Page 36 of A Spinster’s Folly (Courting the Unconventional #2)

E ugenie adjusted her straw hat, ensuring it sat at the correct angle as she settled into the plush seat beside Charles in the carriage.

The visit to Miss Winslow had gone far from planned, leaving her with an uneasy feeling in her chest. She only hoped no one had noticed her absence at the townhouse—though she knew that was wishful thinking.

The rhythmic clip-clop of the horses echoed against the cobblestone streets, lulling them into silence until, at last, the carriage came to a smooth stop in front of her townhouse.

Before the footman could even move, Charles swiftly stepped out, the gravel crunching under his boots.

He turned, extending his gloved hand towards her.

Eugenie placed her fingers in his and allowed him to help her down, but the moment her feet touched the ground, she withdrew her hand.

Charles’s sharp gaze studied her. “Is everything all right?”

She hesitated, glancing away as she tried to form the right response. “I suppose it is,” she finally said, though her tone lacked conviction. “But I wish Miss Winslow had been more… accommodating.”

“Indeed. It was rather odd, wasn’t it? Her sudden interest in playing matchmaker between us.” His expression grew thoughtful as he continued. “It begs the question—why us?”

Eugenie sighed. “I don’t rightly know.”

Charles rocked back slightly on his heels, his hands clasped behind his back as if weighing his next words carefully. “What if we did marry? Would it be so terrible?”

No.

The word formed instantly in her mind. But that wasn’t the issue. Charles didn’t love her. And Eugenie could not bring herself to marry someone who didn’t feel as deeply for her as she did for him.

She placed a hand on his sleeve. “You are a good man, Charles. Perhaps the best I have ever known. But we both deserve more than a marriage of convenience.”

“Is that what you think I’m offering?”

“Isn’t it?” she countered.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I am offering you the chance to marry me. An earl. A handsome earl, I might add.”

Despite herself, Eugenie let out a small laugh. “Well, now that you remind me of your title, I suppose I might reconsider my answer.”

The humor left Charles’s expression as he said, “We would be good together, you and I.”

Before she could respond, the front door of the townhouse swung open, revealing Niles standing in the entryway. His nostrils flared as his sharp gaze landed on her.

“Eugenie,” he growled. “Will you kindly come inside at once?”

Eugenie let out a slow breath, dropping her hand from Charles’s sleeve. “It would appear my absence was, in fact, noticed.”

Niles’s glare shifted towards Charles. “I wish to speak with both of you. Now. ”

Charles extended his arm towards the door. “After you, my lady.”

Holding her head high, Eugenie ascended the stone steps, stepping past Niles into the entry hall. The door closed with a decisive thud behind them.

Niles turned towards her. “Eugenie, are you mad?”

Feeling rather bold, she quipped, “No, but I haven’t been tested.”

His jaw tightened. “You think this is humorous?”

“I think you are overreacting.”

Niles took a measured step closer. “You left the townhouse without my permission. We discussed this. You were nearly abducted a few days ago. Do you not have any care for your own safety?”

“I was perfectly safe,” she insisted. “We only went to call upon Miss Winslow, and we had plenty of footmen accompanying us.”

Niles turned his heated glare towards Charles. “And what do you have to say for yourself?”

Charles raised a placating hand. “I assure you, Eugenie was properly guarded the entire time.”

“What was so urgent that you had to speak to Miss Winslow this very moment?” Niles demanded.

Eugenie pressed her lips together before replying softly, “We can’t say.”

Niles’s brows shot up. “I beg your pardon?”

She lifted her chin. “We can’t say,” she repeated, her voice firmer this time.

Niles let out a frustrated sigh. “What am I to do with you, Eugenie? You have no regard for your well-being.”

“Nothing happened to me,” she countered. “No harm done.”

Before Niles could retort, another voice interrupted from the doorway. “Dear me, what is all this shouting about? ”

They all turned to see Elsbeth standing there, her gaze flicking between them with mild concern.

“Eugenie snuck out with Charles to visit Miss Winslow,” Niles informed his wife.

“I did not sneak out,” Eugenie corrected indignantly. “I used the main door and I told Tanner that I was leaving. That is the opposite of sneaking out.”

Elsbeth gave her a look of disapproval. “That was unwise. What if someone attempted to abduct you again?”

Charles interjected. “The two men who attempted to abduct Eugenie are in Newgate.”

“And how do you know that?” Niles asked.

“Warwicke told me,” Charles replied.

