The Last Eligible Bachelor - Ashtyn Newbold Page 0,76

“Would you agree to that plan, Mr. Hill?”

He seemed to have still been trying to maintain his partiality to me, but I had not been helping him convince the group. It appeared Miss Benham still assumed she had a chance to compete. I glanced at his face, and he met my eyes before looking away.

Mr. Hill would have likely refused her idea, but before he could, Mrs. Ollerton gasped with delight. “That is a wonderful idea, Miss Benham. I don’t believe Mr. Hill would object to a bit of diversion this morning, nor would he object to an outing with any of you lovely young ladies, would you Mr. Hill?”

It seemed Miss Benham wasn’t the only one he would have to convince of his partiality to me. Mrs. Ollerton still seemed to be holding out hope that he would form an attachment to one of her other guests, perhaps one prettier or more accomplished than I was. She had only a week to ensure it happened.

I glanced up at Mr. Hill, who looked vastly uncomfortable. “I could never object, Mrs. Ollerton.” He gave a smile, but I could tell it was forced.

“Oh, how exciting.” She clasped her hands together, surveying the area with her nose in the air, her fluffy, pale curls spilling out of her hat. “Now, we must make haste. As soon as the sun fully rises, the cacophony of beautiful birdsong begins to diminish.”

“What bird are we in search of?” Miss Taplow asked, suddenly far more eager about the activity than she had been before.

Now there was a prize.

Mrs. Ollerton continued scanning the skies, closing her eyes for a long moment. “He was small, with dark wings, and his song sounded something like this.” She cupped her hands around her mouth, letting out a loud noise that sounded much like the words, lurkey, lurkey.

I pressed my lips together to contain my smile when Mr. Hill’s eyes met mine with a look of dismay. I scolded myself. I was not supposed to be smiling at him.

“As soon as you hear a similar sound, call for me and I will see if it is my bird.” Mrs. Ollerton grinned. “Are there any questions?”

I shook my head, and Mrs. Ollerton glanced my way before looking up at Mr. Hill. “Should our bachelor find the bird before any of you do, then he will have his choice of who he would like to take on an outing.”

All eyes fell on me in unison, and I shifted uncomfortably. I had never been the one everyone sought to outperform—the one whose every move was watched for a sign of weakness that could be exploited. I had always been the one in the far corner of the room, unnoticed, disregarded as someone who could easily be defeated if given the chance. The change of role was unsettling.

On the count of three, Mrs. Ollerton sent all of us toward the trees. She followed at a slow pace, clapping her hands together in an attempt to hurry us along. I moved ahead of Mr. Hill, following in Miss Coppins’s trail, stopping only once I came behind a broad tree trunk. Under the cover of the leaves, the world felt even more still, despite the hurried footfalls of all the ladies over the twigs and leaves on the ground. I listened closely. There were at least three different birds singing above me, all with different melodies and articulations. I tried to turn the sounds into human speech as Mrs. Ollerton had done, and I caught one call that sounded like teacher, teacher. And another that could not be assimilated to words, but that was deeper than all the others, a trill that made me imagine a larger bird. And the wren—I recognized his tune. He was the smallest bird, but had the biggest voice.

Of course, I wasn’t actually trying to win. I was trying to get as far from Mr. Hill as possible.

I walked farther into the trees, away from the places I knew the other ladies to be standing still, listening. A set of heavy boots became louder on the ground, and I glanced back to see Mr. Hill watching me.

“I didn’t think you were a competitive sort.” One eyebrow quirked upward, almost indiscernible in the dimness. “Especially when it comes to spending time with me.”

A pang of guilt struck me, and by his knowing smile, I could see he had intended it.

“You should be listening too.” I glanced up as the leaves rustled. It was