“I do not believe that to be true,” Henrietta interrupted.
He held up his hand. “Allow me to finish, if you don’t mind,” he said.
Henrietta bobbed her head, remaining silent.
“I am constantly surrounded by people, but I have great difficulty trusting women,” he shared. “At least, until you came along.”
“Why is that?”
He laughed nervously. “I fancied myself in love once,” he said. “Last Season, I fell hard for a particular young woman.”
“May I ask what happened?”
“Her heart had already been claimed by another, and she turned down my offer of courtship.”
“I am sorry to hear that.”
“I’m not,” Lord Charles replied. “She is happily married to the man that she was supposed to marry.”
“That makes it no less hard.”
He gave her a weak smile. “No, it does not,” he replied. “I was devastated by her rejection, and I locked away my heart. I thought it was the only way to keep it safe.”
“What has changed?”
“I suppose, in a way, it has been you that has brought forth change,” he replied.
“Me?”
His eyes didn’t waver from hers. “You brought fun and laughter back into my life.”
“I am happy to hear that. Life would be excessively dull without fun and laughter.”
“Yes, it would,” he agreed.
“It appears that we are helping one another.”
Lord Charles grew quiet for a moment. “I’m glad that we are friends, Miss Henrietta.”
“Likewise, Lord Charles.”
His eyes left hers as he asked, “Would it be too presumptuous if I called you by your given name?”
“It would not.”
“Then it would only be fair if you called me by mine.”
“I would like that.”
He smiled, causing her heart to take flight. “I am glad that we are in agreement,” he said.
Henrietta quickly averted her gaze from his as she realized that she had already broken her promise. She had started developing feelings for Charles.
10
THE SUN WAS JUST CRESTINGover the hill as Henrietta leaned forward in her saddle and raced her horse through the park. She glanced over her shoulder to see Mr. Drew was not far behind, a determined look on his face.
At the top of the hill, she reined in her horse and declared, “I won!”