Something in Niles’s expression shifted. “I see he has finally revealed his true identity to you. That must mean he trusts you.”

Eugenie glanced between them. “Who is Warwicke?”

Niles’s tone had an unmistakable edge to it. “He is a man doing me a favor. You need not concern yourself with him.”

Realization dawned in Eugenie’s mind. “Are you speaking of Baron Warwicke?”

Niles paused, then nodded. “I am.”

Curious, she asked, “And what sort of favor is he doing for you?”

“He agreed to investigate your attempted abduction,” her brother revealed.

“But he’s a baron,” Eugenie said.

“He is now,” Niles corrected. “Only recently. The king bestowed him that title for his service on the battlefield. Before that, he was a Bow Street Runner.”

“A Bow Street Runner turned baron,” Eugenie mused. “What a remarkable turn of events for him. One doesn’t often hear of such drastic changes in fortune.”

Niles met her gaze with the same unwavering intensity he always carried when he was displeased. “I am still quite upset with you, Eugenie.”

She offered him a small, appeasing smile. “I know,” she admitted. “But can you continue chastising me over our midday meal? I am positively famished.” She pressed a hand against her stomach for emphasis, as if to illustrate her desperate hunger.

Charles cleared his throat. “If you will excuse me, I believe it is time I take my leave.”

“You would be correct,” Niles said bluntly, his sharp gaze flicking towards him in clear dismissal.

Eugenie ignored her brother’s brusqueness and turned to Charles. “Thank you for escorting me to Miss Winslow’s townhouse.”

“You are most kindly welcome,” Charles replied, though his usual air of confidence was tinged with something else—something more uncertain.

“And, if you should happen to change your mind about what we discussed…” His voice trailed off for a fraction of a second before he recovered, offering her a hopeful smile. “I would be more than grateful.”

“I don’t think I will,” Eugenie responded.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Charles’s face, so fleeting that, had she not been looking directly at him, she might have missed it. “Very well,” he said simply. “I shall take my leave, then.”

Eugenie watched as Charles strode out the main door, her eyes lingering long after he was gone.

Niles’s voice cut through the silence. “What, exactly, have you discussed with Bedford?”

“He offered for me… again,” she replied, seeing no reason to deny it.

“And you turned him down?” Niles asked.

She bit her lower lip before replying. “He offered me a marriage of convenience,” she said. “I would rather remain a spinster than marry a man who doesn’t love me.”

Niles studied her carefully, his silence stretching long enough to make her shift under his gaze. When he finally spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle. “But you love him.” It wasn’t a question—it was a statement, spoken with certainty.

“I don’t know what I feel,” she lied, though even she could hear the lack of conviction in her own voice. “But it matters not. Now, about that food…” She made a show of rubbing her stomach again, hoping to shift the conversation.

But Niles wasn’t so easily swayed. “There is nothing wrong with being in love with Bedford.”

She swallowed, feeling the weight of those words settle deep in her chest. No, there was nothing wrong with it. But that didn’t make it any less complicated.

“I am not going to pine after a man that does not love me,” Eugenie remarked.

Elsbeth took a step closer to Eugenie. “How do you know what he feels for you?”

The question struck deeper than Eugenie anticipated, and for a brief moment, she felt utterly exposed.

She stiffened, taking a quick step back as if physical distance could shield her from the conversation.

“I can’t have this discussion right now,” she said, forcing a lightness into her tone.

“I need sustenance, or I might simply perish where I stand.”

It was a weak attempt at humor, and she knew it. A deflection. A coward’s way out. But she wasn’t ready for this conversation. She couldn’t be.

If she admitted the truth—if she laid bare the depth of her feelings for Charles—she knew exactly what would follow. Concern. Gentle reassurances. Soft, pitying glances from those who would see her love as unrequited.

And she could not bear their pity.

She had not fallen in love with Charles because she was lonely or bored. She fell in love with him after she got to know him, and she realized she wanted him in her life. Forever.

But he didn’t feel the same.

Spinning on her heel, Eugenie headed towards the dining room, hoping to be alone. She needed space. A moment. Just one fleeting moment to herself where she could lower the carefully constructed walls and allow her thoughts to unravel.

Charles sat at his desk, fingers poised over the ledger, but his eyes remained unfocused on the neatly written columns of numbers. No matter how many times he willed himself to concentrate, his mind strayed—again and again—to Eugenie.

It was always Eugenie.

Botheration.

When would this torture end?