Her eyes gleamed like topaz. Max cursed the fanciful thought as her question echoed through his head. Is there anyone on this earth good enough for me?
His internal response was immediate: No.
And then he wondered what he was thinking. He should pity the man that took her to wife.
He told himself it was because he had grown up with this girl. He had known her since she was a child. Since they were both children. No matter what had happened between them, no matter how deep the rift, no one would ever be good enough for Aurelia. He was certain that her brother and cousin would agree with him. Why did it feel so very troubling then for him to have a similar reaction?
Her question hovered between them. Answering it truthfully was out of the question, so he simply danced with her. Neither spoke for some moments. He couldn’t help thinking they fit well in each other’s arms. She was graceful, trusting in his ability to lead. He glanced down at her the precise moment she risked another glance up at him. The warm gold of her gown brought out the fire in her eyes, and he was hard pressed not to lose himself in that gaze.
“Very well,” she said with a relenting sigh, breaking their silence. “Why is Mr. Mackenzie so very unsuitable?”
“I’ve heard many unsavory a tale of the man. He is far beneath you.”
She turned wide eyes on him, clucking her tongue. The act brought his attention to her mouth. Had she applied some manner of gloss there? They seemed plumper, a shade deeper . . . like she had been sipping from a glass of claret.
“You’re not the type to give credit to rumors, Camden.”
With difficulty, he brought his gaze back to her eyes. “It’s a fact. He owns a string of gaming hells from here to Edinburgh.”
“That hardly makes him disreputable. Don’t tell me you’re one of those stodgy noblemen who actually looks down his nose at anyone who has to work for a living.”
He frowned. “It’s not that.” He himself worked, in a manner, spending a goodly amount of his time managing investments and researching new prospects. Gone were the days where any man could rest on his laurels and expect everything in life to be handed to him. He’d seen what such thinking had done to Will’s father. It had stripped him of nearly everything and left Will scrambling for ways to support his family. No, he respected any man who worked. Only Mackenzie was dangerous. He wasn’t certain everything he did could qualify as law-abiding.
“He’s trying to buy a bride and everyone knows it,” he said, confident that would put the nail in Mackenzie’s coffin as far as Aurelia was concerned. One thing he knew for certain was that she was a prideful creature. Her principles wouldn’t allow her to condone a man so mercenary in his pursuit of a bride.
To his shock, she shrugged. “How is that different from any other gentleman in the market for a bride? At least he’s not hunting for heiresses.”
He stared hard at her for a moment. “You like him,” he accused.
She shrugged. “I don’t know him. Yet.”
“Yet?”
She looked at him in exasperation. “He’s one of the few gentlemen not dissuaded by my lack of dowry. He’s handsome, and as you pointed out to me recently, I don’t exactly have a legion of eligible men beating a path to my door. Why wouldn’t I consider him?”
He bit back a curse, feeling like an utter ass. He had said something to that effect to her. “I thought you had no wish to marry,” he reminded her.
“Have I ever said that to you or was that simply the assumption?” She angled her head, considering. “Hm. Whatever the case, I have had a change of heart. I will be engaged before the Season is out.”
Stunned, he stared down at her. The dance ended and he escorted her to the edge of the ballroom floor. He looked down at her enticing display of cleavage. “Is this why you’re dressed as . . . as—”
“As what?” she demanded, a sharp edge to her voice. “A woman?” An angry flush stained her face. “I simply took charge of my wardrobe from Mama.”
About bloody time. And then he retracted that thought. Perhaps if she were still wearing one of her pastel, frilly concoctions she would never have caught the notice of a man like Mackenzie.
“And what brought about this sudden urgency to wed?” he asked numbly.
“Mama is leaving at the end of the Season. She’s going to live with my Aunt Daphne in Scotland. Permanently.”
“Permanently?” His mind raced, concluding that Aurelia would likely be compelled to go with her. That is what unwed daughters did. They remained with their mothers. Only in this case, he had not imagined Lady Peregrine ever leaving the comforts of Town.
“Well, there will be the occasional visits, I’m sure.” Her voice thinned into something small. Even she did not sound too convinced. “Well. Not too often. Thurso is a great distance.”
The very ends of the earth. “It’s the most northerly town in the mainland, is it not? And you intend to live there?” He stared at her, troubled at the idea of her isolated in faraway Scotland. “The weather can be quite inclement that far north.” Was he actually using the climate as a reason for her not to go?
“If I should go, I can withstand a bit of cold. However, it’s a few months until the Season ends. A very great deal could change before then.”
He studied the resolute set of her jaw, the firm press of her lips, as she stared out at the ballroom, gradually coming to understand her sudden interest in gaining suitors. He followed her gaze, scowling when he found it resting on Mackenzie.
“He’s not for you,” he heard himself saying in a hard voice.
She snapped her gaze back to him, color spotting her apple cheeks. Her chest lifted on a deep breath. “Stay out of my affairs, Camden.” A thread of emotion shook in her voice, and that was entirely different from her usual blithe repartee.
It sank in for him then. She was utterly serious about this suitor business. She was on a mission to find a husband. Aurelia not only wanted to marry, she was hell-bent on it.