For some reason, he had singled her out for a relentless flirtation she had never done anything to encourage. And try as she might, she could not dissuade him. Short of rudeness, which she could not bring herself to employ, he did not seem to take heed of anything she said or did to make it plain that she
did not return his interest.
“You know, you amaze me, Miss Alt,” he said as he fell into step beside her. “You do know that, do you not?”
“Why is that, Mr. Darlington?”
“Because you do not flirt. All the girls flirt, but you do not. Do you know how intriguing that makes you?”
“I would think it makes me unappealing.”
“What, do not tell me the rumors are true about you.”
She stopped in her tracks. “What?”
He laughed, completely missing her stricken expression. “Come now, you must know what they all say about you.”
“No, I do not.” She was lying. She was considered strange.
“You, Miss Alt, are a challenge.” He puffed out his chest. “You are more discerning, not one to lose your head just because a man makes a bow. You see, I believe I understand you. You are seeking the right man, not just a man.”
She regarded him with shock. “And do you think you are that man, Mr. Darlington?”
“I think there is more to you than meets the eye,” he said. His voice lowered, and he leaned into her, causing her to back up. “You are not like most girls.”
Having had enough of him, she turned on her heel. As she did so, she caught Miles’s gaze on her.
It was not the look she was used to seeing on his face. It was dark and accusatory. He’d been watching her.
Aunt Iris motioned for her to come over. Jenny guessed she had some exciting news.
“Lord and Lady Pierpont have invited us over this afternoon!” She clapped her hands together. “I think Lady Pierpont wishes to get a closer look at Miles. This is so thrilling!”
“I am happy for you, but I think I should go home.”
“Nonsense, Jenny. Come on, now, into the carriage. Miles has gone to his driver to send him home. He is coming with us.”
Miserably, Jenny followed her aunt. She would just have to do a better job at avoiding Miles. Snubbing him as she had was certainly a mistake she would not repeat. It only seemed to incense him.
In the carriage, Aunt Iris was still gloating.
“That went so very well. Very well, indeed. Did you see Lord Iverton come up to us? He said he knew Miles’s father—imagine he would remember him after all these years. And he spoke of him so kindly. He was very kind to Miles as well.”
Jenny nodded, thinking this must please the earl. He was here for a purpose, after all—a chillingly focused and impersonal matter of marriage. A marriage he didn’t want. Jenny felt sorry for the woman who was bartered to this man. For all of his strange allure, he would be cold to a wife he never wanted.
Cassandra had taken the seat across from her mother and spread out so that Jenny had no choice but to sit next to Aunt Iris. However, when Miles entered the coach, Cassandra slid over and smiled invitingly.
He sat, easing back with a relieved sigh. Catching sight of the three pairs of expectant eyes, he jerked a corner of his mouth up. “It was better than I expected. I think it went rather well.”
Iris nearly bounced in her seat. “Oh, indeed, I said the exact same, Miles. Didn’t I say the same, children?”
“Oh, Mother, please hush!” Cassandra said waspishly, then freshened her smile before turning toward Miles. “What did you think of our reverend, my lord? Isn’t he enough to have a saint yawning himself silly?”
“Now, Cassandra,” Iris admonished, “as the reverend himself says, he is about the business of salvation, not diversion.”
“He only says that because he is a frightful bore, Mother! Besides, I was inquiring after what Miles thought.”
He answered, talking more to himself than Cassandra. “I was pleased by today’s events. I saw some excellent candidates, expensively dressed. Their carriages were fine, their servants wore expensive livery. Good indications of wealth, for you see, I am determined to have a rich wife to compensate me for this odious business of marriage.”