Spinster Ever After (The Spinster Chronicles #7) - Rebecca Connolly Page 0,76
by people of all stations are too fine a temptation to completely resist.”
The simplicity of the statement struck a chord within him, and he found a poignant truth in it.
“Yes,” he murmured, nodding to himself. “I never feel so accomplished or satisfied with my day as when I have exerted efforts on my estate. London is for entertainment, but the country is for contentment.”
“Is your family on the estate? Or are they somewhere else?” Diana pressed.
He smiled fondly. “No, they are all there. My father passed a few years ago, but my mother, my sisters, and my brother, when he is not at school, are all at Crestor Grove.”
Diana hummed in thought. “Are your sisters out? Surely one of them must be.”
“Eliza has been to London for two Seasons,” he told her. “I offered to bring her with me this year, but she declined. I think she may come next Season, though.”
“Unless she is sweet on a young man at home,” Diana pointed out in a light, teasing tone.
Michael scoffed, shaking his head. “Oh, I doubt that very much.”
“Why?” she demanded. “Would she tell you if she were? Are there no young men she could grow fond of?”
He paused in the act of rebuttal, thinking quickly.
No, actually. No, she wouldn’t tell him, and there did happen to be young men around Crestor Grove that certainly could have attracted her attention.
He wasn’t prepared to think about that.
“Oxfordshire is a beautiful county,” he said quickly, desperate to change the subject and not caring how obvious it would be.
Diana laughed merrily beside him, and he had to smile at the comfort in the sound. “Is it? I know nothing of it.”
“Yes,” Michael confirmed, lifting his chin proudly. “In fact…”
He broke off as a phaeton approached ahead of them, and he gently guided Diana aside to allow them to pass, Mrs. Greensley following close behind.
He reached for the brim of his hat, preparing to greet the passersby with all politeness, but froze in the process.
The startled, dark eyes of Charlotte Wright clashed with his.
The phaeton pulled to a stop, and it was all Michael could do to refrain from howling for it to continue to move on.
“This is a pleasant surprise!” Mr. Riley exclaimed, grinning madly down at them all and inclining his head. “What a fine company of walkers you all make.”
Diana, possessing none of the bias and more of the kindness than Michael had, returned the smile. “And what a lovely team of horses, Mr. Riley! I am quite envious.”
“Are you a horsewoman, Miss Palmer?” He chuckled and gestured to them. “If you are, please, feel free to touch them. The one nearest you is Annie, she’ll purr like a kitten. The other is Bonnie, and she’s more judgmental.”
To Michael’s surprise, Diana moved to the horses and began to rub their noses, speaking softly. Then she smiled up at the phaeton passengers. “Good morning, Miss Wright. I do hope you don’t mind the delay in your ride.”
“Not at all,” Charlotte assured her with a genuine smile that shocked Michael further. “I have little enough appreciation of horses myself, but it is clear you have a way with them. You should be a country woman, Miss Palmer.”
“I intend to,” Diana quipped, her eyes darting to Michael almost hesitantly before returning to the horses. “Mr. Sandford and I were just talking about the country, as it happens.”
Mr. Riley gave Michael an interested look then. “Really, Sandford? Are you a man of the countryside?”
“I believe so,” Michael replied, forcing his tone to remain even for the man who had no idea how or why Michael disliked him. “I grow fonder of my estate day by day, and it may surprise people how deeply I love it. I’ve spent so long in London, they’d never know. I think I may stop pretending that I don’t love being there and start keeping myself in the place I am happiest.”
“What?” Charlotte’s voice broke through his fervent avowal and drew his attention back to her. “I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Michael met her eyes squarely, his throat tightening with the memories of the heat and sweetness her lips had held. “It never seemed the time. But it is so.”
Her expression shuttered, and her lips formed a tight line. No one seeing her would think anything amiss, but Michael saw the discomfiture before she could clear it.
Then her face became shockingly blank, and he knew nothing about what lay beneath. “Jonathan doesn’t have much experience in the