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This was it. She was alone with a gentleman for the first time. Because he was to propose marriage.

Her eyes sought him at once. Mr. Ridley had come to a halt before the fireplace, his gaze fixed downward. She studied his reflection in the mirror above the mantel, allowing herself a moment’s hesitation before turning to face him directly. His tanned complexion looked unusually pale, the tension in his frame unmistakable. Beneath the cut of his impeccable buckskins and green coat, he seemed carved from restraint.

Despite the weariness in his posture, he was striking—handsome in the shifting afternoon light that filtered through the draperies. But it was the hollowness around his eyes that caught her heart. He looked as if he had not slept in days.

Her chest tightened with sympathy. What a terrible week the young man must have endured.

Is he devastated over his father’s death? He has not even had time to grieve!

Mr. Ridley cleared his throat. “I wished to thank you, Miss Abbott. Your intervention was most timely. I was moments from arrest when you spoke with the coroner.”

“You are welcome, Mr. Ridley! I was quite beside myself over your situation. Lady Slight’s decision not to come forward was simply unacceptable, and I could not sit idle. I felt responsible in some way … and I believed it the only method by which I might assist you.”

In the mirror, Lily caught the subtle frown that touched Mr. Ridley’s brow at the mention of the widow. Her stomach twisted. Was he still attached to Lady Slight? Did he resent being here, speaking of marriage?

I am afraid I do not care. If he offers me marriage, I will accept.

“Lady Slight likely does not know of my predicament,” he said quietly.

Lily bit her lower lip. She hesitated. To confess her ill-advised visit would be unwise, especially now. She still cringed at how she had managed the matter, and this was hardly the moment for such disclosures.

“Nevertheless, I am so very glad you are here!” she burst out, the words tumbling forth despite her best intentions. “You have come to offer for me, have you not? I lay awake all night reaching my decision, and I must say I am quite worn through, but now, here you are, come to do the honorable thing. I knew you would! You are a gentleman, through and through!”

In a flush of mortification, Lily clapped a hand over her mouth to silence herself. Oh heavens. Her enthusiasm had once again outrun her decorum. Mr. Ridley was unlikely to be accustomed to such effusiveness, and she could not afford to put him off in so delicate a conversation.

Looking back at the mirror, she noticed the gentleman was frowning again. Slowly, he turned to face her fully, his expression incredulous, and Lily’s heart skipped a beat. Had she already put him off with her nervous babbling?

“Did you provide me with an alibi”—his voice was quiet, but the disbelief in it rang clear—“to trap me into marriage?”

The words landed like stones.

All the sleepless nights, the strain of consoling her weeping mother, and the quiet burial of her own hopes for a love match, one she had once believed herself destined to find, collapsed within her. The weight of it all surged so suddenly that she raised a hand, half-instinctively, as if to shield herself from an invisible avalanche. But there was no rubble. Only silence. Only the thunder in her chest.

She took a stumbling step backward, nearly colliding with an end table in her haste to retreat.

“Is … is that what you think of me?” Her voice was scarcely more than a breath.

Mr. Ridley narrowed his eyes, suspicion etched across his features like a line drawn in the sand. “You must admit, Miss Abbott, that your knowledge of my situation was unusually precise. If your aim was to compel a marriage, I can scarcely imagine a more effective means.”

Lily felt the sting of those words like a slap. Only moments ago, she had thrilled at the sight of his carriage pulling up to their home. She had believed fervently that her prayers had been answered. That this chapter of humiliation and despair might close with dignity.

But it appeared the nightmare was not yet done with her.

Tears sprang to Lily’s eyes as she frantically searched for a resolution. Agreeing to a marriage with a man who mistrusted her so deeply, who believed her capable of fabricating an alibi to ensnare him, was unthinkable. Yet no simple solution presented itself. The air between them was thick with disbelief and judgment.

“Surely you know me better than that, Mr. Ridley? We have several mutual acquaintances, and⁠—”

“Miss Abbott, we do not know each other at all,” he interrupted. “I have no knowledge of what you might be capable of, given the right incentive. I could not fathom why a young woman would risk her reputation to defend me, but now …”

Lily forced down the storm rising within her, her spine straightening as an eerie calm settled over her. She had defended Mr. Ridley of her own volition, and she would not flinch from the consequences.

“Are you here to make an offer, Mr. Ridley?”

She was proud—immeasurably proud—of how steady her voice sounded. She offered no embellishment, no softness, no more explanation. The question now belonged to him.

“What choice do I have?”

Lily inclined her head, her movements sharp and deliberate. “Then I shall respond. I am glad, for your sister’s sake and for the sake of our mutual acquaintances, that your name has been cleared. I stand by my actions. I did the honorable thing on your behalf, and I would not change it.” Her voice firmed with every word. “As to your offer—no. I will not wed you. Nor do I wish to receive you again. No.”