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Suddenly, her face brightened. “Perhaps I’ve been thinking about this from the wrong end. Maybe what I need is a cit who is suddenly in possession of a great deal of wealth and property and hasn’t the first idea how to go on. A titled gentleman would have too much pride to accept my help, but an untitled man wouldn’t have that problem.”
Cam laughed. “You clearly haven’t met all that many men if you think any of them are lacking in pride, whether they have a title or not.”
Hilaria wrinkled her nose at him but didn’t give heed to his words. “Rosabel had meant to marry an untitled gentleman, as she didn’t care for the attention being an earl’s daughter wrought. She ended up becoming a duchess instead. I intended to become a duchess but perhaps she had been right all along. A wealthy commoner is just what I need.” Her eager gaze returned to his face. “Do you know any, Camden?”
Hearing his name in her excited voice did strange things to his sensibilities, but he managed to control the sensation and the crazy impulses that accompanied it.
“I’ll have to give it some thought,” he said, stalling for time.
“Do you think it might work?” she asked, her innocent tone going straight to his midsection.
“It’s possible. We would have to take our time and get to know the man to understand how he might react to such an intelligent woman being his mate.”
“You think I’m intelligent?”
“Of course,” he exclaimed, frowning over her insecurities. “In fact, I’d enjoy hearing your advice on the running ofmyestate.”
He watched as her eyebrows rose and her chin dropped. It would have been comical if not for the serious nature of their conversation.
“Why wouldyourpride allow it if other men’s wouldn’t?”
Cam shrugged. “It might be the nature of my upbringing,” he surmised. “Or the fact that I’ve gotten to know you.”
Her face became suffused with pink, and she seemed to be quite pleased with the compliment, but then she pondered the matter further.
“Perhaps the gentlemen courting me will come to the same conclusion once they get to know me.” She seemed much relieved by this thought. Cam was glad to see her coming out of her disappointment but somehow he couldn’t join in her enthusiasm about her suitors. He wanted to find fault with every single one of them, but he managed to keep those thoughts to himself. Truly, the gentlemen were unexceptional and would be an ideal match for any young woman of theton. Just somehow it sat wrong to Cam that the young lady in question was Lady Hilaria.
“Time is probably what is needed,” he agreed with her.
They strolled further with Cam growing concerned as Hilaria became quieter.
“What is troubling you now?”
His question seemed to startle her and her face grew rosy once more, as though she were embarrassed. It took her a while to finally turn to tell him. Cam could see that she was torn.
“I probably should have stayed at home to get to know those gentlemen better and allow time for them to get to know me,” she explained. “But I was so terribly uncomfortable that I couldn’t resist when you presented the opportunity to escape.” She bit her lip and nearly all thought fled from Cam’s mind for the briefest moment as all his concentration focused on the possibility of soothing her. She wrinkled her nose once more in the adorable way she had when she wasn’t fully pleased with her thoughts. “But the thing is, even when I really didn’t like you, I never found myself wishing to escape your company. That led me to think they were truly unsuitable. But now, I’m just even more confused.”
Cam patted her hand as it clutched his elbow. He wanted to join her in the weeping she seemed to be on the verge of. He couldn’t blame her for her confusion, as he seemed to be in quite the same state.
“You said that in the past tense. Does that mean you no longer dislike me?”
Suddenly, she gurgled with laughter. “Camden,” she exclaimed when she could finally speak. “From all that I said, that was what you found to be important? You aren’t going to be in the least bit of help, are you?”
“Of course, I am,” he protested. “I’m trying to help you understand your own thoughts by repeating them.”
“Well, there were many other thoughts in my statement,” she countered through her laughter. “But no, I certainly don’t dislike you any longer. I can’t even say why I did at first. I received such a terrible impression of you at Rosabel’s wedding. I thought you were such a dandy and for some reason all you wanted to talk about was some sporting event you seemed excited about, and I couldn’t even understand it. But you’ve never mentioned the sport since, so it might have been an aberration.”
“If it’s any consolation, it’s obvious my first impression of you was rather uninspired, too.”
Hilaria’s laughter continued.
“It is reassuring, thank you.”
Cam was gratified to see her seem so joyful in that moment.
~~~~
Hilaria was reluctant to leave his carriage when Camden finally pulled up before the Sherton townhouse. She enjoyed his company far more than she ought, she knew, but it was so comforting to be able to be so free in another’s company. It felt to Hilaria as though Camden Eastwood understood her better than anyone she had ever encountered.
As she drifted through the house Hilaria wondered if it would ever be possible for another gentleman to make her that comfortable. Rathnelly specifically. When the duke danced with her or called on her, Hilaria was left feeling as though he were bestowing a privilege upon her that she ought to be grateful for, rather than having visited with a friend. Perhaps that would pass, she thought hopefully. Relationships could change. Just consider her own with Camden. They had taken each other in instant loathing. Now they were the best of friends.
But, Hilaria acknowledged, with Camden, there had been feelings from the start. Fierce, negative feelings, but feelings nonetheless. She didn’t get the impression from the duke that he had any intention of exploring feelings. Hilaria felt a strange sense of respect for the man’s haughtiness, but it didn’t fill her with any warmth.
Was she turning out to be just like her sister? Did she want a love match for herself, too? What a thing to discover when she was already elbow deep in suitors, both real and fake. Her mental and physical ramblings had taken her once more to her father’s study. It was a relief to find it empty. Hilaria doubted she was in the frame of mind to be able to explain her thoughts to her studious father.
