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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.”
“You want to keep sailing the seven seas?” she asked, surprise in her voice. “How peculiar. Why would you wish to continue such a life when there is no need?”
He laughed. “Milady, there is a whole world out there for you to discover. Freedom is wonderful after living in a fishbowl. It is intoxicating.”
Olivia’s smile froze on her face. He had hit a nerve. It was true. Shedidlive in a fishbowl, and it was not just because of the privilege of her position in life. It was because her grandfather and mother were overprotective of her to the point of smothering her. She knew they only acted out of love and grief over the loss of her father and brother, but that did not change anything. This was still her life and she had to endure it.
“What did I say?” he asked, looking askance. “You look upset.”
To her horror, tears were burning behind her eyes. “Nothing,” she said, feeling mortified. She did not want to burst into tears in front ofhim, of all people. He would probably tease her about it. “I just got a bug in my eye. That is all.”
Furiously, she wiped at her left eye, pretending to dislodge the imaginary bug. His mouth twitched as he watched her.
“Would you like me to have a look?” he asked in a gentle voice, moving towards her. “I am very good at getting a bug out of an eye. Or so my sister tells me.” He laughed wryly.
“No matter,” she said, in a bright voice, taking a step back. “All better.”
“I am so glad,” he said, staring at her intently.. “And now that we have called a truce, would you like to go back to the house? I can see my sister and aunt are wilting a little.”
To her surprise, he held out his arm to her. She hesitated for a brief moment, before taking it. Strangely, walking arm in arm with him felt familiar, as if she had done it many times before. Olivia frowned. What a disconcerting man he was in so many ways. He was so abrupt and yet could be quite gentle, like when he had offered to get the imaginary bug out of her eye.
But even if he did have the capacity to be gentle, she knew better than to trust him. She would watch Captain Alexander Fletcher with a careful eye, indeed.
***
