She blinked twice. Where had their miscommunication been precisely? “Have everyone look at you like this. It’s terribly uncomfortable.”
His brows rose. “You don’t like to have people looking at you?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Do you?”
“I don’t care much, I suppose.” But then his frown deepened. “I like conversing far less.”
Evie gave him a small smile. They actually had something in common. “I don’t care for it either.”
“You don’t?”
She shook her head. “Attention makes me…uncomfortable.”
He began steering them toward a quiet corner of the room. “Does it?” He cleared his throat. “You must get a fair bit of it, looking how you do.”
Her brows drew together as she studied his face. “Looking how I do?”
“You must know how beautiful you are.”
She didn’t. Well, she knew she was reasonably attractive. But beautiful? Surely, she’d have far more suitors if she were. Still the words caused a niggle of pleasure deep in her gut. “That is very kind. Thank you.”
“I wasn’t being kind. I was stating the truth.”
They stopped in the corner as she assessed him. On the one hand, it made his compliment more powerful that he seemed genuine. On the other, that last statement had been a bit…abrasive. “Not kind. Are you often not kind?”
His mouth hardened into a thin line. “Many people tell me I speak far too plainly and with too much temper.”
She tightened her hand on his elbow, adding her other so that both were holding his arm. “And people tell me I don’t speak enough.”
“Is that why your mother pinched your arm?”
“Yes.” Then she cocked her head to the side. “And why did your aunt drag you over?”
For the first time that evening, his face relaxed into a smile. It stole her breath all over again. “Noticed that, did you?”
She’d noticed every small gesture he’d made from the moment he’d stepped on the grand staircase. Which was annoying, she hadn’t meant to be so aware. She didn’t want to like this man. “I did.”
He shook his head. “She thinks I need to marry, and I do.”
Evie didn’t quite know what to make of that statement. If he agreed that he needed to wed, had he been dragged over because he did not consider her a possible candidate despite his assertion that she was beautiful?
But she pushed those feelings back down. She didn’t want to wed him either.
But she didn’t know him well enough to ask that question so she asked another instead. “What did you mean when you said this would all be over soon?”
His smile disappeared.
Drat. Had she asked exactly the wrong question? Why couldn’t she say just one thing right? How would she ever marry anyone if she couldn’t utter a few of the right words?