Page 28 of A Brilliant Match
“—desperately in need of funds, thus the rush to marry into wealth. How soon after declaring my undying love do you suppose I can ask her for the details of her man of business, so we might come to an agreement?” Miles spoke with heavy irony, already despising himself.
“You have always had an effortless charm.” Rock slapped a heavy hand on Miles’s shoulder causing him to wince. “I have the greatest faith in you.”
“Hm.” Miles needed time to reflect on how to proceed. He was hopeful of his suit, even though she had not given him vast encouragement. But she was not unaffected by him, of that he was sure. And he knew women.
He quite thought he would do it. Hemustdo it. What had he to lose after all?
“So…White’s?” Miles slipped his arm through Rock’s and directed their steps the short distance that remained to their destination.
* * *
Having decidedto press his suit without delay, it was left only to decide how to go about it. Miles had not caught a glimpse of Dorothea in the three days that were needed to gather his courage to take the monumental step. It was not marriage he was afraid of. It was the potential look of disapproval—which Dorothea would have every right to show him when he proposed after promising her he was not on the hunt for a wealthy wife. It was the rejection that he was half expecting that almost caused him to abandon the idea were he not so desperate.
His first attempt to find her at her home failed, for the women of the house had all gone out, he was told.
Thwarted, Miles set a hand on the iron gate of Grosvenor Square and watched the traffic as horses and carriages rattled by on the cobblestones. He had come on foot and was tired but did not relish the idea of flagging a hackney. He began to walk to Bond Street before it occurred to him that he had neglected Lady Berkley, to whom he’d promised a morning call. She was one of the few remaining friends from Society his mother had retained. Not only that, but he owed his connection with Dorothea to her. The Berkley residence was not far from Dorothea’s, and he decided to walk there.
Upon sending in his card, he was admitted into the drawing room. At first glance, he thought he must bede trop, for there did not appear to be a single seat unoccupied. Lady Berkley was not one to turn anyone away, nor did she make people wait in the entrance until some of the guests had left as some did.
Then, a swift glance around the room revealed that Dorothea washere, along with her mother and sister. He nodded his head in her direction and waited to receive her acknowledgment. A brief smile flashed on her face before it disappeared and she averted her eyes. He took that as a good sign. It was not often he won a smile from her, especially with a public acknowledgment.
His first step was to greet Lady Berkley and her goddaughter, Miss Kensington, and he presented himself as soon as there was a clearing in front of them.
“Miles, I had thought you’d forgotten about me,” Lady Berkley said.
“Never,” he responded, smiling at the kind woman. Her welcome soothed his nerves, and her answering smile, his heart. It was never his intention to be false, even when he was teasing, coaxing, or gracing the old and young with a flirtatious smile. He liked when things were pleasant around him, and he liked to contribute his part to making his surroundings agreeable. Surely this could only be a point in his favor for Dorothea.
“I am sure you will find someone here you wish to converse with.” Adopting an unstudied air, Lady Berkley added, “Lady Dorothea is here, with her mother and sister.”
“Indeed? I shall have to greet them.” Miles then turned to her goddaughter. “How do you do, Miss Kensington?”
“I am very well, I thank you.” She smiled at him, but she, too, glanced at Dorothea as if she wished to release him. Uncertain, and fearful of making a gaffe, he stayed for a moment longer, but she did not attempt to hold him in conversation, so he turned.
Dorothea had just finished a conversation with one of the gentlemen, who was taking his leave. He knew she was aware of him by the way she studiously did not look at him. He went first to greet her mother.
“Lady Poole, your servant.” He bowed before her, and the older woman murmured something in reply. She seemed rather forgettable for a woman who was mother to Lady Dorothea. Perhaps there was some hidden depth to her, for how was it her daughter could have so much character and she so little?
“Lady Sophia,” he said next with a bow and his most charming smile.
If he could charm the shy sister, he might make inroads into Dorothea’s heart. At least he hoped so. In the few times they had danced or conversed, Lady Sophia’s timidity had not managed to bore him in the same way it did with other women. He rather thought it was because she was as eager to talk about her family as he was to learn of it. He had gained a much better idea of what sort of man Lord Poole had been from Lady Sophia’s artless conversation, which helped him to understand Dorothea. They had reached a sort of understanding that way—almost a friendship.
He gave Lady Sophia a mischievous grin now, as Dorothea continued to studiously avoid him. “How is your rapscallion brother…er—I beg your pardon—the earl?”
He accompanied this with a look of feigned regret and it caused her to laugh. The sound of Lady Sophia’s laughter brought her sister’s head around in surprise. Miles did not waste the opportunity.
“Ah, Lady Dorothea. I am gratified to find you here. I had stopped by your house earlier, but your butler said you had gone out. It is the veriest chance that I have run into you at Lady Berkley’s house.”
“The veriest,” she murmured. She bit her lip and looked down, and he was at pains to understand what she was thinking. How could he propose to her if he did not know whether she liked him even a little bit?
“However,” she continued, “I beg you will excuse us as I believe my mother expressed a desire to return home.” A startled glance from Lady Poole made him question this and he lifted a brow, which caused Dorothea to avert her gaze.
Why was she so hot and cold with him? One minute she smiled and the next she was running in the opposite direction. It was exceedingly frustrating. For one, he was quite sure she would be falling at his feet if he’d had a title and fortune. For another, he longed to win her for her own sake and nothing else. He detested that his need for money infiltrated any part of his suit.
“Well, I shall accompany you if you do not mind it,” he said, shoving these unpleasant thoughts down. He had come on a mission, and he intended to fulfill it. “Have you come on foot?”
“We have,” Lady Sophia said. “It would be nice to have your escort, wouldn’t it, Mama?”
That surprising young lady stood, and he sent her a grateful smile, after which he directed his gaze to Lady Dorothea. She seemed resigned, which did not bode well for what he wished to say to her.
