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"I— I am overcome, sir."
"All we've said here remains exclusively between us." Lord Montgomery clasped Drew's left hand in his, before they parted.
******
Captain Drew watched Lord Montgomery walk along the inlet toward the sea.
As he started back toward the hotel mews, Drew could hardly digest what the Baron had said. Miss Montgomery was far beyond his most dramatic delusions. Only from the depths of his unconsciousness, in his frenzied dreams, could he imagine holding her slim body to his, running his hand through her windblown hair, tracing her cheeks with his lips. Oh yes, once he let his fancy take hold, an entire menu of caresses filled his thoughts and shuddered through his body.
But he could not indulge in these feelings. What if Lord Montgomery had mistaken his daughter's interests? And if not, had she given any thought to his occupation? He could never support a wife and family on the pittance that the government provided an officer invalided out. At any moment, the owners of the Royal Arms could find a better trained manager. If the war was really over, there might be thousands of men looking for work, plenty of half-pay fellows who needed income. He had already hired two men shipped back from battles in America who had no other options.
He found the mews quiet now, but he grabbed a cloth and entered the stall of his favourite mare, polishing her already shining coat.
"Ah, if only you could teach me about females," he whispered. "I have no experience except with those like you, girl, who work for a living."
******
Ronnie, now rested, decided to seek the ostensible ‘salutary glow’ advertised for sea bathing. She'd never needed it more, she thought.
As they walked to the bathing machines, Evie, lately included in the servants' gossip, talked about the excursions the others were taking that afternoon: Lord and Lady Montgomery to the Sandsfoot Castle ruins, Cici and William to seek out a secluded glen where they could cuddle, and the four army majors and Captain Drew to Lulworth Cove and the Durdle Door. That left Ronnie alone, upon which Lord Montgomery had insisted, Evie reported, though he'd not explained why.
In the bathing machine, once she removed her clothes and wore only her shift, Ronnie felt the chill of the water as she went down the steps. A few moments of vigorous paddling warmed her to the point of pleasure in the water. Her body felt light, almost weightless, as she floated on her back and stared at the arc of blue above. Only the flimsiest transparent puffs of clouds dappled the sky. On such a glorious day as this, how could she feel so confused, her thoughts so tangled and contradictory?
Her father had said… what was it he had said? That she should tell Captain Drew she was in… she was fond of him? If that was what Father meant, he should have told it to the Captain himself. A lady didn’t reveal her fascination with a gentleman in words, did she?
Of all the confoundedly peculiar situations, here she was, having dispatched every man who pursued her. She had never learned how to seduce anyone. Never learned how to lure a man to herself. Never learned to flirt, to display her desire without saying so.
Where were those feminine wiles, those secrets of enticement, those famous man-traps when she needed them?
******
After dinner, Ronnie sat on the hotel's veranda, escaping the endless palaver from her sister about her curricle ride with William, and from her mother, the florid descriptions of the ruins of Sandsfoot Castle.
The moon would be nearly full a little later, the perfect opportunity for a walk on the beach at its most luminous. But she knew that tonight Captain Drew would be occupied with his friends who were scheduled to depart tomorrow for their return to France and their duties in the occupying forces. Then she would be faced with the dilemma of interpreting her father's advice. It seemed to embolden her to show the Captain how she felt about him.
She could not help laughing. Her father as a matchmaker? It was too much to believe, but it was true. For three years, her mother had cajoled and manipulated and scolded to bring Ronnie into considering marriage. Mama had favoured several candidates, had chosen more as possibilities, and never given up. "A mother's duty," she’d declared again and again. Now what would she say? On the one hand, she could hardly trumpet the necessity for marital obedience by denying her husband's blessing of a union between Captain Drew and Veronica. On the other hand, Mama decidedly opposed her daughter marrying beneath herself.
Ronnie heard someone sit in the chair next to hers, but did not look over. The last thing she wanted this evening was more conversation.
She was startled at the sound of Captain Drew's voice.
"I thought you might enjoy a walk on the beach, Miss Montgomery. The moon rises very soon."
"I would, but don't you need to see to your friends?"
"They sent me."
"Then, thank you. I would like it very much."
She heard him draw a deep breath.
"I had a talk with your father," he said.
"Yes."
"He said… that is, he thought you…"
She squeezed her eyes shut and took the plunge.
