Charming Miss Atherton

Twenty-Two

"Try as we might, we cannot avoid the inevitable." -Lord Derby (Formerly known as Lord Ripley) to Miss Bridget Atherton after being received as a visitor at Carrington House.

Bridget rushed downstairs. She had not seen Lord George for several days. She could only guess why he had come. Ripley had likely sent him, she wagered. She sighed in frustration. She had hoped that Ripley would have given up on her by now. He had called on her every day since Hamilton's dinner party.

After the way things ended between them after Lady Trenton's ball, it puzzled Bridget as to why Ripley would try to see her at all. He was supposed to be furious with her.

And rightly so, she had refused to marry him.

Rejection was supposed to anger men...something about their pride being assaulted. Ripley should move on. . .he would be better courting someone like Miss Smythe. Miss Smythe would gladly have him.

Still, Ripley called on her daily. Every day Bridget had Elstree send him away. Helen had also shared with Bridget that Hamilton had got Ripley up to speed on her circumstances. And still, he called on her more than he ever had. His tenacity made Bridget wonder whether she should allow him to say his piece and be done with it.

As Bridget approached the first-floor parlor, she found herself smiling. It was good to have Lord George return. Perhaps, she could get his advice on how to navigate Ripley. Poor George - he tended to get caught in the middle. She would have to make amends for involving him in all her mess. As she rounded the corner, her smile vanished. There would be no amends today.

Ripley couldn't help but grin as he watched Bridget's expression change from pleased to furious in less than half a second. Her skin flushed from her toes to her hairline. She looked mad. This was the kind of mad where her eyes appeared wild and she was probably capable of violence.

Ripley noted that Bridget folded her arms in a cross position as she approached with a threatening mien.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed through her teeth.

Ripley's smile increased to a full grin. "Why to call on you, of course."

Ripley looked so unbearably handsome with his crooked grin that Bridget's fury softened as she stared at him. It took her a second before she was capable of coherent speech. And then she realized that the best way to rid herself of Ripley was to do the unthinkable. "Get out."

Ripley did not so much as flinch. He continued to grin at her unabashed. "A most unexpected greeting, to be sure," he shot back playfully.

Bridget narrowed her eyes. It annoyed her that he looked amused.

Ripley shook his head. "We need to talk."

Bridget glared at him, her eyes murderous.

Ripley's lips twitched.

She walked over to the bell pull. "I'll use force to remove you," she threatened.

Ripley's eyes flickered with some unreadable emotion but he maintained his smile. "Do what you must. I am not leaving."

Bridget's hand stopped short of pulling the bell. She mumbled something inaudible.

Ripley waited. And as she deliberated on what to do, he said, "You're avoiding me."

Bridget's face pinched tight in a most unattractive way. "I am protecting you," she corrected in a miffed tone.

That made him smile. "Is that do? Well, what if I do not wish to be protected?"