Page 37 of The Earl and the Incomparable

“I see,” she finally heard her brother say, his words and tone giving nothing away.

Millie stepped into the room without waiting to be invited, her chest heaving from the effort of running.

Parker stood, reaching for her hand as she entered. “What’s wrong?”

What was wrong? Her sister Tillie told her that she read people well, but she’d gotten nearly everything wrong with him from the start.

“Nothing is wrong now that we’ve confirmed you’re still in one piece,” Tillie said, entering too.

“Ben?” Millie asked, looking at her brother.

But his gave his head a little shake. “I’m the last person in this room who needs to speak.”

Parker squeezed her hand. “Millie. I need you to know that I was not just proposing to Tillie despite what your mother thinks.”

Tillie nodded her agreement. “He wasn’t as I’ve already told you.”

Parker slipped his fingers into hers. “I was explaining to your sister that I thought genuine feelings might be developing between us.”

She stood straighter. She’d confessed the same to Tillie, but to hear him say it… “You think so?”

“I do,” he softly replied. “I know all the ways in which I am less than ideal.”

“I don’t…”

“My past as a rake, my lack of funds…”

Her heart gave a twist as she realized her own accusation now stood between them as much as Tillie or Ben. “I’m sorry about what I said at the inn. I was angry. I thought you were courting my sister.”

“Don’t apologize. I was hiding the truth from you; you had every right to be angry.”

Still. Her words echoed through her thoughts. It was her sister who’d attempted deceit, not Parker, and she’d accused him of horrible things. “How fitting that when I finally decide to speak my mind, I got it all wrong.”

Parker, Ben, and Tillie laughed at that. But then Tillie leaned forward. “You ought to try asserting yourself again, but this time with someone you know isn’t listening to you. Someone who has forgotten you have need to find your own future.”

Millie grimaced, her stomach twisting once again. “You mean…”

“Mother,” Tillie said with a meaningful stare.

Millie understood exactly what Tillie meant as her chin sank to her chest. She needed to tell her mother she didn’t wish for all new clothes or an opportunity to charm a duke. She didn’t wish to be a debutante and certainly not an incomparable.

She looked back at Parker. She wished to be a countess.

Her own desires settled over her like a shawl. Fast rides in the country and quiet nights by the fire. Hard work, and meaning, and…

“I can speak to her.” Ben leaned out over his desk. “She can’t dismiss me.”

Had Parker converted her brother to their side? Did they have a side? Her chin snapped up as her gaze met his. Even after everything, he was still fighting for her. Something warm welled in her chest.

“No.” She’d talk to her mother. It was the only way.

Millie wanted to marry Parker. Now she just had to be brave enough to take that future for herself.

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