The Last Eligible Bachelor - Ashtyn Newbold Page 0,16

have forgotten her fears about her exercise, walking with increased energy over the hills. “Oh, Miss Downsfield will be quite pleased to hear that.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“She saw you with Mr. Hill out her window this morning. She was quite furious.”

I nearly stopped walking. So I had not been imagining her increased animosity toward me. She could not possibly view me as a threat, could she? It seemed Mr. Hill was already partial toward her. I watched as they walked arm in arm, her coy smile tipped up toward him. He appeared to be speaking to her, but I couldn’t hear the specifics of the conversation from where Miss Coppins and I walked several feet behind.

“She has no reason to be furious,” I said in a quick voice. “It was a chance encounter, and I have no intention of taking my walk at that hour again.”

“You should not take a daily walk at all, Miss Sedgwick.” Miss Coppins cast me a look of reprimand. “Do not forget my uncle.”

I held back my grimace. I hardly knew what to say to this Miss Coppins and her strange ideas. She was quite pretty, and I could imagine that must have been the reason Mrs. Ollerton selected her as one of her guests. Behind her pretty exterior, however, she seemed to be a bit odd and lacked the confidence that Mr. Hill would ever notice her. That gave me even more hope. If he had indeed already set his sights on Miss Downsfield, it would be much easier to relax for the rest of the trip.

But Mr. Hill’s words to me that morning in the gardens refused to desert me, even as much as I tried to pretend they had not happened. He was flirtatious by nature, I assured myself. That was all.

When at last the stone cottages of Bibury came into view, Miss Coppins and I reached the rest of the group, walking at a much quicker pace than we had been before. Mrs. Ollerton cast me a smile. My unblemished behavior at breakfast seemed to have forgiven the events of the previous day, at least enough to evade any more of her reprimanding scowls.

As I approached, Mr. Hill glanced over his shoulder, meeting my gaze with a smile of his own. I did as I had done at breakfast—focused my attention on anything but his face. My palms began to perspire inside my gloves as I felt his continued gaze burning on my cheek. Thankfully, here in Bibury there was much more to capture my interest than a plate of eggs.

The steep, slanted rooftops of the identical cottages were dotted with birds who seemed to be overlooking the village with as much admiration as I felt. It was truly beautiful. Beyond the small houses, Mrs. Ollerton had explained, there was a market center with several shops, as well as additional apartments and homes of those less fortunate people—the ones the ladies had come to deliver their baskets to.

Miss Coppins skipped forward, stopping beside Miss Taplow. She whispered in her ear before both ladies glanced back at me. I shifted uncomfortably, pretending I didn’t notice that I was likely the subject of their whispered conversation. I could only hope Miss Coppins was simply telling Miss Taplow how I was not interested in courting Mr. Hill.

Mrs. Ollerton called for our attention. “We should not like to overwhelm the poor families with too many of us at each residence. Those who have prepared baskets will have to split into two groups. Mr. Hill knows this area quite well, so he might guide half of you to the homes in most need, and I will guide the other half. Shall we meet again near the shops when we are finished?”

The group nodded their assent, and I crossed my arms in front of me. I did not have a basket to give. The other ladies had been eager to shine in front of Mr. Hill with their generosity, so they had not told me of their plan to give them to the poor in town. Though they likely viewed it as sabotage, it would work to my advantage if he viewed me as less generous and thoughtful than the rest.

Before becoming Sophia’s maid, I had often walked into our nearby town with my mother, where we gave as much as we could afford to one family with whom we were closely acquainted. But it was not always food or money. Sometimes we would simply sit in the