Page 4 of The Earl and the Incomparable

CHAPTERTWO

Awareness prickledalong Rangeley’s neck as the small party set out.

Lord Farthington had joined him and Tillie, along with his friend, Lord Smith. The two men walked just ahead, their heads bent in conversation. Lady Juliet came too, she and Tillie talking about various genus of animals with such rapid excited tones, he could hardly understand a word.

Behind them, Millie, as her sister had called her, walked alone.

He found himself falling back. One, he could barely keep up with the other two ladies’ conversation, it was so fast and technical, but also…he was curious.

What was Lady Millicent like?

He looked back as he slowed his step and catching her, every muscle in his body clenched all over again.

All around them the sweet scent of roses filled the air, the bright blooms a beautiful sight. But they were nothing compared to the woman before him.

Perhaps walking with Millie had been a bad idea.

He was no longer the man who did what felt good in the moment, even if he had been curious about the woman.

He did what was right. What benefitted the people who depended on him and not just himself.

So why was he talking with Millie? Or trying to. “Hello,” he said with another smile. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

She gave a stiff nod. “And you.” Her chin tucked into her chest, her gaze casting toward the ground.

Well, this was going exceptionally well. He rolled his head, already knowing he’d made a mistake. “Your family’s gardens are fine indeed.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “It’s been a good summer for them.”

“It has,” he answered, relieved that this sister did not break into an explanation of how sun and rain were needed for plants. Not that he didn’t appreciate the knowledge. As a farmer it was handy, but he’d had his fill of more technical conversation already. “My crops are doing marvelously this year, which is a welcome boon.”

“Crops?” she asked with a polite smile, but her posture was stiff, her gaze still trained toward the ground. Did she dislike him already? He felt a mixture of gratitude and regret. It would be better if she did not care for him, despite the fact that he wished her to.

But then a new thought occurred to him. Did she dislike him because of something Tillie had said? Millie had only just met him. What other explanation was there? “Yes. We grow them year-round in a four-crop rotation. Your sister actually had some excellent insight into beetle extermination that was most helpful and saved my summer crop.” It had taken an immense amount of work to remove the tiny pests but they’d managed it.

Millie let out a small sigh. “Tillie is always good that way. She helps everyone with her knowledge and insight.”

She was helpful and that was a commendable quality. But right now, he could hardly think of the older Crosby sister. “Tillie and Millie? Does it get confusing?”

That garnered a more genuine smile from Millie, a sweet upturn of her lips as she gently nipped at her bottom lip with her teeth, still looking at the ground. “Well fortunately, when our mother is angry, which is often, she uses our given names.”

He laughed too and he noted that for the first time, Tillie turned around, giving him a long stare before she returned to her conversation with Lady Juliet.

“I see.” He’d met the dowager marchioness at the last house party and he’d noted the woman’s strong nature. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask more about her but he held his question back. He ought to use this conversation with Millie to learn more about Tillie. At least then, he could justify the action of speaking with the younger sister. “I can’t picture Tillie ever being in trouble. She’s always so…”

“Perfect,” Millie nodded. “I know.”

That had not been the word Parker would have used. She was scientifically accurate in a way that brokered little argument. But he kept quiet as he let Millie continue.

“But I suppose she’s just not right in the way our mother values. She’d prefer that Tillie excelled in dancing rather than animal and plant classification.”

Parker nodded, though he couldn’t say that he understood. His father had had little expectations for his son. He’d been a happy man and he’d wanted Parker to have fun. It was only later that Parker had realized the power of responsibility and how much more fulfilling that had the potential to be. He wished his father had taught him that. “She’s not impressed with Tillie’s abilities?”

Millie shook her head. “She isn’t. Not that Tillie cares. She seems completely immune to my mother’s haranguing. I wish that I could—” But then the Millie stopped, her head dipping even lower. “Enough about that. Tell me more about yourself. You’re building up your farming industry?”

He nodded, wondering what she wished for herself. But their first meeting was hardly the time to pry. “Indeed. My lands had fallen into disuse and I’m trying to make them profitable again. We’ve managed to become revenue-stable but I’m hoping—” It was his turn to stop. This was not how a man impressed a woman and gleaned information out of her.

He’d realized he could justify talking with Millie if he was gaining valuable information about Tillie. And to a certain extent that meant that Millie would have to trust him too. But that didn’t mean he need bore her with his farming practices. “You must promise to tell me to stop the next time I start rambling on.”

---