Page 8 of The Rules of Courtship
“Ruth understands,” Papa said, leaning back in his seat and pulling out his pipe.
Ruth was growing weary of the conversation. She stood. Sometimes she didn’t want to be Understanding Ruth. Sometimes she wished Papa would ask what she wanted instead of shoving her toward prospective husbands at every turn. “I think I’ll retire early.”
She kissed them each on the cheek before leaving the room. As she walked away, she heard her father’s voice quietly follow her into the corridor. “You worried for nothing, Helena. She is perfectly amenable to the idea.”
“Things might not turn out the way you hope,” Lady Helena said ominously. “You cannot force these things.”
Ruth readied for bed with the distinct feeling that she had not been provided with the entire truth of the situation.
At the endof the sermon on Sunday, Ruth looked through the gathered congregation until her gaze landed on her dearest friend, Eliza Ridley—once Eliza Rose, before she’d married her husband Jacob. She was a cousin of Oliver and Samuel’s. Ruth found her standing near the back of the chapel beside her mountainous husband. Her eyes caught Eliza’s, and they moved in unison.
By the time they reached each other, they had followed the crowd outside onto the lawn, the midday sun shining warmly on them. Eliza waddled, her hand resting over her rounded belly.She glowed, her smile radiant. “You are going to a house party next week, I hear.”
Gossip made quick work in Harewood. “Have you been talking to Oliver?”
Eliza’s brows lifted. “Yes.”
“Did he mention Samuel?” Ruth asked.
“Only that he was invited but does not plan to attend.”
Ruth clutched her friend’s sleeve. “That is a relief.”
Eliza’s smile flattened, her lips pressing together. “You know, you could tell Samuel exactly how you feel. He would understand.”
“I have, Lizzie. Many times.”
Eliza’s mouth remained flat. “Using your rules is nothing more than putting him off. ‘You will not dance with a blond man’? That is obvious, but it is not straightforward honesty.”
Eliza was calling her a coward. It stung, but Ruth had no rebuttal. It was the truth.
“We need not speak of that anymore.” Eliza inhaled, rubbing the top of her belly. “This babe knows precisely where to kick to make me lose my breath.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired. But I’ve been overtaken with the strongest urge to embroider everything with blue blossoms, so I hope this child will like flowers.”
“I am certain the baby will not care what is embroidered on her hem. Or his hem.”
“That’s true.” Eliza grinned, then her smile faded. “You know, if we convince him to attend the house party, it could give you an opportunity to prove that youwon’tmake a good match.”
“Convince whom, Eliza?”
“Samuel. If you did away with your rules for the house party, you could show him how a match between you would not be ideal. Let him decide for himself you wouldn’t suit.”
Do away with her rules? “Would that not provide him with false hope?”
Eliza was quiet. “Maybe. Or it will forceyouto acknowledge that Samuel is a reasonable man and you have unjustly discounted him too early.”
A rebuttal was fresh on Ruth’s lips, but she stopped herself from answering. Could Eliza be correct? Perhaps, if given the opportunity, Samuel would see for himself that they would not make a good match. He would cease trying to court her, and she wouldn’t need to have so many blasted rules to keep him at a distance.
But those rules also protected her. “Doing away with my rules is not the best way to go about this.”
“Ruth—”
“Truly. I need them. But…”
Her mind whirled with possibilities. Ruth didn’t know how to drive him away while keeping him as a friend, but if he found a wife of his own—if she helped him to find a good match—then he would never try to court her again. Both of Lord Rocklin’s daughters were young and pretty, and surely they would not be the only young women in attendance.
