The Last Eligible Bachelor - Ashtyn Newbold Page 0,21
over whether or not to indulge my curiosity. “Have you all had many interactions with Mr. Hill? I must confess he is still quite mysterious to me.” I held my breath, hoping to hear that he had said similar, flirtatious things to all of them. If he had, wouldn’t they be boasting of it? Each woman trying to prove that he preferred her over everyone else?
Silence reigned for far too long before Miss Downsfield spoke in a boastful voice. “Well, he did walk with me all the way to town today.”
“Did you see the purchase he made at the modiste’s?” Miss Taplow interrupted. “He was quite secretive about it.” She wiggled her eyebrows, the motion causing her auburn ringlets to shift on her temples. “What do you suppose it was?”
“I told him repeatedly of the lace I wanted to add to the neckline of my ball gown,” Miss Benham said, squaring her shoulders. “It could only have been a piece of that.”
Miss Taplow bit her lip. “Yes, I suppose he did endure your commentary on it for so long that he might have purchased it just to stop your prattling.”
Miss Benham scowled, her jaw tightening.
“What is his conversation like?” Miss Coppins asked, an edge of longing in her voice.
I hid my curiosity as best I could, feigning deep interest in my gloves as Miss Downsfield spoke.
“It can be quite shocking, actually.” She gave a small laugh. “He is a shameless flirt if I have ever met one.”
Miss Taplow scowled at the ground. It seemed she had not received the same treatment that Miss Downsfield, and even I, had. Miss Benham sat up straighter. “Yes, yes, I have experienced the same while conversing with Mr. Hill.” Her voice was quick. “He is quite incorrigible.” She gave a broad smile, staring at Miss Downsfield as if she were challenging her to question her words.
Miss Downsfield accepted that challenge with an upward tip of her chin. “What has he said to you, Miss Benham?”
Miss Benham cleared her throat, a high-pitched sound. “Well, just this morning as I left the breakfast room, he—he told me he thought I looked quite lovely.” She narrowed her eyes. “What has he said to you?”
Miss Downsfield laughed, sharing a glance with Mrs. Ollerton, who had been watching the exchange with deep interest. “Oh, that is quite tame compared to what he has said to me.”
My stomach clenched. What had Mr. Hill said to Miss Downsfield? I silently prayed it was more audacious than what he had said to me. My heart pounded. At least by this conversation I could assume that he was indeed a flirt, not simply trying to win my favor with his comments and winks.
“Well, what did he say to you?” Miss Benham’s cheeks had turned red in the centers, whether by shame or anger, I couldn’t tell.
Miss Downsfield opened her mouth to speak just as the drawing room door opened. Her mouth snapped closed.
Mr. Hill entered, and from the corner of my eye, I caught every spine in the room straighten. All expressions of accusation and vexation melted into pleasant smiles of greeting and grace. My brow knit together as I tried to understand all that I had just heard, my expression quite different from the pleasant smiles all the other ladies wore.
Sweeping his gaze over the room, Mr. Hill took one step, then another, a slight smile curling his lips. He was walking in Miss Downsfield’s direction, which did not come as a surprise to me. He did seem quite partial to her, and even more so now after what she had just revealed about his flirtations with her. But when he reached the center of the room near where Miss Downsfield sat, he continued walking…past Miss Taplow and Miss Coppins, and all the way to the farthest corner of the room where I sat with Miss Benham. I barely caught Miss Downsfield’s dejected expression before Mr. Hill blocked her from my view.
With a contented sigh, he sunk down into the chair beside mine, not a care for his own posture. He turned his head toward me and smiled. “Miss Sedgwick.”
“Mr. Hill.” My voice came out with more air than sound.
My eyes met Mrs. Ollerton’s across the room, whose nose crinkled slightly as she offered a discreet pat of comfort to Miss Downsfield’s wrist. Her mouth moved, and I read her lips. He pities her. Another comforting pat. He is a gentleman, after all.
Understanding dawned on Miss Downsfield’s face, and her smile returned.