"Do not be absurd. Lord Melvin is, right as we speak, putting into practice all that I taught him. Why would you suggest such a thing about your friend? That is unkind."
"It is more unkind, sister, to steer a man toward affection and rip it away as if it is not returned. When everyone who sees you together knows that it is."
"I adore Lord Melvin. He is my friend."
Her brother shook his head. "You are now dishonest with yourself, which is even worse than being false with Melvin. You had better not learn your mind too late, Victoria, and come to regret your stubborn designs on life. Do so, and you may rue that choice and never recover from it."
"What are you saying?" she demanded, although a small part of her knew what Josh was alluding to. That she was so fixed on her course that she may miss the greatest opportunity gifted her.
Josh stared down at her with a patient smile. "I know you wish to remain alone. I do not blame you to protect yourself after Armstrong. Your desires to travel the world, remain a widow protect you from life. But think about that life for one moment, many years from now, when you're elderly, your family have all married and are busy with their own families. What will you have then? I fear that you will be lonely. I do not want you to be unhappy in your older years."
"I will not be unhappy. I shall have all of your children to keep me company and those of our sisters." Victoria loved her brother for his kindness, his concerns, but they were unfounded. No matter what her future held, one thing she was certain of, and that was her decision never to have children. It just wasn't in the cards for her, wasn’t something she desired. She hoped her family would accept this fact and move on from pressuring her.
"You will not have family around you all the time, Victoria. Do please think rationally over this."
Victoria fought not to glare at her sibling. She glanced back to the dance floor only to see Albert leaning down as Miss Thompson whispered something in his ear. She narrowed her eyes. Was the lady truly interested in Albert? She supposed she would be. Anyone would be. It should not surprise her that just as men chased women about town, that ladies would show their interest as well.
She took a calming breath, stemming the emotions that roiled inside of her at seeing him so close to another. It was a reaction she needed to heed and squash.
She did not like feeling left out, and, with her brother chastising her on her wants for the future, the enjoyment of the evening diminished somewhat.
"If you'll excuse me. I think Mama is gesturing for me to attend her." Victoria moved away, not looking to where she was going, only that she knew she needed air. She spied her mother and ensured she went in the opposite direction. If Josh saw her maneuver, she did not heed.
The front doors to the hall beckoned, and without looking back, she left, strolling around the side of the building. Outside, the moonlit night bathed the surrounding park and grass in dappled light. There were several groups of people mingling outside, taking the air. Victoria spied a seat a little along the wall, just where the shadow of an elm tree blocked out the moonlight.
She sat, gazing out into the park beyond, thinking over her brother's words, thinking of Albert.
Tonight was supposed to be so easy. She was to help him toward marriage, yet thinking of him with another left her at sixes and sevens. She did not like seeing Miss Thompson in his arms, happy and too familiar after such a short introduction.
"Victoria?"
She jumped at the sound of her name before liquid warmth flowed through her at the sight of Albert standing only a few feet from her. He was so tall and broad, and devishly handsome. She inwardly sighed, hating that she would hurt him. Mayhap not tonight, but soon.
"I saw you hasten outside, and I thought something may have upset you."
He came and sat beside her, laying her shawl over her shoulders that he'd been kind enough to claim for her.
"I am well. My brother is insistent I do my duty for a second time and marry. He even went as far as to say that you're in love with me and that I should consider you for a husband. If you can believe that," she said, hoping he would dissuade her of the thought. He barked out a laugh, but even to her it sounded as hollow as her own words.
Albert thought furiously on how to answer Victoria. What to say to a woman who had declared what he was feeling. He wanted her as his wife, loved her most ardently, and nothing, no matter how many ladies waltzed in his arms, would change that.
Even while dancing with Miss Thompson, he knew Victoria’s whereabouts, who she was speaking to, and when she had left. "Your family is seeing a possibility of us because we're spending so much time together, that is all. I suppose they know me, and it's only normal that they would think we suit," he said, keeping to their original plan for lessons on how to court a woman when one was as awkward as he was around the opposite sex.
He'd done very well this evening. His conversations with Miss Thompson were distinguished, and he'd not made a fool of himself once. "You would be pleased with me had you been dancing alone with Miss Thompson and me. I asked her about her likes and dislikes, her favorite
