“If I had said I was born in August, would you have had a reply prepared?” she said slyly, unable to resist their usual banter any longer.
Dickie laughed, his teeth pearly white as he grinned. “Why, I do believe you have caught me out, Lady Caroline.”
He has a reputation…She remembered her brother’s warning and allowed her attention to wander to Maximilian. Or ‘Max’ as Caroline’s friend—and Max and Dickie’s sister—Anna, referred to him.
Taller than his brother by half a head, with broad shoulders that were enhanced by his excellent posture, and a mane of golden-brown hair that shifted from fair to dark depending on how the sunset’s glow struck it, he was the handsomer of the two. But where Dickie was carefree and loud, Max was seriousand serene, his blue eyes darker than his brother’s, as if great mysteries lay in the depths of those shining pools.
And he is, perhaps, the only gentleman who has never looked at me with anything but polite indifference.Although, she could not blame him for having little interest in her. They had met but a handful of times, and every such time, she had spilled something on him or caused him embarrassment.
“Did you teach your brother how to be charming?” Caroline blurted out.
Max turned surprised eyes on her. “Pardon?”
“It is not unusual for the younger to learn from the older,” Caroline explained, her cheeks flushing with sudden, embarrassed heat.
Dickie nudged Max in the arm. “He taught me nothing of that kind, though he could do to learn from me. If he would but agree to let me tutor him, he would be married by now, with a fine duchess at his side. The way I see it, there is no use in being a bachelor if one does not behave like a bachelor. Alas, my brother is already married to his tireless work.”
“And how would one behave as a bachelor, in your humble opinion?” Max replied, with a knowing look to his brother.
Dickie smirked. “I doubt that would be polite to say in front of lovely young ladies.”
“Indeed, so perhaps you should speak with more decorum,” Max suggested firmly.
“I did not realize you were a gentleman of business, Your Grace,” Caroline said shyly, her mind revisiting the occasion where she had knocked straight into him with a cup of steaming hot tea in her hand, months ago at Daniel and Phoebe’s wedding. It had all splashed on him, and though he had informed her that he was quite well, she knew it must have hurt.
Max mustered a courteous smile. “The world is changing, Lady Caroline, and we peers must change with it if we are to have any legacy left. Your brother is the inspiration, leading the way.”
“My brother is a very clever man,” Caroline agreed.
“Indeed.” Max bowed his head. “If you will excuse me, you have just reminded me that I have some correspondence to write.”
He left without another word, and though Dickie remained for a while longer, engaging her in a conversation about the boring nature of poetry, she found herself doubting the suggestion that the Matchmaker had offered.
The Countess of Grayling’s house party had already lasted for several days, and she had sought Dickie out wherever possible, hoping to gain some confirmation that he was the one for her. Hoping tofeelwhat the Matchmaker had suggested. But though Dickie did show her plenty of attention, and she enjoyed his company immensely, she really could not shake the feeling that theirs was nothing more than a pleasant friendship.
“Well, I think the port is calling,” Dickie announced. “You will dance with me at the finale ball, will you not?”
Caroline furrowed her brow. “Is that any way to ask a lady?”
“It isaway to ask a lady,” he replied, smiling.
“I will consider it, but my card is already quite full.”
Dickie shrugged. “No matter if you cannot find a place for me. I am sure you will have your pick of every gentleman in attendance, and though I relish a challenge, I do not like to competetoovigorously if I am not wholly determined to win the prize.”
“Pardon?” She squinted at him, trying to figure out the true meaning in his words.
He wafted a hand. “Enjoy the next couple of days and the ending ball to their fullest, Lady Caroline. Do not mind me.” He bowed his head. “Excuse me.”
As he wandered back into the drawing room, she knew, with almost complete certainty and not a small amount of horror, that the Matchmakerhadto be mistaken. Dickie Dennis was not the one for her.
“But how can the Matchmaker be wrong?” Caroline muttered, taking out the letters and flattening them out, so she might read them for the hundredth time.
Shedidagree that Percival was not her match, so she could not argue that the Matchmaker had been correct in that assessment. But that other note, that frustrating suggestion that Dickie might be her match, pinched like a thorn in Caroline’s head. It throbbed all the more, remembering his casual dismissal two nights ago.
Ever since that dismissal, she had conversed again with him a few times, and though their discussions were engaging, there was no thrill or romantic attraction to be found. In truth, there had been a few occasions where she had drifted off while he was talking, daydreaming of other things.
His eyes seem to glaze over when I talk, too.
