Arabella’s eyes darted towards the doorway of the dining room. “This is not the time to be discussing such things.”
“Do you not wish to be friends with me?”
She sighed. “It is not that simple, Colin.”
“It can be.”
Arabella met his gaze. “You can’t just try to walk back into my life after five years,” she said. “It is terribly unfair of you.”
Colin dropped his arm but remained close. “I miss the easy friendship that we once had between us.”
“That friendship vanished the moment you broke our engagement,” she said sardonically.
“Then I’ll work to restore it.”
“I should warn you, then, that it would be a waste of your time.”
A boyish smile came to his lips, and it threatened to disarm her resolve. “It is my time to waste.”
She cocked her head. “Have you always been this infuriating, or is it a recent development?”
Colin chuckled. “I’m afraid you bring it out of me.”
“I do no such thing.”
He opened his mouth to respond when her grandmother interrupted them. “Will you two be joining us for dinner?” she asked, an amused quirk on her lips.
Colin bowed slightly and gestured towards the door. “After you, my lady.”
Chapter Six
Colin sat back and listened to the conversation around him at the dinner table. Frankly, he wasn’t in the mood to engage in polite conversation. He was much more interested in finding a way to woo Arabella, but she seemed impervious to his charms. That hadn’t always been the case. A smile came to his lips as he thought about how Arabella used to blush around him whenever she was nervous.
His mother’s question to Arabella caught his attention. “Did you have a pleasant Season?” she asked.
“It was eventful,” Arabella replied vaguely. He noticed that her voice seemed devoid of emotion.
“I was saddened to miss it, but I’m afraid I haven’t been in a jovial mood since Paul died,” his mother admitted.
“That is understandable,” Lady Langdon said. “You must allow yourself a proper amount of time to grieve.”
His mother gave Lady Langdon an appreciative smile before asking, “Is there ever enough time to truly grieve a child?”
A silence descended over the table before John spoke up. “I, for one, had an enjoyable Season,” he declared.
“I am pleased to hear that,” their mother responded.
John reached for his glass. “I was fortunate enough to see Arabella on multiple occasions when we were in Town.”
“How joyous,” Lady Langdon said.
Arabella smiled. “Besides saving me from dancing with Lord Macon, John was a welcome reprieve from the humdrum of the social gatherings.” She smiled. “He is also quite the proficient dancer.”
John chuckled. “You flatter me, but we both know that isn’t true.”
Colin found himself growing increasingly agitated by his brother’s interaction with Arabella. It didn’t sit well with him that John had danced with her, especially more than once.
“It is true,” Arabella pressed. “There are many gentlemen who stepped on my toes, and you weren’t one of them.”
