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They both watched as Miss Weaver moved off to join another conversation, clearly having found that both of them were hopeless.
“My brother Silas can appreciate a woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind.” Dinah’s eyes cut over to Lucy pointedly.
“He was kind enough to indulge me last night,” Lucy replied vaguely. Her mind was on the library, Mr Sweet’s face in the flickering candlelight. She could feel a blush creeping up on her.
“Did he?” Dinah asked, curiously.
“What of your brother, Mr Michael Sweet?” Lucy asked, veering the conversation away from Mr Silas Sweet.
“He is very…” Dinah trailed off, frowning thoughtfully. “Traditional.”
Lucy smiled, swallowing. She knew that Silas Sweet had a preference for her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kissed her so passionately. What she didn’t know was whether it was entirely carnal, or if he truly appreciated her mind.
That was an important distinction. Lucy took a sip of her tea, to find that it had grown cold.
***
The gentlemen had returned home with Percy gloating about having bagged the buck that Levi and Silas had been after all summer. Silas was still in shock at how quickly Percy had done it, after he and Levi had spent the past several weeks attempting to catch him.
“Silas,” Michael called out. He turned to find that Levi and Michael were hanging back, out on the drive. He walked over to them. Both were frowning.
“You can’t be seriously considering asking Miss Wilds to marry you,” Michael said. “You only just said that you would never consider her.”
“It’s a gentlemen’s bet,” he said. “I shook on it, and now, I must go on with it.”Though, I am merely using this as an excuse to pursue her, he thought, overall pleased with himself for engineering it. He was like a puppeteer, and Percy dangled on the ends of his strings.
From behind him, Percy spoke. “It’s only an engagement, so Silas may break it at any time that he wishes.” He smiled slyly. Silas’ stomach did a nauseated flip at the thought of treating Miss Wilds in such a cavalier manner. He was finding, more and more, that Percy Stalton was a snake.
“You wouldn’t dare treat a woman such as Miss Wilds in such a dishonourable manner!” Levi growled.
“No, I would not.”It wouldn’t be such a bad thing to be engaged to Miss Wilds, he mused to himself.
He thought about that kiss—the way she’d put her hands on his chest. Her soft moans, and how utterly exquisite they were. She would be an interesting lover—passionate. Many of the ladies were only pretending to enjoy it, to please him.
But Miss Wilds wasn’t pretending.No, she had been completely sincere in her response. He recalled the way she had gripped his shirt in her hands.
“She’ll probably turn me down anyway,” he said, shrugging.
“Then you’ll have to convince her,” Percy insisted. “Or else you won’t have done your part in the bet.”
Silas glared at him. He wasn’t about to let Percy think that he’d won. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be easy. After all, I don’t see anyone else lining up to take her from me.”
The words were cruel and he knew it. He hated that they had come from his lips. But he didn’t want them to think that he was changing his mind. He hated losing anything. That buck was going to rankle for a very, very long time. Percy would make sure to remind him of it every chance he got.
Levi and Michael both looked upset, while Percy smiled at him. Silas didn’t want to discuss it any longer. He was neither going to change his mind, nor was he going to back down.
Silas turned away from them, leaving the hot summer sun for the cool, dark interior of the manor. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least now he had a good reason to wholeheartedly pursue Miss Wilds, without Percy butting in to ruin it.
