"What would you do if he asked to court you?" Mrs Rose asked. "Captain O'Neill?"
Madelyn stared at her in genuine astonishment. He had indeed.
"It cannot possibly occur," she said at once, dismissing it with a small wave of her hand. No one was to know of the discourse on their stroll.
"Why not? You are a very attractive woman—"
"I am a widow," Madelyn interrupted softly, her fingers tightening faintly in her lap. "I lack status, fortune, and a proper name. He is a man well received in society. There could never be nothing between us."
Madelyn bit her lip in dismay. Her words were a warning to her as well. What right did she have to be angry at Mr Brand? She was neither truly his affianced nor was she fortuned enough. There could never be nothing between them.
"That is an absurd thought," Mrs Rose countered.
"Even if there were…" Madelyn refused, more quietly, "I do not think I should know what to do with such a thing."
