He stared at her, and noticed she had taken her lower lip between her teeth, worried about his response to her answer perhaps. He knew then it would be another no.
A sudden movement caught his eye, and he turned his head to find the young man had returned. He looked to be about to interrupt, too. Drew held up one hand. “One moment more, sir. The lady has an answer to give.”
Drew gritted his teeth as the fellow stepped back but stayed within hearing range.
It was too late to hide that he had just asked Aurora to marry him. The man was close enough to have heard and seen the whole of their exchange. Hopefully he was not the type to spread slander about women who were being ardently pursued for marriage. It was far too late to pretend he and Aurora were anything less than lovers, as well.
“We need to discuss us,” he urged.
“What more is there to say?” Aurora said quietly. “Attraction makes no difference to my answer. It will always be no. If you cannot accept that then go home, my lord, and tonight, settle upon a more suitable bride, one keen to be your lady in every sense of the word. The season is in full swing. If not Miss Hayes, pick a bride from one of the great families and forget me. It’s not too late.”
“How poorly you think of me to be so capricious. We have come too far for me to turn back now,” he warned.
Aurora threw up her hands. “Damn you, Sullivan! I gave you my answer, and it has not changed. What more do you want from me?”
The truth. The reason she kept saying no when they could be so good together. “A chance.”
He foresaw no issue with marrying Aurora but her own doubts. One cousin of Aurora’s had married a man destined to assume the Exeter duchy, the other had married the Marquess of Wharton. Both were love matches and widely accepted by society. Theirs would be no different. Given her connections, his father could be easily persuaded to support the match for the sake of family harmony, too. Northport believed in love like he did. He’d loved his duchess, Drew’s mother, and the mistress he’d taken up with soon after mother’s death was dear to his heart too.
There was not even a need for Aurora to bring any money to the marriage. All he wanted was someone that he liked to talk to, and who excited his passions. Aurora did both quite easily.
Aurora shook her head. “I said no more than once, and I’ll say it again now. I will not marry you no matter what you say next.”
He put his hands on his hips, exasperated. “Why the hell not?”
“Must I spell it out?”
“Yes!” he threw out, frustrated beyond words. “We could be so perfectly happy together if you just gave us a chance.”
“You’re a fool if you think I’m in any way perfect. And a true gentleman would not ask for a reason. He would accept my refusal and withdraw his suit for his own good.” She glanced at the fellow who might become her client, squared her shoulders, and then beckoned him close. “Now, Mr. Lambert. You’ve heard us enact how it might go if your lady is violently opposed to marriage,” she said to her potential client. “The trick is knowing when the moment to depart has arrived and make a gracious exit before it is too late to remain friends.”
She threw a warning look Drew’s way and he bit his tongue over a retort that they were far more than friends.
The fellow nodded quickly. “Yes, I do see that now, Miss Hillcrest. Thank you for explaining to me how awful a refusal might feel to hear, too. She’s popular with all the lads. Thank you as well, sir,” the fellow said to Drew.
He gaped at Aurora as she asked the fellow to give her another moment to talk to her spurned suitor before they resumed their discussion.
Aurora then turned to Drew with an apologetic look. “I had to pretend it was a bit of theater, so he wouldn’t feel badly of you for being refused.”
“I hardly care for my disappointment, but I do care about you.” Drew moved closer to Aurora and whispered, “I’m not looking for absolute perfection, Aurora. Neither should you be, or your dimwitted client over there.”
“Of course, you are.” She snorted inelegantly, and then winced. “You are the most proper gentleman I’ve ever met. Mr. Lambert could not have had a more perfect lesson if you were anyone else.”
“Then you should accept your fate and marry me. I’ve compromised you. The young man probably heard everything. I am your fate.”
“Are you dimwitted?” Aurora hissed. “Mr. Lambert will say nothing about our meeting today if he wants me to put in a good word for him with the woman he’s enamored of. I am to arrange an introduction as soon as possible, so that they might meet discreetly far from her other suitors. Now excuse me,” she said, before she walked toward the fellow to resume their conversation, leaving Drew behind.
The farther away Aurora went, though, the lower Drew’s heart sank. He was losing her…and if he’d not earned her trust by now, there was little more he could do to win it tomorrow.
As she spoke with the young man, Drew waited patiently. He heard some of their plans, and Drew remembered Aurora giving him some of the same advice. Patience and the hint not to appear too eager all at once. Was he guilty of that?
Drew probably had been too eager in every respect when it came to Aurora. But damn it all, he finally knew what he wanted. He couldn’t waste any more time or feared he might lose her to someone else.
Their hands shook and the exchange ended. Drew walked out to meet her. “Allow me to see you to your carriage.”
Aurora looked up at him slowly, wincing. “I came on foot.”
He glanced about, realizing belatedly there was no maid or footman waiting to go with her, either. “I’ll walk with you then,” he decided, giving her no choice in the matter.