Charity Falls for the Rejected Duke by Hanna Hamilton

Author:Hanna Hamilton
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: 0
Published: 2018-10-13T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

Charity had not really asked herself whether she expected Mr. Edwards to call again soon. It was the sort of question that young ladies who were in love asked, or at least, young ladies who were toying with the possibility of being in love.

She thought back to how she had felt the day that she had been hoping that Mr. Harding would call. The flood of fears and feelings, the heady sense of joy when she had heard his approach.

When she was informed that Mr. Edwards was waiting in the drawing room she was somewhat pleased. Nothing more, nothing less. The idea of seeing the lively young man was a pleasant one, but there was no accompanying quickening of her heartbeat.

When she entered the drawing room, her father was already sitting with Mr. Edwards, wearing an expression more jovial than she had seen on his countenance for a long time indeed.

“Is not it a glorious day outside?” the Reverend Miller asked cheerfully, gesturing out of the window. It was true that there were patches of blue sky here and there, peering tentatively through a thick layer of white cloud. It was not bad weather, but it was not the sort to convince one to stir outdoors if one was already disinclined to do so.

“You’re so fond of walking, Daughter,” he continued. “I wonder if you and I and Mr. Edwards might take a little turn together. Perhaps there is some pleasant path that I am not well acquainted with. Certainly, I would like for Mr. Edwards to see the neighborhood to the greatest advantage, is it not so?”

“Of course, Papa,” she replied. She did not look at Mr. Edwards, but she was sure that if he were half as intelligent as he had seemed in their previous meetings, then he would be able to see through her father’s orchestrations. She knew that the Reverend Miller would stir a few paces and then insist that his rheumatism was troubling him, urging the young people to walk ahead so that he could rest a while.

It was not nearly as subtle a plan as he seemed to believe it to be.

Nonetheless, she saw no reason why they should not take a walk together. It would be better, at least, than sitting stiffly on the uncomfortable furniture of the drawing room, trading in banal niceties. At least, she might be able to have a rational, distracting conversation with Mr. Edwards, if her father was not hanging on their every word and doing his best to orchestrate the direction of their talk.

The day had grown less fine even between their agreement to go walking and the moment they stepped outdoors. Indeed, Charity could discern a great cluster of thunderclouds not a very significant way off and wondered whether they would be able to walk long enough for the rite to be completed before the heavens opened.

They walked together for a while. As she had expected, the Reverend Miller lagged behind a good deal, claiming

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