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But the more she thought about it, the more she dismissed the idea. She would bet her last shilling he did not have a heart to break. A callous rake, more intent upon seduction than love. He had that look about him. The teasing blue eyes, the way he conducted himself.
He wore an air of animal sensuality about him that was quite shocking. He probably had no morals at all when it came to the fairer sex and she imagined many women would have succumbed to his charms. He was a seaman, after all. They had a certain reputation.
Emma walked into the parlour, carrying letters. Olivia’s mother rolled her eyes. “Oh, dear,” she said, biting her lip. “More invitations. I do not know how we are going to fit all these events in our diary.”
Emma laughed, passing them to Henrietta. She stood up, walking to the desk, efficiently opening them one by one before tossing them aside. At the fifth one, she stopped, reading quickly. She turned to the girls.
“This is interesting,” she said. “An invitation to a weeklong house party on the outskirts of London from the Viscount Sedgewick and his wife—Lord and Lady Langley.” She hesitated. “A brief sojourn from the circuit might be invigorating, girls. What do you think?”
Olivia’s ear pricked up. A house party was intimate. There might be some new eligible bachelors there. It was worth exploring. And a brief break from London might indeed be refreshing.
“I think it sounds like a splendid idea,” she said, turning to Emma. “What say you, dearest?”
Emma nodded. “I would like to go to it. Lord Turnbury told me he is attending.” Her cheeks turned pink.
Olivia laughed. “Well, if Lord Turnbury is going, then we have no choice, do we?” She turned to her mother. “I say let’s do it, Mama.”
Henrietta looked pleased, clearly relieved at the thought of a brief respite from the whirlwind of the London season. “I shall write of our acceptance straight away.”
Olivia smiled. Emma looked delighted. And she herself was warming more to the idea by the second. Butterflies leapt to life in her stomach. Would she find the man of her dreams there, at last? The one who would save her from the dreadful possibility of marriage with Captain Fletcher? She offered up a silent prayer that it might happen.
Emma had found someone. A lord, no less, who did not seem to give a hoot that she was only the daughter of a physician. Olivia could tell her friend was falling in love with him. She was pleased for her. But her heart yearned for her own knight in shining armour. The highwayman had come and gone and was clearly not a contender. When, oh when, was the man of her dreams going to ride into her life and save her from the possibility of a loveless marriage?
Chapter 17
Olivia gaped at Captain Fletcher. He had just asked her if they could call a truce on the animosity between them. And he seemed quite genuine.
She frowned, suspecting a trick. If she said yes, he would probably say something abominably rude and she would immediately regret her decision to offer him a second chance. As her mother always said, a leopard cannot change its spots. And Captain Fletcher’s spots were quite visible, indeed.
“If I agree, it does not mean I will marry you,” she blurted out. “I cannot go that far, even though my grandfather wishes me to. I must choose my own life partner. I shall not be pushed into it.”
He gave her a disarming grin. “It was not a proposal, milady. Very far from it. I fear I do not have an appetite for matrimony at all, which is nothing against you. It is just the way I am.”
She nodded, feeling both relieved and slightly disappointed that hewas notpushing her to marry him. That his eyes had not dimmed with regret at her curt words. It was most confusing. But she supposed it was just her pride that was hurt.
“Good,” she said, in a firm voice. “I am glad we are agreed. Grandpapa will probably never stop hoping but he will resolve himself. He will be forced to when I find my love match.”
His eyebrows rose. “And have you had any success with that yet, milady? Do you have suitors knocking down your door?”
“Not yet,” she said, reddening. “But that is only because I am so fussy. They would be lining up outside the door if I gave any of them the slightest encouragement.” She hesitated. “Alas, I have not yet met the gentleman who makes my heart sing. But I have hope. The season has only just begun, you know. Time is on my side.”
She wished she could believe her own words. But the truth was time wasnoton her side. Already, she was thinking that most of the ton who were here for the season had arrived. She had probably met or seen all of the eligible gentlemen who were now in London. And not one had made her heart race a little or intrigued her enough to encourage him.
That is a lie, a small voice whispered in her mind.The highwayman.
Her face reddened further. She really did have to expunge that mystery man from her mind entirely. He might have given her a passionate kiss, but she had no idea who he was. It was ridiculous to moon over a fantasy. The man, whoever he was, had probably forgotten about it. He had probably stolen kisses from other girls that night. How would she even know?
“I wish you luck with it,” said Captain Fletcher, interrupting her reverie. “If a love match means so much to you, I shall not stand in your way. If the earl starts to pressure me to woo you I shall just pretend for the sake of it. You do not need to believe it means anything.”
Olivia gave a bark of laughter. “A pretend suitor? How droll. You do not have a romantic bone in your body, do you, Captain? Do you not wish to marry a woman you love one day?”
He shrugged. “I have never given it much thought. Loveormarriage. I enjoy my life too much, milady, to want to be tied down by either. And now that your grandfather has told me that inheriting the earldom is not conditional on marrying you, I do not need to think of it at all.”
Olivia forced a smile onto her face. How dreadfully pragmatic he was. She felt sorry for any poor lady who had the misfortune of falling in love with such a man, for she would be destined to have her heart broken by him. Perhaps Captain Fletcher did not have a heart at all.
“No, you do not,” she said, in a dry voice. “How pleasant for you. The earldom just falling into your lap like that without you having to do anything to earn it in the least.”
He shot her a sharp look. “You make me sound like a fortune hunter, milady. It was your grandfather who soughtme, not the reverse. And I am still ambivalent about whether this great fortune comes without any strings attached. I shall not compromise my life into the ground for it. I would rather be a pauper if I could still have my freedom.”
