Without sparing him a glance, she asked, “Are you charming? I’m afraid that I haven’t noticed.”
“Your words have hurt me deeply, my lady,” he joked.
“I am confident that you will overcome it.”
Bennett saw the manor was looming ahead and he didn’t want to wait any longer to say what needed to be said. He reached for her arm and gently turned her towards him. “Before we go inside, I was hoping to say a few things.”
Delphine pointed towards a window in the manor and said, “I should warn you that Elodie is spying on us.”
Following her gaze, he saw Elodie right before she ducked down, but he could still see the top of her head. “That doesn’t surprise me,” he responded. “But it is most fortunate that she is terrible at eavesdropping. She never can quite help herself from getting caught.”
“Does Melody ever eavesdrop?”
“Not that I am aware of, but if she does, she is clearly very good at it.” Bennett took Delphine’s arm and gently led her out of Elodie’s sight. “There. Now we can speak freely.”
Delphine bit her lower lip before asking, “What is it that you wish to speak to me about?”
Bennett smiled, hoping to set her at ease. “I have greatly enjoyed our time together.”
“As have I.”
Good. This was going well, he thought. Now he just needed to confess he held affection for her and hoped she felt the same.
But as Bennett went to open his mouth, a footman with a solemn look on his face approached them at a clipped pace. “Lady Dunrobin,” he shouted, his voice sounding urgent.
Delphine turned towards the footman. “Yes?”
The footman came to a stop in front of them as he attempted to catch his breath. “Your husband has just arrived.”
Rearing back, Delphine asked, “My husband?”
In a resolute voice, the footman responded, “Yes, and he is waiting for you in the drawing room.”
Delphine felt her world was spinning around her as she tried to process what the footman had just told her. Husband? She was quite certain that she did not have one of those. So who was in the drawing room? And why was he claiming to be her husband?
None of this made sense.
Bennett’s voice came from next to her but it seemed so far away. “Delphie, are you all right?”
She met his gaze and admitted, “I am not. I don’t know what is going on but I don’t have a husband.”
“Then who is in the drawing room?”
Her eyes darted towards the manor. “I have no idea.” And she meant it. A feeling of trepidation washed over her. “No gentleman was courting me. I am most certain of that.”
“Did you have any suitors?”
“There were many gentlemen that tried to press their suit, but I was not interested in any of them,” Delphine said.
“Surely there was someone,” he pressed.
Delphine shook her head. “No, there wasn’t. I have no desire to marry at this point in my life and I told everyone that.”
“Perhaps you don’t recall getting married.”
She let out a disbelieving huff. “That is something one would certainly remember.”
“But all your memories have yet to return,” he remarked. “What is the last thing that you remember before you woke up here?”
