Page 10 of A Perfect Engagement
He stood just as tall as Hawksridge. He was perhaps a bit broader in the shoulders, and his superfine jacket encased thick muscular arms and a barrel chest. He slowly turned in a circle, and she admired the backside of him discreetly. Muscular thighs and calves filled out his trousers, and Charlotte wondered how the pants looked stretched over his rear underneath the tails of his evening jacket. His casual confidence showed in his cocky grin as he faced her once again. This man was not her fiancé.
She was alone in a secluded part of the house with a strange man. “The real question is, why are you here pretending to be your brother?” Charlotte took a large step back.
Be brave.He is Hawksridge’s brother, not some dastardly villain for goodness’ sake. Although Hawksridge is missing, and his brother pretends to be him. Perhaps he murdered him and planned to take over his life, starting with wooing his fiancée. Her hand slid up to her throat. “Where is Hawksridge?”
Daniel hesitated. He ran a hand through his hair, disheveling the carefully combed back locks. “Miles needed to take care of some business in Derbyshire. There was a fire at his mill. He didn’t want to disappoint you so early in your relationship, so he asked me to come and be him for a few days. Just to fill in, so to speak.”
Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. That was certainly a more probable explanation. Hawksridge wasn’t here because of business? How typically male of him.Really!This engagement party was meant to be their debut as a couple. Her thoughts switched tracks from alarm to annoyance. “Hawksridge has disappointed me. He could have just told me about the fire at the mill. But instead, he arranges this deception. Does he find me simpleminded?” Her cheeks became heated as her temper rose. Daniel opened his mouth as if to say something, but she held up one hand to shush him.
“And why couldn’t he have sent one of his land stewards or whomever to handle the issues at the mill? It seems to me he didn’t want to be here at the party.” She turned and paced to the wrought-iron bench in the middle of the room. She raised her arms in frustration. “I have been jilted at my own engagement party. What will my parents think? And all the guests? I have already introduced you to everyone.” Panic formed an icy ball in the middle of her chest. She covered her face with her hands; what a disaster.
Two hands pried her own away from her face. Daniel gripped her fingers gently. She stared down at his thumbs as they drew circles across the white satin of her gloves.
“Listen, we will simply keep up the farce. I will continue to be Miles. No one needs to know. When he arrives, we will switch back, and you can tear the hide off him for placing you in this predicament.”
She raised her head to look at his face. “You are willing to keep pretending?”
He shrugged. “I planned on being Miles for the next several days. Nothing has changed for me. Except now, I’m doing it as a favor for you instead of as a favor for that stupid brother of mine. I can’t imagine why he would not want to spend every available minute with such a lovely creature as you.”
Charlotte’s cheeks heated again, except this time, it was not from anger. “You certainly have a silver tongue, Daniel Weston.” She withdrew her hands and dropped down onto the bench. “If we are to continue on, you will have to do a better job of pretending to be Hawksridge.”
Daniel raised one eyebrow.
She shrugged her shoulders. “It only took me one afternoon to figure out the truth.”
He nodded. “True enough. I did make a mistake with the pianoforte playing. Miles quit his lessons when we were boys. I doubt he could pick out a tune on the keys these days.” He wandered around studying the varietals of lilies on a long table to her right.
“Oh,” was all Charlotte could muster. She’d been quite excited to find out Hawksridge shared with her a talent for music.
Daniel frowned. “I mean Miles appreciates good music. He just never had the talent to pursue it seriously…” His voice faltered, and his cheeks flushed. He turned to study the plants nearby. “What a lovely mature brugmansia. A night bloomer, correct?”
“Um, yes. Listen, there will be lots of Hawksridge’s acquaintances here, thanks to your aunt. What sort of information did Miles give you about this week?”
“He gave me details about you and your family. He did not mention Aunt Diana would be here. I will have to be careful around her. But I am his brother. I’m confident I can pretend to be him. I just need to remember to act more aloof and superior.” He continued to wander through the room, disappearing into a forest of ferns.
“Daniel, do you know what bills he is supporting in this session of Parliament?” she called out. “Or what is happening with his estates? Or whose parties he attended this season? These are the things people discuss over dinner table conversation.” The long silence which followed her questions did not make her feel better.
“This will never work.” She would have to send Daniel away. “We will have to make excuses for you. Tell everyone you have urgent business to attend to and must leave immediately.” The embarrassment of celebrating her engagement without her prospective groom by her side surely would be less than if Daniel flubbed his role, and everyone found out Miles had sent in a fake fiancé.
Daniel’s head popped out from behind a row of hybrid roses. “Do you know the answers to those questions?” When she nodded, he graced her with a wide smile. “Then you shall have to help me. Tonight, I will stick by your side, then tomorrow we can meet, and you can educate me on Miles’s social life.” He leaned in and sniffed one of the roses. “This is a mix of alba and damask. The fragrance is unmistakable. Whoever did the grafting? They did a fine job.” He strolled out from behind the table and stood in front of her, his hands in his pockets.
“I did the grafting. Horticulture is a hobby of mine.”
How could he look so calm when they had to face everyone at dinner in less than fifteen minutes? Her reputation was at stake, and he wanted to know about her roses? He and Miles certainly weren’t alike in personality. Daniel was clearly the carefree younger brother, while Miles held all the responsibilities.
“This will never work,” she reiterated. “The scandal that would erupt if your real identity is discovered.” Charlotte stood and paced across the blue and white tiles. “The embarrassment of Hawksridge sending in a stand-in, not even bothering to come to his own engagement party. And I, the fool who didn’t know.” She chewed her bottom lip. Her mother hated it when she did that, and her brow was probably unattractively furrowed as well. She rubbed two fingers against her forehead.
“But you did know, almost immediately,” Daniel interjected.
“No one else will know that. I’m either a fool or complicit in the scheme. No, you must leave tomorrow. I’ll think of some excuse to give Mother and Father.”
“Miss Grisham, I’ve just arrived. No letter requesting my immediate return home could even reach here for several days. Give me a chance to prove to you I can pull this off. With your help, I can fool everyone into thinking Miles is the perfect fiancé. He always says I make a far more charming him then he does.” Daniel gazed at her with concerned focus.
She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly, willing herself to think clearly. Should she take a chance? If he could properly pretend to be Hawksridge, then her party would be saved. “How long until your brother arrives?”
“He said Thursday at the latest.”
“I can’t believe I am agreeing to this.” She shook her head. “We have to go down to dinner right now, or we will be missed. Meet me tomorrow morning after I have had a chance to think about it. We will decide then how to proceed.” She smoothed the ribbon at her waist, then tugged at her gloves.
