Millie knew better than to try to fool her mother, who’d already endured three daughters and their share of foolhardy antics. She was grateful her mother seemed willing to allow her the privacy of her thoughts.
“I intend to call on Lady Burrows to see how she’s faring after that unfortunate incident involving her daughter. Having one’s gown tear in the middle of a dance must have been terribly upsetting. Would you care to join me?”
“Mother.” Millie straightened in alarm. “You are not truly going to see her, are you?”
Her mother feigned innocence, but she wasn’t the only one not easily fooled. “I don’t know why not.”
“Tell me it has nothing to do with me.” Millie shifted to the edge of her chair, heart racing.
“Why would it?” Her mother’s rapid blinks said it all.
“Indeed. Why would it?” Millie jerked to her feet. “You and Father promised not to intervene. Not yet anyway.”
“And we are not.”
“Then why are you calling on Lady Burrows?” Her hands clenched of their own accord.
Her father had raised the subject of arranging a marriage for Millie two months ago, which hadn’t come as a complete surprise since he’d done the same for her sisters. But a few weeks later, he’d mentioned a few names of potential gentlemen, one of whom was Viscount Dunthorpe, whose father was a friend of his.
“Millie, you know these things take time. If—and I do mean if,” she said as she sent Millie a pointed look, “any intervention is required by your father, it would be better if the groundwork was already in place for a match between you and her son.”
Millie shook her head. “But once certain...expectations are set in motion, they are difficult, if not impossible, to halt.” The thought was appalling. “I am not ready to proceed with Father’s suggestion of considering Viscount Dunthorpe.”
“I know. Both of us heard you.” The weariness in her tone was hurtful. “But Millie, you must be reasonable. You are six and twenty. If you could share a reason that this Season will be different, then I will advise your father and adjust my...friendship with Lady Burrows accordingly.”
Friendship? Millie’s mother and Lady Burrows had never been friends. Her mother never had time for the lady’s penchant for gossip of the mean-spirited variety. That was, until now.
Yet what could Millie say to convince her not to pursue the relationship when it would smooth the possibility of an arranged marriage between her and Viscount Dunthorpe?
A request for a kiss from Winston was hardly grounds to hope to marry, especially knowing him and his intention to avoid it.
Millie pressed her lips tight. Did she gamble on Winston or put events in motion with Viscount Dunthorpe? She needed to proceed carefully as she didn’t want to end up as a spinster and be a burden to her parents or one of her sisters. Neither did she want to be in a loveless marriage. She barely knew Dunthorpe but could already say for certain that she didn’t feel anything for him. She wasn’t even sure she liked him. Would that change with time?
More importantly, was she willing to take such a risk?
The question was one she’d considered before at the idea of an arranged marriage and never been able to answer. Nor could she now. A few minutes of flirtation with Winston was nothing. At least, not to him. For her, it had meant everything.
If only she had more time.
But her opinion didn’t matter. Not compared to her parents’ wishes or how the gentleman in question felt. There was always the chance her mother and father’s efforts would be ineffective. Perhaps Viscount Dunthorpe already had his sights set on another lady.
“Your lack of an answer suffices,” her mother said with a sigh. “For now, at any rate. I will call on Lady Burrows as planned and see where it takes us. Why just the other day, she remarked how similar you are to your sisters.”
The urge to deny it was futile when many people said the same. How could she expect to escape the same fate they had?
Millie wanted to protest her mother’s plan, but it wasn’t as if Winston had proclaimed undying love. His interest in Millie might fade before they managed even one kiss.
So she held her silence, only refusing her mother’s request to join her. That wasn’t something she was willing to do quite yet. She preferred to hold herself apart for now.
Unfortunately, the conversation left her in poor spirits. Who knew when she might see Winston again and if he’d still beinterested in a kiss? She gave herself a mental shake. If she truly cared, she needed to have more faith in him.
More importantly, she needed to have more faith in herself. Was she willing to live with regret, knowing she might’ve done something to catch Winston’s regard and perhaps even his heart?
When would he see Millicent again? Winston scowled as he stared into his glass of whiskey later that afternoon after settling into a chair at his club. It wasn’t as if he could call on her. That would never do as it would suggest a level of interest he wasn’t willing to claim.
Better that they come upon one another by accident like they had on Regent Street. Yet the unlikeliness had him frowning. The chances of that happening again were too slim to contemplate.
Did he find a way to ask Eliza for assistance? No, that would never do. He didn’t want his sister involved as she would become convinced something more was brewing than what there was.