Chapter 6
Dorothy was downright captivating, and she didn’t even seem to realize it.
It was in the way she moved, in part. She was curvy, and her hips switched in a beguiling way as she walked a few paces ahead of Nathaniel.
But it was more than that—it was the way she spoke to him, as if she was unafraid of any consequence.
She was frustrated with him and he knew it, but he couldn’t bring himself to be bothered by that fact.
If it meant she was going to put on that attitude when she addressed him, he hoped he would frustrate her even more.
He glanced up the path and saw that Lady Honora was looking back over her shoulder.
When she caught his eye, she smiled at him and made a point of turning her back as though to ensure that he and Dorothy were given privacy.
Dorothy’s sisters really did seem to believe this was the opening stage of a courtship.
It amused him, and at the same time, he felt a slight pang of guilt.
He hoped it wouldn’t be too difficult for her to explain the truth to them when the time came for her to do so.
He hadn’t intended to make trouble for her.
But it was entertaining to see her so full of consternation.
After a few paces, she turned. “All right,” she said, her voice clipped. “So, you have no idea about who you might want?”
“I haven’t given it a great deal of thought,” he said. “All I know is that I want to marry.”
“Look around, then,” she instructed him. “This park is full of people. There must be someone who appeals to you.”
He looked around. She was right. There were dozens of ladies just within his sight.
Could it be so simple? Perhaps they would locate the right one for him today.
Maybe he would even be able to approach her and make some sort of overture, and then they could begin their courtship.
That would probably be for the best, he decided.
It would allow Dorothy to move on from all this, and to set her sisters straight about what had really been going on between the two of them.
“What about that one?” he suggested, inclining his head toward a young lady standing near the pond. She had a fetching smile, even if there wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about her appearance as a whole. Her eyes were kind. She would probably be a good mother, he thought.
“That’s Lady Elizabeth Daventry,” Dorothy said. “Her father is the Earl of Daventry.”
“Well, that’s a respectable enough match for me,” Nathaniel said. “The daughter of an earl. Perhaps I should strike up a conversation with her.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t think so,” Dorothy said.
“She’s in the market for a wealthy husband.
” Color came into her cheeks. “I mean…that’s not to say anything about the state of your finances, of course.
I wouldn’t know anything about that. I only meant that I wouldn’t think you’d want a wife who was only after money.
Especially as you’re looking for…” She lowered her voice slightly, as if conveying a secret.
“For someone to serve as a mother,” she said.
“I’d think you would want someone a bit more selfless in that role. ”
He looked at her. It was an astute observation, but he was doubly surprised and impressed that she had thought to keep her voice low when discussing the child.
He couldn’t recall having told her that was a secret.
He wasn’t sure whether it was a secret or not.
Eventually people would know, that much was certain.
But he hadn’t made the decision to tell anyone about it—apart from his two closest friends, that was.
Jonathan and Gabriel knew about Colin. Nobody else did.
He knew they hadn’t even mentioned the boy to their wives.
Somehow, Dorothy had guessed by pure intuition that he would want to keep the matter private.
“All right,” he said. “Not Lady Elizabeth, then. What about the one walking with her, with the raven hair? She’s quite lovely.”
Dorothy pressed her lips together. “That’s Lady Mary,” she said. “Lady Elizabeth’s cousin.”
“Also a fortune hunter?”
“Not her, no, but her parents,” Dorothy said.
“They see it as a competition. Her father is Lord Daventry’s younger brother, and of course he didn’t inherit the family title.
He thinks that if he can marry his daughter to someone of higher rank than whatever gentleman Lady Elizabeth marries, he’ll prove some sort of point to his elder brother or achieve some sort of revenge.
From what I can understand, Lady Elizabeth also cares about this silly contest, but Lady Mary doesn’t.
Even so, it isn’t the sort of thing I imagine you’d want to marry into. ”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Nathaniel agreed. “You’re quite right—I’m not looking for someone who wants to marry for wealth or status. I want a wife who’s interested in taking care of Colin.”
The name had slipped out—he hadn’t mentioned it to her before. And by the way she looked at him, Nathaniel could tell that Dorothy had noticed the slip. He didn’t make mention of it, and after a brief pause, she simply nodded and he knew that she wasn’t going to say anything.
Her discretion was amazing. He knew he had no right to expect such a thing.
He had let her in on something very personal, and she was treating it with the utmost respect.
She hadn’t even questioned him, hadn’t tried to discover anything about Colin—his age, where he had come from, how long he had been with Nathaniel.
