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Charles leaned over the table and took his shot, gaining two points. His smile widened, and if nothing else, at least he was being adequately distracted from his worries over his ill wife. “Mr. Kendrick approached Helena and I when we first arrived and stated his interest in Millie. Helena told him—” Charles straightened, narrowing his eyes. “You do not intend to repeat this information to Millie, do you? I cannot say more if that is the case.”

Wesley shook his head even as his stomach tightened, the discomfort of his promise spreading through his body with swift tenseness.

“Very well. Helena told him he would have more luck with Millie if he did not approach too quickly or with too much force. She would be more receptive to him if she could grow to trust him first.”

“It is admittedly good advice.”

“Of course it is. Helena is her sister.”

Yet, Wesley did not believe she knew Millie as well as he did if she could look at Mr. Kendrick and find in him a good match. He was too staid, too solemn for Millie. She had a spirit about her that someone like Mr. Kendrick would dim.

“Why is it so important to Mrs. Hollis to see Millie married?” Wesley asked.

Charles shrugged, stepping away from the table when his turn was complete. “Is that not the wish of all mothers? To see their daughters comfortably settled?”

Wesley could not fault that logic, yet he struggled to fully accept it. He had never seen Mrs. Hollis push her daughters toward eligible men. She had been a proponent of each of them making a love match in their own time.

Now, however, it felt as though Millie would stop at nothing to find her secret suitor, and he imagined it was a result of her mother’s influence.

“Enough talk of the women in my life.”

“That is fair.” Wesley hit the ball and Charles cheered, taking his turn.

They finished their game and began a second one, and throughout the duration, Wesley could not cease thinking about Millie and her prospects. If she wanted to marry so badly, why had she never taken it seriously before now? She had certainly had her share of admirers in their town.

Perhaps he should ask her.

Chapter Ten

Millie stood on the lawn of the village fete and watched the blacksmith slam a hammer on a piece of bent metal over and over again. Each hit cut through the air with a sharp ring, jarring the small party gathered to observe. The thin rod bent easily into a half-circle, and he cut it from the rod, turning it to lay flat.

Warm air billowed from the forge, a nice reprieve on the otherwise cold day.

Millie had returned to the drawing room last night after showing Helena her silhouette and finding a safe location to prop it in her bedchamber. Mr. Kendrick had taken the place at her side near the pianoforte to sing for the evening. He had a pleasant voice and a chivalrous way about him, but nothing more he did implied he was the man leaving notes in her room.

“What do you think he is making?” Nell asked, leaning closer and drawing Millie’s attention back to the present demonstration.

Helena and Charles had stepped back when the pounding began, but Millie and Nell had stepped closer to better observe. The blacksmith was older, with graying hair and an expression void of nonsense.

“A ring, perhaps,” Millie suggested, watching the thin rod curve as he shaped it again with his hammer.

Wesley stepped closer to her side, peering at the item on the anvil, now being flattened on the ends. “It cannot be a ring. The circle does not close.”

When the blacksmith finished, he plunged the item into cool water and turned to face the crowd. “Have you any questions?”

A woman lifted her hand. “What item do you make most frequently?”

“Nails, ma’am, mostly. Hinges, sometimes. Rings are in constant need—there are many things which require iron rings.”

“A horse’s bridle?” a man suggested.

The blacksmith nodded.

“Thank you for the demonstration,” Wesley said.

“What is it you made?” Millie asked.

The man smiled. He looked toward the water, then used his tongs to retrieve the item and wiped it on a cloth. Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he lifted it for all to see.