“I am permitted.”
With a broad smile, Adam offered her his arm again.
“Capital.”
Her warm smile had his heart slamming hard against his chest.
“Thank you, Lord Seaton.” Glancing away from him, she looked to Lord Campbell. “Are you to join us also, Lord Campbell?
“No, Lord Campbell is going to remain here and converse with your mother so that she is not alone.”
Adam laughed aloud as Lord Campbell’s delighted expression quickly faded to one of annoyance.
“Indeed?” Miss Millington’s eyes flared. “Then I thank you, Lord Campbell, for your kindness. It is very good of you to be so willing. I am certain that she will appreciate the conversation.”
“But of course.” In the face of the obvious admiration and appreciation of Miss Millington, there was nothing for Lord Campbell to do other than what Adam had stated. “Do excuse me.”
With what appeared to be gritted teeth and a low mutter of frustration sent in Adam’s direction, Lord Campbell stepped away as Adam turned his attention again to Miss Millington. His smile blossomed as they walked arm in arm, and he was aware of a deep sense of contentment flooding him. Why he should feel such a thing simply from Miss Millington’s company was inexplicable, but he was glad of it, nonetheless.
“You said something of your father a little earlier.” Not wishing to pry, and yet at the same time rather interested to know what Lord Hayman had said to his daughter to make her appear almost sorrowful, Adam glanced at the lady only to catch the moment that her smile left her face. His stomach dropped. “Forgive me if I ought not to have asked.”
“No, it is quite all right.” Miss Millington let out a small sigh. “It is only that my father and I have very different expectations about my future.”
“Oh?”
Again, she sighed and then glanced up at him, her eyes searching his for a moment, as though questioning whether or not she could trust him.
It seemed that she could.
“My elder sisters were given two Seasons each so that they might find themselves a suitable match. I, however, have not been given the opportunity and thus find myself deeply frustrated.” Her lips pulled into a pout, her eyebrows lowering, and Adam’s heart began to pound with a sudden unease. “They sought his guidance, of course, and the gentlemen who asked to court them had to be agreeable to my father, but they were not toldwhichgentlemen to consider. They had the chance to make that choice for themselves. They were not subject to Father’s demands in the same way that I am.”
A swirl of breath tied itself into Adam’s throat and, for a moment, he could not speak. When he did, his voice was low and rasping.
“Do you mean to say that your father is insisting upon you marrying?”
“It is the expectation that every young lady will find themselves a husband, is it not?” There was no lightness to her voice this time. “My father will be choosing my husband on my behalf, so he has said. That is the situation, as it stands. And attempting to speak with him, to request that he give me the same consideration as he gave my sisters, does very little.” Adam blinked, trying to clear a sudden vision from his eyes, a vision of Miss Millington being forced to stand up in church alongside a gentleman she did not know, and certainly did not care for. It was as if someone had shot a bullet straight through him, such was the swell of pain at the thought. A little overcome by the swirling sensations, he looked away sharply. Why he should feel so strongly on her behalf, he could not quite understand but, all the same, his feelings lingered. Miss Millington continued, unaware of the feelings which had overtaken him, caught in her own unhappiness. “Perhaps I ought not to complain, however.” Miss Millington continued, her tone a little lower now. “Mayhap many a young lady would be grateful for such a diligent father. It is only that I do not seek the same sort of match as he proposes.”
“I do not understand what you mean.”
What did she speak of? What was it that she wanted that her father was refusing to allow her? Surely it could not be that he was leaning towards someone who was a dear friend or long-familiar acquaintance as some gentlemen were inclined to do?
“I pray you will not think me foolish, for this has long been a desire of my heart.” Again, she looked up at him, only to pull her eyes away, a soft pink on her cheeks. “I wish to marry a gentleman who will care for me. I do not want my marriage to be purely a practical arrangement, nor simply because of apparent suitability. Those things are distasteful to my mind, for I do not think that they lead to any sort of happiness.” She took a breath, then continued, looking straight ahead rather than at him. “I have seen that my own parents, while they are good and kind in their own way, have not found any sort of happiness together. I hope that you do not think me rude or disrespectful to speak so, but it is only to show what sort of marriage I do not wish to have for myself.”
“I do not think you so,” he promised her, his words encouraging a small smile. “Sometimes we must speak as we feel, must we not?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
I must be careful in what I say.
The last thing he wanted was to make a fool of himself by speaking rashly but, at the same time, he wished to say something which would encourage her, which would offer her a sense of the esteem he held her in.
“I think you a very remarkable young lady, Miss Millington.” As he spoke carefully, he saw her eyes light up again as her smile grew. “I am quite certain that you aremorethan able to make any great decisions for yourself.”
“I could not agree more.” Answering him with a quiet smile, she leaned into him a little. “Mayhap you ought to speak to my father about such a thing.” The teasing in her voice made him laugh and, when he looked at her, her eyes were fixed on his, suddenly alive with obvious happiness. Around her face, a few gentle brown curls were being pushed this way and that by the breeze, although the rest of her hair was captured carefully by the bonnet. He could not help but sigh contentedly at the sense of sheer beauty which wrapped around Miss Millington and then flew over towards him, settling in his heart with a great warmth that did not leave him. He could not think of what to say, even though a good many things were on his mind for, whilst being in company with Miss Millington, he appeared quite unable to speak as clearly and distinctly as usual. “You are a gentleman willing to listen to me and for that, I am grateful.”
Her quiet words helped to break the silence which had captured him and, taking a deep breath, he pressed her hand with his.
“Would it be rather untoward of me to ask what it is precisely about these gentlemen whom your father suggests which displeases you so?”