The two of them walked along in silence for a moment.
Nathaniel couldn’t bring himself to ask about any more ladies.
It would have seemed strange, almost inappropriate to turn the subject back in that direction.
Though neither of them had mentioned it outright, he knew they were both equally aware of what Dorothy had done by allowing Nathaniel to mention Colin’s name without any questions asked.
They were both thinking about it now, even though it wouldn’t be spoken of.
And I can’t ask her to help me, in the wake of that. I can’t ask her for a favor.
His throat felt tight, all of a sudden. How had he ended up in her debt?
He had felt as though he could ask her to do this for him because she had stepped out of line, submitting the list he had created to the scandal sheets and damaging his ability to find a wife for himself.
That didn’t apply any longer if she was being kind to him.
It made him feel as if he couldn’t insist upon favors from her.
Maybe it’s best to just forget this whole thing…
He was about to say as much when she spoke again. “There is a group of ladies on the far side of the pond,” she said, and he was thankful that she had been the one to bring the conversation back to their task. “Why don’t we walk around to that side and see if you see anybody you like over there?”
He nodded. “That might be a good idea,” he agreed. “I don’t think I’m doing myself any good by looking at people who are here together. I don’t want to accidentally choose any more of Lady Elizabeth’s cousins.”
To his surprise, Dorothy laughed. “I’m not sure she has any more cousins,” she said.
“But could you imagine? What if you just went around selecting members of the same family over and over? And what if I wasn’t here to set you right when you did it?
Suppose you walked up to one lady after another, and they were all sisters, and you showed interest in all of them? ”
Nathaniel groaned at the idea. “You can see why I need you,” he said. “Do most people know these things? Who is related to whom?”
“Well, most people would have realized that Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth were related,” Dorothy chuckled. “They look alike!”
“No they don’t!” Nathaniel protested. “Lady Mary has that beautiful dark hair, and Lady Elizabeth’s hair is mouse-brown.”
“They have the same facial features,” Dorothy explained patiently. “And I didn’t realize you were partial to dark hair.”
Nathaniel looked away, suddenly embarrassed.
Dorothy had dark hair herself, a rich chestnut color, and it hadn’t occurred to him to make that connection.
He wondered whether she was thinking in those terms, whether it had occurred to her that his being partial to dark hair might mean he admired her looks.
She is very pretty. And I am fond of her hair. But…there are a lot of ladies with dark hair. It doesn’t mean anything, and I wouldn’t like her to get the wrong idea, especially with her sisters standing over there attaching extra meaning to everything that happens between the two of us.
Fortunately, Dorothy wasn’t looking at him. She was scanning the group of ladies by the water, perhaps looking for someone with dark hair. “There,” she said at last, nodding her head toward the group. “The one under the tree, do you see her? She might be a good fit for you.”
“She’s awfully far away,” Nathaniel said. She did have dark hair, but he could tell from here that she wasn’t quite the type he sought. She was watching the other ladies near her with a scowl on her face. “She looks mighty unhappy, too.”
“Well, I suppose she does,” Dorothy agreed.
“I can’t have someone like that responsible for Colin’s upbringing,” Nathaniel said. “He ought to have a cheerful mother, not someone who looks as though she can’t bear to be standing in the sunshine. I wonder what her problem is, anyway. Do you know?”
“How could I know?”
“I don’t know. You seem to know what’s going on with everyone around here.”
Dorothy sighed. “That’s Lady Caroline,” she said.
“And if I were to hazard I guess, I would say she’s probably frustrated because her younger sister—the fair-haired one there—is considered to be the more desirable of the two.
Lots of gentlemen are waiting eagerly for the day when Lady Caroline will marry so that Lady Victoria will be available, and then they will make their move.
I suppose it all makes Lady Caroline feel rather unwanted.
But since you aren’t planning to marry for love, and since you think she’s pretty enough—you do, don’t you? ”
“Oh, yes, there’s nothing wrong with her appearance,” Nathaniel agreed.
“It’s just how displeased she looks. If she allows things to upset her like that, I’m not convinced she would make a good mother.
And that’s what matters most of all. I need someone I can count on to be a good mother.
It’s more important than what she looks like—more important even than whether I get along with her.
I just need to know that she’ll be suitable for Colin.
If she can do that, I can overlook almost any other flaw. ”
He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
“And that is the heart of the problem,” he went on. “Because how can I possibly know—really know—whether any lady would make a good mother, unless I allow her to meet Colin first? But how could I ever allow anyone to do that, if I wasn’t confident she was the right choice?”