Dante decided to walk home and sent his carriage ahead of him. The young Miss Radford consumed his thoughts, and he wanted time to think about them. He found walking frequently cleared his head enough to deal with his servants and with life in general.
Despite his confusion and the set downs she gave him, he still found Miss Radford to be intriguing. Her sister must have spoken harshly to the young lady to tame the shrew into such heartfelt repentance. But there was that “sir” again that had him questioning if the tears were real.
Was it a deliberate slight? he wondered.
Like most people in town, he knew about the history of the Radfords. Lady Radford had been born the only child of the Baron Monteagle, Lord Parker, a former investor and leader in the British East India Company. At three years old, her mother died, and her father had sent her home to England to live with an aunt despite the danger of the voyage for one so young. Baron Monteagle had arranged a marriage for his daughter when she was sixteen, but she had balked at the arrangement and had fled to Gretna Green to marry Sir Radford, who was below her station. Not surprisingly, her father had disinherited her, leaving her to rely upon Sir Radford’s small wealth. After giving birth to four daughters, Sir Radford had passed away from illness several years ago with only two of his daughters comfortably married. Unfortunately, his estate had been entailed. Lady Duval, then known as Miss Radford, had married a dying man to secure a home for herself, her mother, and her youngest sister. After being widowed, she had fallen in love with Lord Duval.
Although their family had been wrought with unfortunate happenings, there was no reason to assume that the young Miss Radford had been so ill-bred as to deliberately misuse titles. He quickly concluded that her fire and passion must be the result of her youth or her inexperience. Once he convinced himself that was the case, he developed the opinion that the interesting side of her personality would soon turn into a simpering miss like the rest of the women on the marriage market. That thought disappointed him as he climbed the steps of his townhouse.
He paused for a minute before entering his London home. He questioned himself: Was he interested in her romantically? It only took him a second to push the idea aside. He needed a far tidier and self-controlled wife. He planned to find one in three years. He was still far too young to be burdened with that aspect of life. He also enjoyed some simpering, and social etiquette was of the utmost importance in his position. If he thought women were foolish when they discovered his title, he could only imagine how much more unpleasant marriage would be with one of them. He had many reasons to put off that institution.
Shaking his head, he walked into his townhouse.
His heart skipped a beat at the faint hope that Miss Radford might accept him for who he was, even after she learned his title, and remain true to her causes. The thought of having an authentic friend after all these years was an exciting one that he quickly rejected. He had often been disappointed in that department, and he definitely would not get his hopes up after only spending a few, tense minutes with the woman. Tomorrow evening, when he danced with her, he would be able to tell easily enough if she were shopping for titles.
He said a quick prayer and decided to leave it in the Lord’s hands. He had been praying a long time for a close male friend, but if the Lord preferred, he would settle for a temporary female one just to have the experience. Although he tried not to get his hopes up, he found himself looking forward to going to an assembly for the first time in his life.
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