The Last Eligible Bachelor - Ashtyn Newbold Page 0,60
will ensure discretion. You might even claim to your family that it was I who broke your heart, and you failed by no fault of your own.”
The panic in my chest reminded me of the moment Sophia had suggested her ‘clever idea’ to me. Seeing how disastrous that plan was turning out to be made me even more wary to agree to Mr. Hill’s idea. Pretending to court the very man I was supposed to be avoiding could only result in disaster. Pretending to court a man whom I was in great danger of falling in love with was even worse. A man I could never, ever consider marrying, and who would never, ever consider me.
There was far too much that could go wrong.
The claim that Mr. Hill was the one to break my heart could become much more factual than I would have liked it to be.
Mr. Hill awaited my response, his blue eyes boring into mine.
“I question the wisdom of…a fabricated courtship,” I said in a quiet voice. “Mrs. Ollerton will likely boast of her success to all of her friends. She may even write home to my family and tell them. They will be very displeased when I return home unattached.”
To Sophia’s family. Mrs. Sedgwick would be quite angry with Sophia if she returned unattached after receiving such a promising letter from Mrs. Ollerton.
Mr. Hill seemed to consider my worries, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the field ahead. “You might tell her that you wish to tell your family yourself? That you wish to have them be happily surprised when you return to them at the end of the month.”
I let out a puff of air, looking down at my hands. I did want to help Mr. Hill, but he had agreed to come here of his own will. He hadn’t actually been forced like I had. Had he expected not to have ladies fawning over him and fighting for his attention? If he were truly a rake, he would have delighted in it, but I was discovering that he was much more noble than that. “Perhaps not a courtship,” I said. “Perhaps you might just pretend to favor me?”
Mr. Hill’s lopsided grin appeared again, and my stomach fluttered. Yes. This would be far too dangerous.
“There would be no pretending involved in that,” he said. “And it seems the other guests already believe that I favor you, and it has caused them to behave in a way that is much to your expense. I refuse to allow them to speak so cruelly to you again. There needs to be absolutely no question that I have chosen you.”
A pang of longing struck my chest, and I pushed it away as fast as possible, unsettled by the emotion accompanying it. Mr. Hill hadn’t actually chosen me. He couldn’t. The dangers of this game were already presenting themselves, and Mr. Hill’s persuasive words were becoming difficult to resist. He was right. I should not be forced to endure any cruel, unkind words from the women here. I had Sophia for that, and in three weeks my life would be back to the way it was.
Could I not enjoy these three weeks?
It was the last chance I would have to be a lady, to be respected. And there was the matter of staying in Mr. Hill’s good graces. I needed him to be willing to keep contact with Mr. Baker on my behalf. That was the most important issue, and if I refused to help him with this request, how could I expect him to help me with mine?
Summoning all my courage, I nodded. “Very well. I will pretend to court you.” It was a faint whisper, my courage already fading. “But only if it is presented as your fault when we part ways.”
His gaze hovered on me for a long moment before returning to the field ahead. “Very well.”
We had reached the edge of Winslow House’s property. Mrs. Ollerton would be fit to be tied if she could no longer keep us in view. She would be fit to be tied, nonetheless.
A laugh bubbled out of my chest at the utter ridiculousness of my current situation. Perhaps Mr. Hill was right. No harm could come from this. He never had to know I was not Miss Sophia Sedgwick. At the end of the next three weeks, we would depart as coconspirators, and even friends, and never speak again. I would go back to being Sophia’s maid, and Papa might have