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Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The viscount was entirely uninspired that day. He had gone to the same meetings he attended every week and seen the same people who gave him the same updates. Life seemed to be moving a little too slowly for his liking. He needed some excitement. Wanted it.

And, as if a higher power had been listening, a woman ran into the street to save a boy not worth saving. To say that it piqued his curiosity was an understatement. And it was all he could think about as he climbed back into his carriage to make it to his next appointment.

The day had taken a turn when he'd got out to meet her. Not only was she absolutely beautiful, but she was clearly of status. Her clothes consisted of fine material, and she didn't seem at all bothered about handing a coin over to the child.

Anybody else would have let the child fend for himself. Colin wouldn't have taken the risk of going after him. But that woman had saved him. And Colin, for the life of him, couldn't understand why.

He stayed with them for the afternoon in an attempt to answer the question that he had held in his mind. He wanted to get to know the woman. To understand what kind of a person she was. Colin wanted to know which family she came from and just how high-status she was.

It had been a while since an interesting woman had come into his life, and if he were honest, he was getting a little bored. It was purely bad luck that her aunt and cousins had been there with her that day.

It certainly made it difficult for him to get a decent conversation with Diana. It was clear that she was avoiding it, too. Colin didn't mind. He enjoyed the chase. What he didn't enjoy was Jane's ruthless attempts at flirting with him.

It was clear that Jane would get in his way, but perhaps that would make it more fun. Whatever happened, he was sure he would enjoy its intricacies.

When they'd entered the bookshop, he'd had just a few moments alone with Diana. There, he learned of her caring nature towards the orphans. That was important information for him. That way, he knew exactly what to do and speak about if he wanted to get the right kind of attention from her.

If he wanted to impress her, he would have to do something that involved the orphans somehow. That should be easy enough. When it came to children who had nothing, he knew that he could give them something tiny, and it would still seem like a big deal.

He had readily accepted her aunt's invitation to dinner. That would give him the chance to see her estate and understand a little more about Diana. Colin found it difficult to find women who he felt were suitable enough for him. They either bored him half to death or embarrassed him greatly.

He had strong tastes and high expectations.

As they rode, he pulled a notebook out of his pocket and looked at the list he had written down. It was a list of the titles that Diana had been looking at while they were at the bookstore. He'd made note of them.

Colin didn't enjoy reading those kinds of books, but he would ask one of his servants to read them and give him the key points to memorize. That way, when he saw Diana again, he would have something to talk to her about that she was interested in since she didn't seem too interested in the theatre.

When his carriage came to a stop, he gave the list to the driver.

"Go and buy these books," he instructed him, handing him the relevant coin to do so. "And then meet me back here in an hour to take me home."

"Alright," the driver said.

"If there's any coin left, you can keep it," Colin added. "For your troubles."

That got an eager grin from his driver.

For the duration of the meeting, Colin barely focused. He hardly had anything to say and didn't really know what anybody else was saying, either. He could think only of Diana. About how she avoided his glances and palmed his questions off onto other family members. He knew well enough that she was trying to avoid him, trying to brush him off. That excited him.

Colin liked the chase. He yearned for it. The very fact that she wasn't interested in him only made him more determined. Without knowing it, Diana had turned herself into a prize for him to achieve.

And he looked forward to every minute of it.

She would stay in the forefront of his mind as he passed the following days. All Colin was trying to do was figure out a strategy for what he would do and say when the night of the dinner arrived so that he could finally win her favour.

That was how he liked to do things. Colin would mould himself into who she wanted him to be. Then he would win her, and he would take it as far as he could before he got bored of her, too.

But at least for the time being, he had a chase to enjoy. He would have a woman to conquer. It set his heart alight and his adrenaline rushing through his body. Life lit up for him then. He knew that to win Diana, he would have to break Jane's heart. And the thought of that only excited him even more.

There was nothing like breaking a woman's heart to give him the confidence boost he so desperately needed to keep his ego at large.

By the time evening rolled around for him, a servant in his home was presented with a stack of books, and he had a list of all the orphanages in the area.

