Millie nearly jumped in surprise. She’d heard the door open but then promptly forgotten she wasn’t alone. “Nothing.”
Tillie came to stand next to her, her back pressing against the window as she perched on the sill. “It’s not nothing. I know you.”
Millie frowned. Her sister did know her well enough to know when she was lying. But there was no way she could share all that was swirling about her head. Her feelings were not justified or fair.
“You can tell me,” Tillie softly cajoled with a hand on Millie’s arm. “You know I’ll help you if I can.”
Millie placed her hand over her sister’s. She loved Tillie so much, her heart ached from it. Which is why she could never burden Tillie with the knowledge that Millie had a crush on her older sister’s intended. “For starters, I don’t wish to shop for dresses. All the new dresses will come with this pressure that I make some brilliant match.”
Tillie squeezed her shoulder. “Resisting mother’s attempts to mold you into her likeness can be exhausting, can’t it?”
Millie leaned her head to the side, resting her cheek on their joined hands. “It’s easier for you. You’re naturally stronger.”
“And you’re naturally sweeter,” Tillie replied, wrapping her other arm around Millie’s shoulder. “I sometimes wish I could be more like you. Everyone loves you. They mostly tolerate me.”
Millie lifted her head, blinking in surprise. “Tolerate you? You’re the strongest, most talented woman I know. I think you’re miraculous.”
Tillie smiled at her sister before she leaned down and kissed her cheek. “And I think you’re divine. Which is why you’ll be a great success when you enter society.”
Millie swallowed down the thickness in her throat that rose up with her next words. “You’re marrying an earl. That is a success. A great one.”
Tillie shook her head. “I suppose.” But she turned her gaze out the window, her eyes staring off into the distance.
“Tillie?” Millie asked, rising so that she stood in front of her sister. “Is something wrong with you?”
Tillie shook her head. “Not a thing.” Then she looked back at Millie. “Tell me your impressions of Lord Rangeley. You seem to like him.”
Millie sucked in her breath. She needed to be very careful what she said here. She’d not burden Tillie with her feelings. “He makes a good match for you, I think.”
“Why’s that?” Tillie asked, her brow furrowing.
Did the idea of them being suited surprise her sister? Millie stared at Tillie for a moment before she answered. “Because he’s hard working, and quietly thoughtful, and a good listener, and…” She paused as the line between Tillie’s brows grew deeper and deeper.
“You really think all that of him?”
“I do. Don’t you?” Millie shook her head, genuinely surprised by her sister’s question.
“I don’t read people like you,” Tillie murmured softly. “Benedict is with Lord Rangeley this morning; I shall ask him his opinion as well.” Tillie tapped her chin.
“Haven’t you already decided that he should court you? Are you having doubts?” Millie’s stomach pitched wildly at the idea. Her mother would never approve, but if Tillie wasn’t interested in Lord Rangeley…
“I can say with absolute certainty that I am not having doubts.”
Her insides dropped again. She should have known her sister would want such a fine man.
Then she had to laugh at herself. Just yesterday, she’d considered him a rake. Today she knew better but she also understood that he would never be hers. No matter how much she wished for it to be so.