She seemed to consider his response before saying, “Normally, I would agree. However, I just had the most wonderful change of fortune, though it was at a great cost to others. I do not know how I should feel about that.”
“I’m afraid I can’t answer how you should feel.”
“No, you are right,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I do apologize for my brazenness.”
If Fredrick was a smart man, he would just let the conversation end there, but he heard the sincerity in her voice. She was greatly troubled by something, and he couldn’t just ignore that. Could he? No. A gentleman always helps a woman in distress. His mother had engraved that into his very soul.
He shifted towards her on the bench. “Perhaps I could help with your dilemma, assuming you tell me more of the predicament that you find yourself in.”
“I do not wish to trouble you, sir.”
Sir? This young woman truly didn’t know who he was. Which came as a great relief to him. Would she have spoken so freely if she knew he was an earl? He doubted it. Women were farmore interested in flirting with him than speaking to him. It was obnoxious, considering he had no desire for a wife.
“I have the time,” he encouraged. “In fact, I have nowhere pressing that I need to be at the moment.”
Indecision flickered on the young woman’s face, leaving him uncertain about what she would decide. Since they weren’t introduced, this conversation was entirely inappropriate, but he didn’t think the young woman’s intention was to trap him.
She turned to face him and asked, “What would you do if you were just given two hundred thousand pounds?”
He lifted his brow. “That is a large sum of money.”
“It is,” she replied.
“Dare I ask if this happened to you?”
She pursed her lips before saying, “I would rather not say.”
Fredrick had always prided himself on knowing when someone was lying, and this young woman was not good at hiding her emotions. She was an heiress. An heiress that was far too naive that she would confess such a thing to a stranger.
This young woman didn’t know who she was talking to. What if his intentions hadn’t been honorable? He could have easily absconded with her and taken her to Gretna Green, forcing her into an unwanted marriage. He felt it was his duty to tell her that she was unwise in being too forthright.
As he opened his mouth to chide her, she spoke first. “I don’t know what to do,” she murmured, her eyes holding him transfixed. “Will you help me?”
For some inexplicable reason, an intense sense of protectiveness surged within him concerning this young woman. Her innocence and self-doubt stirred his determination. He couldn’t let her fend for herself in high Society. She would be a target for every rake and fortune hunter, if she wasn’t already.
“Before we start this conversation, it might be best if I introduce myself to you,” Fredrick said. “My name is FredrickWestlake.” He intentionally left out his title to ensure she was more at ease with him.
She bit her lower lip. “I do not think it is wise if I reveal my name, at least, not yet.”
“You would prefer anonymity then?”
“I would,” she replied. “Is that all right?”
Fredrick smiled. “I have no objections.” He was fairly confident he would be able to deduce her name by the end of this conversation. There weren’t too many families that had such a vast fortune in London.
She fidgeted with the reticule in her lap. “Before today, I was a teacher at a boarding school and now I don’t know who I am.”
“You are an heiress.”
Her eyes grew wide, as if it were inconceivable that he saw through her. “I didn’t say that,” she said.
“You didn’t have to,” he responded. “Please proceed. I find myself intrigued, and that rarely happens.”
With a brief glance at her maid, the young woman said, “I don’t know why I am telling you all of this. You are a stranger to me.”
“I know you have no reason to trust me, but I can assure you that I will not betray your confidences.”
A line on her brow appeared as she studied him. “I believe you,” she said after a long moment.
