Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

“ M y friend Isaac has returned from his Grand Tour,” Matthew said over breakfast the following day.

Edwina looked up. “Who is Isaac? I’ve never heard of him.”

“The Viscount Kentrow to you,” Matthew said. “And you haven’t heard of him because he has been on his Grand Tour for the past several years. He left London the year of your debut.”

“I wish I could do something like that,” Edwina observed wistfully.

“If you want to travel,” Matthew pointed out, “what you need is a husband who will be willing to take you to the places you’d like to go. A lady certainly can’t travel on her own.”

“It was only a wish,” Edwina said.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Matthew informed her. “See what you think of Lord Kentrow today.”

“Wait—have you invited him here to try to make a match?”

“I’ve invited him because he is my friend, and I haven’t seen him in a long time,” Matthew said. “But I wouldn’t be at all opposed to the idea of a match since you mention it.”

“Since I mention it? Don’t insult my intelligence, Matthew. I’m sure that’s what you were thinking about the whole time.”

“And I’m sure you’ll reject him just as you do every gentleman who comes to call. But I’m asking you to give this one a chance before you write him off. I’m asking you to consider someone who I believe would have been a true good match for you if he had been around when you made your debut. If he hadn’t been on his Grand Tour, I would have tried to arrange this long ago.”

“Wait a moment,” Edwina’s father interjected. “What about the Duke of Harbeck?”

“What about him?” Matthew asked.

“He’s courting Edwina. You can’t try to arrange for her to be with someone else while she’s being courted. It’s entirely inappropriate.”

“Father, the Duke is not courting me,” Edwina objected. “We’re going on five dates because he won the right to do so at an auction. It’s nothing more than that. When the dates are over, the Duke and I will go our separate ways.”

“That’s right,” Matthew agreed. “So, there’s no reason Edwina shouldn’t get to know Isaac.”

Edwina scowled at her brother. “You know that isn’t what I meant,” she said. “I just don’t want father getting his hopes up that I might marry a Duke, that’s all. It’s not going to happen.”

“Well, I say that the fact that you’re not going to marry him means you’re free to spend afternoons with other gentlemen. Go and prepare for Lord Kentrow’s arrival please.”

Edwina knew that she would get nowhere arguing with her brother, much as she wanted to go on trying to make her case. She left the table and went upstairs to change into something a bit nicer.

But she felt an unpleasant twist of guilt, almost as if she was betraying the Duke.

There was no reason to feel that way, she knew. There were no promises between the Duke and herself. But he had told her that he wouldn’t be involved with any other ladies until their five dates were at an end. She had accused him many times of being a flirt, and now, she was the one pursuing a day with another gentleman.

No, that isn’t right. I’m not pursuing anything. I’m being forced into this against my will. This isn’t a betrayal because I have no choice in the matter.

At least, it wasn’t a betrayal as long as she didn’t allow herself to become emotionally entangled with Lord Kentrow. And she wouldn’t. On that score, at least, she knew she was safe because she was still as committed as ever to the knowledge that she didn’t wish to marry. Her brother could make as many arrangements for her as he liked, but she would continue to reject them one by one.

Feeling better, she returned downstairs.

There was no one in the foyer, but she heard voices in the sitting room and went in to see what was going on.

A gentleman she didn’t know was sitting there, but he rose to his feet when he saw her. He was pleasant enough to look at with ginger hair and faint freckles, and he smiled at the sight of her. “Lady Edwina,” he said, “it’s such a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last. We’ve never been introduced, but your brother has wonderful things to say about you.”

Edwina shot a look at Matthew. This came as no surprise. No doubt he had had this moment in his mind for a very long time. There must have been a part of him that had felt relief at the fact that she had never married. She was sure Matthew did want to see her married, of course, but now, it seemed clear to her that he wanted to see her married to Lord Kentrow. Perhaps this had always been his idea of a great match.

Still, she would be polite. She was experienced enough at driving gentlemen away that she could do it without being unkind to them. The idea of rudeness—especially when it hadn’t been provoked and wasn’t deserved—had never appealed to Edwina. In fact, there were times when she rather resented the fact that it felt necessary to be standoffish in order to convince gentlemen that she wasn’t interested in them.

“It’s lovely to meet you too,” she told Lord Kentrow. “I’m told you are a great friend of my brother’s.”

“That’s right,” Lord Kentrow agreed. “It’s rather a surprise to me that you and I haven’t met before now as a matter of fact, but I’m grateful that we have the opportunity to meet one another now. I wondered if perhaps your brother might be overstating your beauty, but I see now that he wasn’t.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Edwina said.

