“Did you enjoy the ball?” Percy asked, as they passed through an old, whitewashed gate into a sea of wildflowers.
Caroline paused to watch a butterfly. “It was very entertaining, Your Grace.”
“Have you been looking forward to your debut?”
“Very much so.” She smiled but it did not reach her eyes.
“I heard you were supposed to debut last year. Did something happen to prevent you, or…?” Percy trailed off, confused by her short, plain responses. She had not been like this during their two dances together.
She did not seem like she had imbibed last night, but perhaps that is why.He knew of several gentlemen who could not say more than a few words at a social gathering if they had not had a glass or two of something potent first. Perhaps, it was the same for some ladies.
Then again, he did not need a particularly verbose wife. Indeed, it was likely better if he did not, for he was not much good at conversation himself. As long as she had friends to confide in, and did not expect him to be her confidante, that would be agreeable enough.
“I did not feel ready,” Caroline replied in that same distant tone.
Percy nodded. “I suppose it is not the same for us gentlemen. It is a grand occasion for you ladies.”
“It is, Your Grace.” Again, that stiff politeness.
An itch, as if he had stepped too close to poison ivy, began to prickle across his flesh in a hot wave. He was not accustomed to such dismissive responses from society ladies, with the sole exception of Anna. But, of course, she did not count, for she had never been an object of his interest.
Puzzled, he walked on with Caroline in silence, through the wildflower garden and into another walled garden with a circular green pond in the center. Purple-tinged lilies floated on the surface, and swaying gently along the easter wall were sprays upon sprays of white orchids. The sight of them made his stomach pitch.
“I cannot stand orchids,” he announced. “The scent is vulgar, do you not think? Far too strong.”
Caroline seemed surprised. “They smell sweet to me, Your Grace.”
Percy spied red roses in the next garden and pressed on toward them. “Now,theseare beautiful—everyone can agree on that.” He paused, pleased that Caroline had followed. “Which color is your favorite?”
“White, I suppose.” She gave a small shrug, and that rash prickle itched again.
At his wit’s end, Percy took a steadying breath and turned to face the young lady. “Have I done something to offend you, Lady Caroline? You do not seem to favor this walk with me.”
Well, you did tell her she looked exhausted, his mind whispered, mocking him.
“Perhaps, we can begin again,” he added quickly. “I will not mention anything about fatigue, and we can simply start with your favorite color of rose, so I know what to purchase for you when I next call upon you.”
To his dismay, Caroline wandered off to a wooden bench that sat in the shade of an arched trellis, adorned with the plumpest, reddest roses he had ever seen. No answer, only a troubled expression upon her face, which she aimed toward the gravel at her feet.
“There will be no need for you to call upon me again,” she said more gently, as he approached. “I am sorry, Your Grace.”
The immediate rejection bemused him, but he hid it quickly. “May I ask why?”
“You are not the gentleman for me, Your Grace,” she replied, offering an apologetic smile. “You are pleasant, you are handsome, and I am certain you will make some other lady very happy, but it shall not be me.”
“Again, may I ask why?”
Caroline followed the path of a bee, buzzing from bloom to bloom, unable to look him in the eye. “I received a letter from The Matchmaker this morning, and The Matchmaker is never wrong. Why, even one of my mother’s friends—a widow for twenty years—is now married again and blissfully happy because of The Matchmaker.”
“Which matchmaker?” Percy replied. “I was not aware that your mother had enlisted such a person’s services.”
She stifled a chuckle. “Do you not read the scandal sheets or the papers?”
Percy shrugged. “Rarely.”
“I am not speaking ofamatchmaker, butTheMatchmaker.”
His still could not see the difference. “Explain what you mean.”
