The Reluctant Suitor by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

he was sulking and devising a plan to claim Adriana for himself.
    Relenting to a chuckle, Colton confessed, “I’m afraid I would never have known my own sister had she not recognized me. When I left, she was no more than a child, Lady Adriana a couple years younger.
    Now I understand from Mother that the eldest of the Suttons’ offspring has children of her own and the second-born will soon be getting married. Considering the length of time I’ve been away, I’m surprised that Lady Adriana is still unattached.”
    In spite of the fact that she had been staring at him intently, Colton realized Adriana had likely missed his comments, for she seemed to awaken to the realization that he was smiling at her. Beneath his lingering
    stare, a blush crept upward into her cheeks, but she quickly averted her gaze. Even so, he found himself astounded once again by the transformation that had taken place in his absence. How could a young chit, whom he had once likened to a scrawny little scarecrow, have grown up to be such an exquisite, indeed nigh flawless, example of pulchritude?
    Sensing her stilted aloofness, he managed a wry grin as he cast a brief glance toward the other occupants of the room. “I’m afraid Lady Adriana has never quite forgiven me for being that obstinately brash, headstrong young whelp who, against his father’s wishes, left home to seek his own way in life.”
    Though his comment readily drew amused giggles from Felicity and, more reluctantly, a subdued chuckle or two from the other men, Colton hadn’t meant to be humorous. He had merely been trying to express his regret for hurting an innocent little girl so many years ago. The betrothal idea hadn’t been her fault, but when he had stalked out of the drawing room after angrily refusing to consider an agreement involving a betrothal to a thin, lackluster sprig and had found himself facing the wide-eyed stares of the girl and her parents, his cruel words had come back to haunt him. Though the elder two Suttons had been taken aback by his outrage, it had been Adriana’s stricken look that had haunted him throughout the years, for she had seemed completely devastated by his adamant refusal to consider their future union. Well before that event, he had become cognizant of the fact that she idolized him as much as his own sister. She had never had a brother, and perhaps for that reason she had mentally set him upon a pedestal as her champion, for there had been more than a few instances wherein he had rushed to the girls’ defense after they had gotten into trouble trying to save some injured younglings and found themselves facing a formidable stag or some other furious parent instead. A deep regret for his cruel comments had swept over him after seeing the crushed look on her thin face; he hadn’t meant to wound her so severely. In deepening chagrin, he had stammered through a difficult apology, and then had hurriedly taken his leave, unable to bear her obvious misery.
    Stepping beside her friend in the protective manner of an older sister, Samantha decided her brother needed to be enlightened for his own good before he became the recipient of the news that awaited him.
    Perhaps with such a warning, he’d think twice this time before rejecting his options out of hand. “ ‘Tis highly unlikely that Adriana has given much thought to you over the years, Colton. She hasn’t had time with all the handsome suitors vying for her attention.” Ignoring the insistent prodding of her elbow, which no doubt was intended to warn her to veer away from the subject, Samantha pressed on puposefully to give her brother something to think about. She was almost sorry Roger wasn’t in the room; for the apprentice needed to be reminded that he was only one small fish in the stream and, even if he had the nerve to intimidate his aristocratic rivals pell-mell, he’d soon find himself gobbled up for a morsel, for there was always a larger grayling swimming somewhere in the