*

It was the day that the viscount was meant to join them for dinner. Diana sat in the parlour with a book in hand and tried hard to forget about it. She was desperate for a reason not to join them. Not only did she find him to be particularly uninteresting, but she didn't want to get between him and Jane again.

It had taken days before Jane was pleasant with her after their last meeting with Colin. Besides, only one man had captivated her thoughts.

Diana's mind was flooded with the memory of the duke. She would think back to when he put his jacket on her and how it felt for that brief moment that he had his arm around her. It had seemed so warm and kind, and she genuinely loved the feeling of it. It made her feel warm despite the cold weather outside.

She hoped that he would take her up on her offer for a picnic. It would be good to see him and Evangeline again, even if just to bask in her childlike joy for a few more hours. Diana felt foolish thinking about him for so long.

It wasn't something that happened to her often. Other than Anna, she hardly spent time with other people. And when she did, she didn't really want to. However, she found herself eager to see him again.

To be in conversation with him and enjoy his company. Diana found herself hoping to get Evangeline's approval. Something about the thought of that made her feel like she could be important.

That's what it was. She wanted to be important to someone. And for reasons she had yet to work out in her mind, she wanted to be important to Evangeline. She saw so much of herself in Evangeline's fun spirit.

It reminded her of her youth when her worries were few and far between. When the most important part of her day was when she could go out into the garden and check on all her critter friends.

Just then, her aunt entered the room with a weaselly-looking man. He wore a brown suit that wasn't tailored to him quite right. What little hair he had left was combed over to hide the part of his head that was balding.

Diana looked at her aunt in confusion.

"Diana, I would like to introduce you to Mr Hoover," her aunt said with a pleased smile.

Immediately, Diana knew what her aunt was up to. Only her aunt had given her no warning that they were expecting another visitor that day.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Fairchild," the man said nervously. "Your aunt has told me much about you."

Diana gave her aunt an unamused look and got to her feet.

"It's good to meet you, too, Mr Hoover," she said before turning to her aunt. "Might I have a word with you outside?"

Her aunt looked nervously at Mr Hoover, forced a smile, and nodded. Diana excused them for a moment as they went out into the passage, far away enough that their guest could not hear it.

"What is the meaning of this?" Diana pressed. "I was not expecting another guest today."

"I only ask that you have some tea with him," her aunt said. "He is interested in marrying you, Diana. You need to start thinking about these things."

Diana shook her head. "That is none of your concern," she said. "That is a part of my life that required no interference from you."

Her aunt sighed as her lips tightened. "He's a wonderful man, Diana. If you'd only so much as to give him a chance. He is kind and gentlemanly. I can't find one person who has a bad thing to say about him."

"Is that how far your research has gone already?" Diana asked. "If Mr Hoover is such a wonderful man, then introduce him to one of your daughters. He will be a good enough husband for one of them, too. I am not interested."

Diana was getting tired of arguing with her aunt, but no amount of fighting and tough conversations seemed to change her aunt's behaviour. So, it was clear that there would still be many more arguments in the future.

"Don't be this way, Diana," her aunt said. "He's come all this way to see you. You might as well just have a cup of tea with him."

"No," Diana said. "And you cannot dictate these things for me."

Her aunt pursed her lips and tried to fight back an angry scowl. "What am I supposed to tell Mr Hoover? Do you have any idea how much convincing it took to get him here? You're not exactly an easy sell."

"You got him here," Diana said. "You can figure it out. I'm going upstairs. Enjoy your dinner with the viscount. I find myself suddenly in no mood to be social."

"You have to have dinner," her aunt argued. "Don't you see that I only have your best interest at heart?"

"I'm sure I'll survive," Diana responded. "And might I remind you that you are not my mother. My best interests have nothing to do with you."

Diana did not give her aunt the chance to respond to that. She turned on her heels and headed up the stairs and towards her room. She would not go back into the parlour to get her book.

And, she did not go downstairs to join them for dinner with the viscount. What politeness she still had stored within her that day had been tapped out by her aunt, and Diana feared that she had lost all sense of humour and would not be able to enjoy the conversation.

Besides, if she didn't join them, both Jane and Colin would get the right idea, and Diana could at least spend her evening in peace.

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