Matchmaking by Moonlight

“Comfort? What exactly do you mean, comfort?”

“I’m not asking you to walk in there and take your clothes off. Just be nice to the man. He had a bad day.”

“But I don’t think he finds anything about me comforting,” she said.

“Well, do your best, dear. It’s fine and good to challenge a man, to throw him off balance a bit, but sometimes a man needs a sympathetic ear and a soft touch.”

“Now, see … touching him is definitely not a good idea.”

“I’ve seldom found that putting one’s hands on a handsome man is a bad idea,” Eleanor claimed, as they got to the study door. “Don’t be a coward, dear. Tell the man you’re sorry, give him his dinner and let him tell you about his day. This silly misunderstanding will be forgotten in a moment. And reassure him that Gladdy’s not here. I sent her home with Kathleen.”

There was a plus. No Gladdy. Still …

“I didn’t tell you everything,” Lilah admitted. “He made it clear that he wants me to leave him alone.”

Eleanor dismissed that notion with a wave of her hand. “He’s a man. A very handsome man, and you’re a lovely woman. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

“He said it wouldn’t be wise to get involved with me,” she added.

Eleanor laughed. “My dear, surely you don’t believe men are always wise in their involvements with women.”

“He was absolutely clear,” Lilah said, trying again. “He said, ‘I am not a toy. Stop playing with me.’”

“Then stop playing,” Eleanor said.

Stop playing?

Lilah fell silent.

That was Eleanor’s advice?

She would have protested even more, but she heard the doorknob to the study turning. Eleanor looked positively triumphant for a moment, then hurried away. Which left Lilah just outside the door as it opened, and out came an elderly gentleman, who’d been in the midst of congratulating the judge on a difficult job done well.