And what might that be?”
He surveyed her for a moment. “Reform.”
She blinked. “Reform?”
“I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject.”
“Mr. Yorke,” she said, trying to keep her voice lighter than she felt, though her pace quickened, betraying her. “I have no wish for you to pretend to an interest in reform merely to placate me.”
He hastened to catch up with her, then took her arm, bringing them both to a stop.
His gaze was clear as she reluctantly met it. “There is no pretending, my lady. Only a respect for your intelligence and a curiosity to understand your views.”
She said nothing, for her heart believed his sincerity, but her mind warned her it was all part of his scheme.
She rarely spoke her views candidly, for they were never taken seriously. If they were not laughed at as the idealistic imaginings of a sheltered, naive woman, they were brushed aside without ceremony as foolishness. She had once broached the subject of reform with Brightmoor, and he had cut her off mid-sentence, telling Richard he had better watch her more closely if he did not wish to be thought a Jacobin.
Caroline had no desire to open herself up to such an experience with Mr. Yorke.
“Please,” he said.
She searched his face, and Eliza’s words came to mind.Observe him more.
Mr. Yorke was offering her the opportunity to do just that. It might end in frustration or even a bit of humiliation on her end, but at least she would know for certain that he was just as every other man she had known.
“I would have thought you familiar with the arguments for and against the issue,” she said.
He shrugged. “No doubt every man with an opinion believes himself the master of the topic—until his ignorance is laid bare.”
She smiled slightly. “And you are asking me to lay yours bare?”
“I was speaking of the ignorance ofothermen,” he said, though his eyes twinkled at her.
“Naturally.”
Their laughing eyes met for a few moments before he spoke again. “Very well, then. Lay my ignorance bare, my lady. Gently. A man’s pride can only bear so much.”
She pondered for a moment. “You need look no further than Trelowen to see the case for reform on display.”
They began walking again, their horses trailing behind them.
“In what way?”
She shot him an arch brow. “Would you be here if the system were not so easily manipulable and corrupt?”
“But it has not been manipulable,” he said. “You have made certain of that.”
“Because I know how the people suffer when they are used for position and power rather than listened to and advocated for. Whose bellies go empty when the price of corn rises? Whose hard-bought cattle starve when their grazing lands are enclosed and fenced off? Whose fish cannot be preserved for winter famine when salt is taxed? It is those most nearly affected who have no voice in the process.”
His brow furrowed, his gaze ahead. “You would have those who cannot even read make decisions that affect the entire country? Have every scullery maid and fisherman weigh in on foreign policy?”
“No, but I would have it acknowledged that they are the ones paying the steepest price for such policy—and that we cannot expect to turn a blind eye to their struggles and suffering without consequence.”
