He chuckled and wondered when the last time he’d laughed with a lady had been. As of late, his conversations with the ladies had been all about what he was looking for in his future duchess. Every conversation had sounded like an interview with a journalist.
“You’re too hard on yourself,” he said.
“Am I?” She shielded her blue eyes from the sun with a hand. “Then why don’t I have a suitor? I’m not easily discouraged, mind you. I’m a rather optimistic person, but facts are facts. Gentlemen don’t like me.”
“I think you’ve been unlucky so far.”
“And I’m not even enjoying myself. All those rules and plans, and I’m miserable.”
“There’s a remedy for that.” He offered her his arm. “Let me escort you back to the party. We’ll grab a lemonade and start a game of cricket with the other guests.”
She perked up. “A rebellion. I agree.” She took his arm, beaming with sheer happiness. “If I can’t have a suitor, then I’ll take a cricket game.”
“That’s the spirit.”
As they walked along the pathway, he watched her smile. One moment, she was dejected; the next, she was cheerful. He envied her ability to recover her good mood so quickly.
“Finally, my day is turning,” she said. “A chance meeting in a maze, and everything changes.”
“So you don’t want to meet the duke.”
“Not particularly. I don’t want to be rejected by a duke as well. If even a duke dismissed me, I would be rejected by the entire English peerage. Then Mother will try to marry me off to a wealthy New Yorker, and I’ll be rejected by The Four Hundred as well. That’s not the type of accomplishment I would like to brag about.”
He led her out of the maze, half-wondering if he should run back to it. “It’s a personal question, but do you want to get married?”
She lifted a shoulder, and a lace on her sleeve fluttered up before landing on the creamy skin of her arm. “I wouldn’t mind meeting a gentleman I like and respect and who respects me in turn. Life is a journey. It’s sad doing it alone.”
“That’s true, and it’s a good reason to find someone.”
She leant closer, and he caught a whiff of her flowery scent. “I wouldn’t care if such a gentleman were a duke or a knight. But Mother has other goals. My elder brother married a duke’s daughter, and my elder sister is engaged to one.”
“To a duke’s daughter?”
She laughed, tilting her head back. “I’m the last daughter, unmarried, and Mother would like to have a set of ducal marriages.”
He liked the sound of her laughter, and she was delightful to chat with, not to mention charming. The fact she lacked suitors was a mystery.
The chatter and music grew louder as they walked down the path.
He slowed his pace. The truth couldn’t be avoided any longer. “My lady, I should introduce myself. I’m?—”
“Oh, please don’t. The moment you tell me you’re lord this or that, you’ll break the spell.”
“What spell?”
“This…” She fluttered a hand between them. “We met informally. It’s just you and me. No titles and no names. After I beat you at cricket, we’ll introduce ourselves formally.”
“A challenge. May I at least know your name, just your name?”
“Esther.”
“Alexander.” He bowed. “I’m ready to beat you at cricket.”
Three
Alexander laughed as Esther hit the cricket ball with her bat with enough energy to send it across the field.
The ball arched high into the sky in a perfect curved trajectory. He wasn’t passionate about cricket, but even he could tell that delivery was a work of art.
