“In what way?”
Harriet grew solemn. “You may not need my son in your life, but he needs you in his, desperately.”
“I don’t believe that to be so.”
“No, it is true,” Harriet replied. “I have witnessed the change that has come over him this past week, and it has only confirmed what I already knew.”
“But this engagement is not real,” Ellie said. “Lord Bideford has no intention of actually marrying me.”
“That is what he says, but I know better,” Harriet pressed.
“How so?”
“My son cares for you.”
Ellie nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me; we are friends.”
“I daresay his feelings run much deeper than that,” Harriet argued. “You seem to forget that I saw him flirting with you in the drawing room earlier.”
She smiled at that thought. “He was just teasing me.”
Harriet lifted her brow. “It almost appeared as if you were about to kiss,” she said.
“I assure you that nothing untoward has occurred,” Ellie defended.
“I wish it would have!” Harriet exclaimed, tossing her hands up in the air. “Then my son would have had no choice but to marry you.”
“I refuse to force him into a marriage with me,” Ellie said firmly. “I would never do that to him.”
Harriet’s eyes were tender as she remarked, “It is evident that you care for my son.”
Ellie lowered her gaze. “I do,” she admitted.
“That is wonderful!”
Ellie brought her gaze back up. “Is it?” she asked. “Because I can’t help but notice that your son doesn’t truly want to marry me.”
“You just need to give him time to know his own heart,” Harriet counseled.
“I do not presume that Lord Bideford could fall in love with me.”
“Why not?”
“Caring for someone is a far cry from falling in love.”
“They go hand in hand,” Harriet pressed.
“Don’t you want to marry for love?” Emma chimed in.
Ellie rose from the settee and walked over to the window. “After my father died, I knew I was destined for a marriage of convenience, and I resigned myself to it.”
“And now?” Emma asked.
“Because of Lord Bideford’s assistance, I have a real chance at marrying for love, assuming the judge rules in our favor.”
“If you inherit twenty thousand pounds,” Harriet said, “I have no doubt that you will have a line of suitors hoping to court you.”
“But would you want any of them, especially since they abandoned you after hearing what the gossips said?” Emma asked.