“Not kind, merely a statement of fact. I’m grateful to be able to spend time getting to know you today. Your brother suggested that you might like to show me around the garden.”

“I think Matthew ought to come with us. We shouldn’t go without a chaperone.”

“Nonsense,” Matthew spoke up. “Molly will go with you.” He beckoned to one of the maids standing near the door, and she approached. “My sister has a keen interest in travel,” he informed Lord Kentrow. “I’m sure she would like to hear all about your journey.”

“Very well,” Edwina agreed. “Come, Lord Kentrow, I’ll show you the garden.”

Lord Kentrow beamed and followed her out.

Edwina felt disheartened as they stepped out the door. She could tell by the way Lord Kentrow was looking at her that he felt something for her, and she wasn’t pleased about it. She had dealt with enough gentlemen in her life who had responded to her that way, and she didn’t want to have to worry about it with him.

At least, he was being respectful. He walked a proper distance from her and didn’t leer at her or try to get too close. “I really am glad to have the opportunity to get to know you,” he said, “but you don’t have to listen to stories about my travels. I’m sure your brother was only trying to make it easy for us to find something to talk about, but if that would bore you, I don’t want you to have to listen to something you have no interest in.”

“My brother was right, actually,” Edwina replied. “He knows that I have an interest in travel, and I’m sure he thought I would genuinely like to hear about your journey—which happens to be true. Tell me, where did you go?”

“Well, I’ve just returned from Rome,” Lord Kentrow said. He looked at her hopefully, almost as if he couldn’t believe they had struck so easily upon something they could talk about.

“I’ve always dreamed of seeing Rome,” Edwina mused wistfully. “Was it beautiful?”

“It was the most wonderful place I saw the whole time I was away,” Lord Kentrow confessed. “I saw Paris and Barcelona and Athens, but Rome was uniquely wonderful. I could happily have stayed there for the rest of my life.”

“Did you consider doing that?”

“I daydreamed about it,” he laughed, “but I could never have truly done it. I had to come home. I have responsibilities to see to. It’s time for me to marry, and I need to make sure I handle that. I can’t allow myself to spend the rest of my life doing the things I’d like to do with no thought to my duty.”

It was odd. He was very like the Duke. Both gentlemen seemed to have a high regard for the idea of doing their duty. But unlike the Duke, Lord Kentrow had made the decision to put an end to his fun and turn his attention to the future.

“Do you know who you’re going to marry?” she asked him.

He gave her a searching look. “I do have an idea in mind.”

Edwina felt instant regret. She probably shouldn’t have asked him that question. She should have pretended ignorance about the fact that he might be here looking for a specific person to marry. Now, she had opened the door for a conversation on the subject, and while she did want to be polite to him, she had no desire for any sort of discussion on the topic of whether she would be an ideal wife.

She cleared her throat as the Duke’s words returned to her. “I’ve heard it said by some that finding the perfect wife is a very difficult task indeed. That it can take years.”

“I suppose so, if a gentleman is holding out for perfection.” He sounded a bit bemused. “Personally, I don’t believe perfection is something that exists. I would never wait to find someone perfect to marry.”

“I see.” Edwina wondered why that bothered her so much. She had criticized the Duke when he had spoken about looking for a perfect duchess—but over time, of course, she had come to realize that she was just the same. She also didn’t wish to marry until she found someone perfect. The only difference in her case was that she didn’t believe such a man existed.

She and Lord Kentrow had nothing in common, she realized. He was a perfectly kind gentleman, and she did like him and was enjoying their time together. But she could never marry someone who saw life so very differently from the way she did. She couldn’t marry someone who thought marriage was so important that finding the right person didn’t really matter. It went against everything she believed in, and she couldn’t allow herself even to consider such a thing.

It was no surprise to find herself turning away from yet another suitor, but it was a relief. It meant she wouldn’t have to worry about what would happen when the Duke found out about this little meeting. She would be able to tell him the truth—that she had been pressured into it but that she hadn’t wanted it and didn’t care for Lord Kentrow.

When did I start caring about what the Duke thinks of me—that’s the real question here.

She didn’t know the answer, and it plagued her for the rest of their walk. She found herself hard-pressed to focus on what Lord Kentrow was saying, even though she was interested in the tales of his travels that he had to share, and by the time they made it back to the house, she knew that she wouldn’t have been able to recount a single thing he had said.