Page 96 of Aurelia

If you had any sense at all, you would have leapt with joy at his offer. You will live to regret it.

She worried the voice might be right this time. Aurelia might not love him, but Sir Gideon was the sort of man who would make any woman an excellent husband.

But it would be cruel and unfair to marry when her heart already belonged to another. Especially when that other lived just a boat ride away from Sir Gideon. If she married the baronet, she would likely see Lord Crewe often. It would be… devastating.

Only when Sir Gideon stood to take his leave did Aurelia realize how rudely she’d neglected her guest while gathering wool.

“I shall come a bit later on Thursday,” he said, once again bowing over her hand and then taking his leave.

Celsa barely waited for the door to shut behind him before grinning and saying, “He wants to court you. He is in love with you!”

“You do like to imagine things,” Aurelia said coolly, leaving the room.

Celsa trotted after her. “Do you like him?”

“Of course I like him. He is a very nice man.”

“But do you like him?”

Aurelia ignored the question. “Was there something you needed? Or did you just barge into the drawing room so you could practice your flirtation skills on Sir Gideon?”

“I did not!” Celsa denied, far too hotly for there not to be a grain of truth in Aurelia’s accusation.

“Do you want to come up to my workroom and practice your watercolors while I work?” Aurelia asked.

“The day is too lovely.” A grin spread across her face and she all but skipped down the corridor. “And guess what?” she asked, but then said before Aurelia could answer, “Papa left me a message before going—he said I am no longer restricted from riding!”

“Congratulations. You will not need me any longer, will you?”

Celsa laughed. “No, I don’t. But I will still be waiting for you at two-thirty—unless you can be persuaded to leave earlier?”

“Three,” Aurelia said. “I am getting a late start.”

Aurelia suspected that she would be less than productive after the earl’s mysterious letter and Sir Gideon’s stunning proposal.

It wasn’t even noon and the day was already one of the most memorable in her adult life.

Chapter 21

The first two weeks after the earl’s departure were some of the worst weather Aurelia had experienced on Crewe.

And it perfectly suited her mood.

“Never fear, my dear Aurelia, it will not rain forever,” Arthur teased at dinner one night. “September is temperamental, but October can often be one of the most beautiful months of the year.” He smiled. “It is almost as if God keeps a special bit of the summer for us every year.”

Across the table, Celsa rolled her eyes.

Aurelia ignored her bad behavior.

Arthur had been bedbound for eight of the last fourteen days and this was his first appearance at dinner. Even now, he looked less than robust, his skin patchy and red and his hands shakier than ever.

Celsa heaved a loud sigh and toyed with her food in a way that would earn sharp looks from her father if he were there. “I despise this time of year. Nothing of any interest will happen until Christmas.”

“That is barely two months away,” Guustin pointed out. And then grinned teasingly. “And this year you will have an extra gift because I will be here.”

“I thought your ship would have been ready well before then,” Arthur said, all semblance of his good humor gone at the news.

Guustin sighed. “Unfortunately not. I will have to go to Glasgow again at the end of the week.”