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“My brother must have searched out every maid in the manor before asking the very last to chaperone me while with His Grace. We were left alone for the entire interaction,” Eleanor hissed.

Charlotte’s hand flew to her mouth to cover it and stifle the gentle gasp. Her eyes were as bright and round as the moon had been for the last few nights.

“Not a word,” Eleanor urged. “I really didn’t know what to do with myself in that situation. And His Grace was completely unbothered by it, as if it were a usual occurrence for him. We were supposed to spend the time agreeing on the arrangements for the Season, but we spent it arguing with each other.” Eleanor placed a hand on her heart. “His doing completely. Not mine.”

“You were—” Charlotte glanced at Margaret and then back at Eleanor. “You were left alone with him?”

“Yes,” Eleanor whispered.

Charlotte leaned in a little more. “Completely alone?”

“Yes,” Eleanor hissed. She didn’t understand how Lottie wasn’t getting this.

Charlotte licked her lips. “Did he try to…?”

“What?” Eleanor asked. Then, it clicked. “Why, no! Nothing like that happened. He was the perfect gentleman.” She shook her head. “In that regard, anyway.”

“Only, I’ve heard—” Charlotte started.

“Nothing happened,” Eleanor claimed, not sure what she had to do to convince her friend. “Only fighting. Even if he did try something, I would have rebuffed his advances. He is not the sort of man I’m looking for.”

Charlotte smiled widely. “And what sort of man are you looking for?”

Eleanor’s jaw tightened. “Someone dependable, of course. A reputable gentleman who will treat me well and respect me. Someone who will appreciate me for who I am and not feel the need to change me.”

“Gosh, so romantic,” Charlotte mocked.

“Of course, I want all that, but it is so much harder to find a man who will put you before anyone else and ensure that you have the life you need.”

Besides, love is something saved for fairy tales, something to dream of in life, but like a flake of snow falling into the palm of your hand, impossible to grasp.

“I want someone who is devilishly handsome,” Charlotte said. “Someone with a chiseled jaw like a marble statue.” She looked up past Eleanor. “Oh, a chiseled jaw. That is just the thing for me, and we will kiss almost all of the time, and he will hold me tightly and whisper sweet nothings into my ear.”

Charlotte remained looking away from Eleanor, and she now had two women at her table who were lost in their own little worlds.

Eleanor didn’t need all that. She only needed someone who would treat her respectfully.

“I know for certain there will be none of that with His Grace,” Eleanor stated. “We were alone in a room together, and I didn’t think about any of that for one second.”

The daydreams in Charlotte’s eyes cleared, and she drew her attention back to Eleanor. “Yet, you are still talking about him, and he is just about the only thing you have spoken about since we all sat down.”

“I don’t deny that,” Eleanor said. “I needed to convey just how awful he is, so you understand what I will be put through when I have him looking over my shoulder for the duration of the Season. Perhaps I can find a way to attend an event that conflicts with his schedule. Mother, you could accompany me to a ball or a dinner, couldn’t you?”

Margaret looked toward Eleanor with a sweet smile. “If you are to have a chaperone following you everywhere, my dear, at least he should be handsome.”

Charlotte burst into fits of giggles.

“Mother!” Eleanor squealed.

“He has impeccable manners,” Margaret continued. “He was alone with you, and he did not do anything untoward, did he?”

Eleanor paused for a few seconds before she reluctantly answered. “No.”

Margaret nodded, looking slightly past Eleanor. The smile twitched on her lips as she thought before she spoke.

“If it were me, I don’t know if I could have held myself back,” Margaret continued.

“Mother!” Eleanor gasped. “You can’t say things like that!”