His jaw tightened, and he looked away towards the window where the rain continued to fall in relentless sheets. “I do not want to discuss this.”
“You never do,” Eugenie replied.
Offering his arm, Niles said, “In my position, suspicion isn’t a choice. It is a necessity. I must be pragmatic about people’s motives.”
Eugenie slipped her arm through his. “That is a sad way to live, Brother. Always expecting the worst in others.”
“Perhaps, but it is a luxury you can afford to ignore. I cannot.”
Eugenie’s voice softened, though her words remained firm. “I prefer to believe the best in everyone. It is what Father would have wanted.”
Niles pursed his lips. His father’s memory was a sore subject, one he was not prepared to confront at this moment.
“You know,” Eugenie continued, “not every woman you meet is trying to entrap you. Maybe Lady Elsbeth isn’t the conniving young woman you conjured up in your mind.”
“I will reserve judgment… for now,” Niles replied.
He knew how jaded he sounded as he led his sister out of the drawing room. But there was something about Lady Elsbeth that gnawed at the edges of his thoughts, and that left him uneasy.
3
Elsbeth sat stiffly in the darkened coach as it rumbled down the uneven road towards Lady Margaret’s manor. Across from her, her mother and stepfather sat in animated conversation, their voices low but cheerful. Elsbeth, however, was far from cheerful. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and she fixed her gaze out the window. She was not looking forward to seeing Lord Westcott again. The man was infuriatingly arrogant.
Her stepfather’s voice broke through her thoughts. “You two are looking rather lovely this evening.”
Elsbeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Why was Alfred trying so hard to win her approval? But her mother had no such reservations about the compliment.
“Thank you, my love,” her mother said.
My love?
Elsbeth nearly groaned aloud. How could her mother say such a thing with sincerity? How could she be so blind to Alfred’s true nature? It was maddening. At times, she felt like the only sane one.
She turned her head to the window, letting the rhythmicclatter of the coach wheels serve as a distraction. She missed her old life in Town. Her friends. Her independence. But all of it had vanished when her father died. Her so-called friends had turned their backs on her family, leaving them to weather the storm of scandal alone.
Her mother spoke up. “Lord Westcott is rather handsome, don’t you think?”
Elsbeth snapped her head around, her expression incredulous. “Handsome? Perhaps, but he is also unbearably arrogant.”
“He didn’t strike me as such,” her mother replied.
“That is because you didn’t hear our conversation,” Elsbeth shot back. “We both agreed it would be best if we avoided each other altogether.”
Her mother looked disappointed. “That is most unfortunate.”
Elsbeth pressed her lips together. “What did you think would happen, Mother? That we would meet and fall madly, irrevocably in love?”
“And why not?” her mother countered.
She let out a humorless laugh. “Because we are ruined. Completely and utterly.”
“You still are the daughter of an earl and have a dowry of fifteen thousand pounds,” her mother countered.
“Oh, wonderful,” Elsbeth said dryly. “At least I will attract a fortune hunter.”
Alfred cleared his throat, the sound irritating her further. She didn’t want his opinion, but she knew it was coming.
“I do believe you are selling yourself short,” he said.
