understand that. And I really did think he loved you, but if he won’t offer for you—you are sure about that?”
“Of course I’m sure. I’m not completely beetle-headed.” No, not completely beetle-headed, just beetle-headed enough to have spent the last six years or more in love with a man who didn’t care the snap of his fingers for her. Beetle-headed enough to turn down marriage offers from a duke, two marquises, and an assortment of earls, viscounts, and other men because she was certain Robbie would ask for her hand eventually.
She could not fool herself any longer. If Robbie’d had any intention of wedding her, he would have spoken today in the shrubbery. He would not have looked horrified and then hid behind his society manners.
She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes closed. She would not cry.
“Well, if you are quite certain,” Meg said, “I suppose there is little to be done about it. Unless you want James to force Robbie to wed you? He could, you know.”
“No!” Lizzie leapt off the bed and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No, I do not want James to compel Robbie. That would be horrible.”
“I agree. A reluctant bridegroom would not be pleasant.” Meg pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes. “You could try to make him jealous, of course. Sometimes men don’t realize they are interested in a woman until they think they can’t have her.”
“How do you know that?”
Meg shrugged. “I observe more than plants. And unlike you, I have not had my attention focused solely on one gentleman.”
“I have not been focusing solely on Robbie.”
“If you say so.”
“Does Emma know you’ve been studying biology as well as botany in the neighboring fields?”
Meg grinned. “Just the biology of lower animals, Lizzie. I have not come upon any examples of human biology.”
“I should hope not.”
“But I have observed human social behavior in detail, especially since Emma married and decided finding me a husband was one of her goals in life.” Meg wrinkled her nose. “I have been to more dinners and dances in the last three years than I can count. The prospect of another minuet with old Mr. Ruttles was enough to get me to come with you to London.”
“Mr. Ruttles is showing interest in you? Surely not! The man must be seventy.”
“Seventy-four last November,” Meg said. “And you’ll be happy to know that his gout is much improved.”
“I will?”
“Indeed. I actually have quite the stable of admirers. Besides Mr. Ruttles, there is Mr. Gordley, Mr. Farrell, and Mr. Nunn.”
“Meg! That’s terrible. Not a one of them is under sixty. Why didn’t you come to London before?”
“Because Emma hadn’t gotten so persistent before. And when Charlie was born, she got distracted for a while. But now that she’s increasing again, she is even more determined to see me happily settled with my own children.”
“That’s understandable.”
“No, it’s maddening.”
Lizzie grinned. “All right, it’s maddening. You will just have to find yourself a husband this Season.” She sat back down next to Meg. “Now about making Robbie jealous…I’m not certain I want a man who is only interested in me because he thinks someone else wants me.”
“No, no—you’re missing the point. Yes, there are men like that, and if Robbie turns out to be one of them, you will have to discard him. In this case, our goal is merely to wake him up. Make him realize what he really wants.”
“Wake him up?”
“Yes. From what I have observed, men are very simple creatures. They may be able to fight battles and build canals, but when it comes to emotions, they are hopelessly inept. They go along merrily eating and sleeping and fornicating until something—or someone—interrupts them.”
Lizzie did not care for the thought of Robbie happily fornicating. And shouldn’t the events of last night and this afternoon have served to wake him to his love for her, if he harbored any love at all? Still, she did not want to give up her dream of marrying him until she had exhausted every possibility.
For the first time since she’d left Robbie in the garden, she felt some hope.
“All right, though I have to say, Meg, that after our interlude in the shrubbery, I would have thought Robbie would be as awake as he could be.”
“You have a point.” Meg clasped her knees, pursed her lips, and rocked back on the bed. “But you have not yet introduced the threat of losing you. In fact, if you don’t mind my saying so, it sounds as if you’ve been very, um, accessible.”
Lizzie blushed. “Well, perhaps.”
Meg nodded. “Robbie may need to face the real possibility that you will wed another man before he is prompted to take matrimonial action. Or he may be a special case—I cannot guarantee success.”
“Yes, of course.” Lizzie chose not to think about failure. She had already contemplated that unpleasant possibility and she did not like the heavy feeling it created in her stomach.
“At least you will be able to move beyond your current state of uncertainty. You’ve lingered there far too long.” Meg sat up straight. “So, we need to come up with a plan to upset Robbie.”
Lizzie frowned. “You didn’t say anything about upsetting Robbie.”
“Lizzie, you have not been paying attention. He needs to think you will wed another man. If that doesn’t upset him, you must wash your hands of him. As you say, he’s had ample opportunity to discover you stir his animal instincts. If that is all he feels for you, you will never get him to come up to scratch. He can exercise those instincts with women of easier virtue. At least I hope their virtue is easier.”
“Meg!”
“You would not be the first lady to mistake passion for love and fall for a scoundrel.” Meg frowned. “I understand some men won’t pay for what they can get for free, but I wouldn’t have thought Robbie would be one of those men.”
Lizzie flushed. “You mean—”
“If a man thinks he can get a woman into bed without a wedding ring, he will be happy to do so. Though Robbie must know he cannot do that with you, even if you were willing. James would not stand for it.” Meg chewed on the edge of her thumb. “It is a puzzle.”
“Yes.” It was more than a puzzle. It was a stomach churning nightmare. “So what do you suggest?”
“First, you need to keep your distance from Robbie. If he should try to initiate any of the activities from the shrubbery, you must decline firmly.”
“Of course. There is no danger he will be allowed any such liberties again.”
“Good.
