He resisted the urge to chuckle, especially since he now had to come up with one thing he found intriguing about Miss Cowen. Was there anything? “She is clearly well-read, and I would like to get her opinion on a myriad of things. Furthermore, she is very entertaining, and I appreciate her straightforward manner, especially her promise of not being a bore.”
“But it is Maisie,” Elinor said. “She is…” Her words trailed off.
“She is what?” he prodded.
Elinor brought a smile to her lips. “She is… wonderful,” she said through clenched teeth. “I hope you two are truly happy with one another.”
“We will be,” Alden responded.
“Good,” Elinor muttered before she turned her attention to the window, retreating to her own thoughts.
Alden had no desire to ever marry Miss Cowen, but he wasn’t about to tell Elinor that. If he didn’t know any better, it almost seemed that Elinor was indeed jealous of Miss Cowen. He could only hope that might change her mind about marrying him.
Elinor stormed into her bedchamber and slammed her door shut. She started pacing back and forth, her mind a whirlwind of frustration and disbelief. What in the blazes was Alden thinking? He couldn’t possibly be serious about marrying Maisie. She was awful. Just awful. She was always complaining of ailments yet appeared perfectly healthy. Maisie would make Alden miserable. She was sure of that.
Drats. Why had she introduced him to Maisie? She should have just stopped with Gwendolyn and Isobel. Was Alden that desperate that he would truly consider Maisie?
A knock came at the door, and her aunt stepped in, concern etched on her face. “Is everything all right?”
“No!” Elinor shouted, tossing her hands up in exasperation. “Alden is going to marry Maisie.”
“Maisie?”
“Yes, Maisie Cowen,” Elinor confirmed.
Her aunt furrowed her brow. “Has he met Maisie?”
“Yes, we just went to call upon her, and Alden left being intrigued by her,” Elinor shared. “Can you imagine that?”
Coming to sit on the settee, her aunt said, “I will admit that I did not see this coming, considering Maisie is rather difficult to please.”
Elinor stopped pacing and turned to face her aunt. “Alden can’t marry Maisie. She would make him miserable.”
“Alden?”
Elinor pressed her lips together. “Yes, he gave me leave to call him by his given name.”
“And you did the same?”
“I did,” Elinor confirmed. “We are friends.”
Her aunt looked at her curiously. “When did you become friends with Mr. Dandridge?” she asked.
“It is all about the ruse,” Elinor said.
“Is it now?” her aunt asked, not quite looking convinced.
Elinor resumed her pacing. “I had to convince him that we are friends so he would trust me.”
“There are rules to the ruse?”
“Of course,” Elinor replied. “But if he marries Maisie, I have lost. He will sell the horse farm and we will have nowhere to go.”
Her aunt rose and approached her. “First things first, you have not lost. And now is not the time to give up.”
Elinor faced her aunt. “What am I to do?”
“You are asking me?” her aunt asked. “You must be desperate.”
