perfectly, as if he had been born of the paintings on the wall. Mrs. Ollerton kept her comments infrequent but seemed just as excited to be touring the house as I was.
When we stepped onto the back lawn, Mrs. Ollerton fell back several paces, giving us the privacy she had promised. My heart hammered in my chest. Soon Mr. Hill would ask me his questions, and I would have to answer.
“What was it you would like to ask me?” My voice was quick. It would be better to get the matter over and done with.
Mr. Hill’s eyebrows rose. “I had nearly forgotten. I thank you for being courteous enough to remind me.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and he laughed. There was no possible way he had actually forgotten.
“There was the first matter which we didn’t have a moment to discuss yesterday as we were helping your maid to safety,” he said. “Why were you avoiding me enough to slip down a slope of mud to evade my attention, when just the day before you seemed so eager to receive it? I must admit the contradiction has both puzzled me and frustrated me to no end.” Though his voice dripped with his frustration, his mouth was still lifted in a smile.
To my relief, he had combined his two questions into one. There was no better way to get my answers over with than that. I kicked the overgrown grass softly as I walked, letting the tips of Sophia’s half boots peek out from beneath the skirts. “Well…I told you before that I was forced to come here.”
“Indeed.”
“Before I say anything more, I must first apologize for my behavior. I understand how it has left you utterly confused and frustrated. I—well, I have never found myself in this position before.”
His eyebrows lifted again, and he tipped his head to one side as he studied me. “You have never found yourself in a competition of sorts with four other ladies for the attention of one gentleman? How surprising.”
My cheeks grew warm as I formulated my words in my mind. “Yes…and I have never found myself in receipt of attention from any gentleman, not as you have given me.” I swallowed. “I must have you know, Mr. Hill, that I did not come here with any intention of seeking your attention at all. I came here by obligation, and I think it would be wise for you to pursue the other ladies, all of whom are much more eager to marry and will make much better wives that I ever would.” I stammered to correct my mistake. “I am not suggesting that you intended to—er—to make any such offer to me, but I thought it prudent that you know from this moment onward that I would never be inclined to accept an offer of marriage from any gentleman. Any gentleman at all.”
My face grew warmer as I tried to dig myself out of the mess I had made with my explanation. How had I forgotten how to speak clearly and eloquently? Had I spent too much time with Jessie? “That is the reason I was avoiding you, Mr. Hill. I did not want you to think I had followed you to town, or—or that I was eager to have you notice what I was up to.” I bit my lip. Why could I not hold my tongue?
I dared a glance at his face, surprised to find it calm and contemplative, even a bit amused. “Would it ease you to know that I came here with no intention of marrying either?”
My eyes widened. “Truly?”
He smiled, clearly amused by my surprise. “My parents were determined that I would be much happier and fulfilled should I marry. They have been pestering me about it for years, and when Mrs. Ollerton successfully hosted a matchmaking party such as this for my friend, she discovered that I was the last eligible bachelor in Bibury, and that I ought to have the same fate. So she gathered up a new collection of young misses. To appease my parents, if not prove to them that I was determined not to marry, I agreed to it. My parents have promised that they will no longer pester me to find a wife if Mrs. Ollerton finds herself unsuccessful in finding me a match.” He leaned closer to my ear. “I must confess, the idea of humbling Mrs. Ollerton in her matchmaking abilities was also too enticing to resist.”
The relief that flooded through