Edith Layton by The Choice Page A

as much as told you so just now, didn’t he? That’s what I like about him. He’s honest enough, in his way. I don’t like his morals. But they’re not my concern. I do like him otherwise,” she said, her chin rising. “I mean, to joke and talk with. Because he’s clever. But he never oversteps himself if you don’t want to play a deeper game. And be sure, I let him know I didn’t.”
    “Hence, his disappointment? Oh, I see.”
    Gilly lowered her eyes. She didn’t know how he managed to make his disapproval felt without one accusation or harsh word. Or how he made her feel so guilty for no reason, either.
    “Well, but most London parties and balls are dull, and he amuses me. Oh, blast,” she went on as his bland expression didn’t change. “The thing is, we live deep in the countryside. We’re only here now because my Lord Sinclair had business in town and he and his lady hadn’t been in London for years. They decided to take me along because I suppose they wanted to make a push to get me popped off. There aren’t that many eligible men in our district. I have no name or estate, so they can’t arrange a suitable match. I think they brought me here to see what they could see in the future for me. I’m twenty now. That’s not very old, but let three or four more years roll by…well, they worry. They always try to do the best for me—no matter what I say. But aside from the theater, which I love, and the museums and such, there isn’t much here for me. Especially at the kind of party where we met.”
    “Not much here for you?” Damon echoed in astonishment. “With all the bachelors in London?”
    “No, not much at all. Except for the likes of Dearborne and Wycoff. Or knights in shining armor, like you. Confess,” she said impishly, “the gents you asked about me last night praised my face and form all right, I suppose. But then they said I was ineligible, right? Well, by their standards, that’s true. So, being gentlemen, they can’t raise my expectations by spending time with me. Being admired from afar is dull stuff and so are most parties I go to. The unmarried girls don’t want to sit with someone who isn’t the thing. The married ones wonder why I want to hang about with them. The companions are too afraid to squeak, and the mamas have each other to gossip with. So, a fellow like Wycoff livens up things for me, is all I meant to say.”
    “He’d liven things more if your name was linked to his more often,” Damon mused. “Now. Back to being adored and adoring, if you please. But do you think you could take a minute to tell me more about yourself? Without skimping on the sighing and mooning over the complete magnificence of me, of course. You live in the countryside. Where? What do you do when you’re there? What do you want to do? What’s your favorite food? What perfume are you wearing? But first,” he said, suddenly serious, “I have to tell you one very important thing because I find I absolutely must, and bedamned the consequences!”
    “What?” she asked, half afraid to hear it.
    “Did anyone ever mention that the sunlight turns your eyes to gleaming gold?” he said in a rush. He raised his hands in surrender. “I had to say it, it wasoverwhelming me. I knew you don’t like flattery. But this was an emergency. I ask you to bear with me when I’m overcome like that,” he said gravely. “Suppressing compliments is very bad for my health. Makes me break out in spots, and then see them before my eyes. All that pressure builds up, you see.”
    The fashionable of London noted they’d never seen Miss Giles in better spirits; she was laughing so hard, it brought tears to her eyes. And her fiancé was grinning in sheer delight at the sight.
    They drove the main path and eventually emerged from the park. He took her for ices at Gunters, the most fashionable place for it. They sat in the window, where anyone might see she had no chaperone. It was something only an engaged couple