Gloria could not imagine a worse proposal.If some suitor threatened to upend her from everything familiar, she would slam the door in his face.
She rather suspected Désirée le Duc would not have the same reaction.
“Then let’s get started.”Gloria motioned toward the horses and tried not to feel as though she was missing out.“With luck, the first meeting will be the charm.”
Désirée would be a very lucky woman.Christopher Pringle was wealthy, well-connected, and handsome.More than that, he didn’t seek a wife, but a love match.He wanted a marriage that would last forever.What woman could resist?
“Do you travel often?”he asked.
“Never,” she answered without hesitation.
“Never?”he repeated in horror.“You just stay…here?”
“I like Christmas,” she said tightly.“I know what to expect in every corner, and every season.”
He cast a doubtful look at the piles of snow on both sides of the road.“Is there more than one season?”
“No,” she answered cheerfully.“It brings me comfort when there are no surprises.”
“Surprises are good,” he insisted.“Some would say surprises are the entire point of travel.”
“I would never say such a thing,” she assured him.
His brow furrowed.“There’s so much world out there.I cannot imagine voluntarily limiting myself to a minuscule part.”
Gloria lifted her chin.They could not be more incompatible.
She could not care if she failed to live up to his standards, or if he judged her for choosing to stay close to home.She had no wish to go anywhere else, and even less inclination to risk her heart with someone who would.
“Have you never been on a boat?”he asked.
Her chest seized at the thought.“Boats can sink.”
He arched a brow.“How often does that happen?”
She tried to breathe as her pulse pounded in her ears.“More often than you think.”
He frowned.“But if you’ve never—”
Madge cleared her throat.
Gloria started.There was only one road, and they’d almost missed their turn.
“Here.”She pointed to the right.
His face brightened.“The le Duc residence?”
Her stomach sank.“You know it?”
“I stopped by on my way in.”He patted the squab.“This is where I rented my chariot.I didn’t realize the le Duc siblings had a sister.”
Gloria stared at the chariot.
Of course he hadn’t driven up from London in such a small conveyance.For a month-long holiday hundreds of miles away, he would have needed a stately coach, a driver, a valet, trunks of clothing.
He spun to face her.“Can we tour their smithy?”
“No, we cannot tour the smithy,” she shushed him.“We are not here to do man things, we’re here to meet women.”
