Moonlight and the Duke (Cherish and the Duke #2)

Chapter Five

C onnor approached Eden the moment Lord Lothmere’s son left her side. “I wondered where you had gone.”

“Just walking in the garden with Viscount Aubrey,” she replied, wondering why he was frowning. “Is something wrong? Are the children all right?”

“They’re fine, I’m sure. The maids assigned to them have not run downstairs screaming. At least, not yet. Of course, this assumes the children have not already bound and gagged them.”

Eden laughed. “The children are not nearly as bad as you make them out to be.”

Amusement shone in Connor’s exquisite blue eyes. “Oh, they are. Never trust their sweet smiles. It means they are plotting something dastardly. However, they always seem to be on their best behavior around you. What is your secret to making them behave?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“Too bad. I was hoping you had it all figured out. They certainly do not like me.”

“Nonsense, they adore and worship you. This is why they miss you so much whenever you are away. But you mustn’t worry about them. I’ll take good care of them tomorrow. They’ll be in good hands with me.”

“I know, Eden. There is no one I trust more than you. But I did not approach you to discuss my children.”

“Oh, is there something else you have in mind?”

He raked a hand through his hair. “No, I just wanted to make certain you were having a nice time. I’m sorry I have not been as attentive as I should have been.”

“I’ve had a most enjoyable time without you,” she assured Connor, tossing him an impudent smile.

They were still on the terrace and had walked closer to the balustrade for a little separation from the other guests. Connor now leaned his elbows atop the stone balustrade and peered out across his garden as he spoke. “Well then,” he said with a light chuckle, “I’m glad one of us has survived this excruciating nonsense. I really am too old for this.”

Eden regarded him sternly. “You are not a decrepit old goat, so stop griping. Do you realize how many young men would leap at the opportunity to be in your position? How awful for you, to be accosted by England’s most beautiful and accomplished young ladies.”

“That is exactly the problem. Young ladies. I feel as though I am robbing a nursery. Many of them even talk like little girls, with their high-pitched squeals and irritating titters. Gad, it was all I could do not to cringe.”

“My goodness, perhaps you really are an old goat. These young ladies are all above eighteen years of age and fully out in Society. You are not robbing any cradles. Lothmere’s daughter was particularly attentive to you. She’s a beautiful girl.”

“Persephone? Lord, save me.” He cast her a wincing grin. “She is the worst of the lot. A complete and utter peahen. I don’t care if she is above eighteen. She has the mind of a twelve-year-old and did not stop fluttering her eyelashes or cooing at me like a demented bird. She made my eye twitch. See? It is still twitching.”

“It is not.” Eden laughed. “You are hopeless.”

“And what about you? I noticed you spent quite a while with Lothmere’s son.”

She shrugged. “I may be hopeless, too. Perhaps a little afraid to open myself up to someone I hardly know. What have you heard about him?”

Connor’s brow furrowed as he gave her question some thought. “I’ve heard only good things about him around my clubs. He is a cautious man and rarely gambles. When he does, he usually wins. But he also honors his debts when he loses. He’s discreet when it comes to the ladies. I haven’t heard him mentioned in any scandals.”

“Hmm.”

“I cannot say whether he would keep to his marriage vows. But his father is not a hound. It appears he has kept faithful to his vows. Perhaps Lothmere and his wife were a love match. It has been known to happen. It could be that the apple does not fall far from the tree.”

“So you think the son will follow his father’s ways and not run around or take on a mistress?”

Connor’s eyebrows shot up in obvious surprise. “Is it that serious already, Eden? You’ve only known him for an hour.”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “Dear me, no. But this house party is all about forming serious connections, is it not? All I am wondering is whether I should dismiss Lord Aubrey out of hand or not.”

“I’ll try to find out more about him for you—just do not let down your guard around him.”

Eden emitted a shaky breath. “This is me you are talking to, Connor. When have you ever known me to be unguarded? I have spent my entire life constructing those high walls around my heart. But even a seasoned spinster like myself cannot mind dusting herself off and stepping down from her shelf to enjoy a mild flirtation.”

“Eden,” he said with a soft growl that shot tingles through her, “stop referring to yourself as that. You are the prettiest girl here. Do you not realize it? Stop talking about yourself as though you have dried up. You are not a prune.”

“But this is exactly what I am…or will soon be. You needn’t offer to comfort me as I pity myself.”

“Is that what you are doing?” He straightened to his full height. “Every bachelor here would leap at the chance to meet you. Lothmere’s son, Lord Aubrey, seems to have grabbed the advantage, but others are eager to speak to you and get to know you better. Shall I introduce you around?”

“No, your mother has already seen to it. You needn’t worry about me.”

“But I do, Eden. You are under my care, and I am not going to allow anyone to hurt you. So, do not give me a scowl and accuse me of being highhanded and overly protective. Who is going to look out for you if not me? Your parents certainly don’t give a—” He groaned and stopped abruptly. “Sorry, but they make me angry.”

She gave a mirthless laugh. “I am angry with them too. Look at what they have done to me. They’ve left me unable to trust. I am so scared to give my heart to anyone. And yet I ache for it. What a mess I am.”

He looked as though he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her. But Eden knew better than to believe it meant anything beyond his protective instincts. “Eden,” he said with aching gentleness, “no decisions need to be made this week. Just enjoy yourself. Make new friends. If something more serious develops, then come to me and we will talk about it.”

“What about you?”

He stared down at her, his gaze hot and intense.

A Silver Duke’s gaze. Seductive and alluring, but never ready to commit to any woman.

She knew what his response would be before he ever spoke it.

“Why are you asking about my marriage prospects?” he said with a shake of his head. “I am not ever going to propose to any of those peahens. Nor am I in danger of falling in love with any of them. Have I not been clear about this? There is nothing to talk about with regard to me.”

Teatime was almost over, and most guests were now returning to their guest chambers to rest and prepare for tonight’s feast and entertainments. Eden decided to run upstairs and see how the children were faring.

Connor took her hand to hold her back a moment. “Let me escort you in to supper.”

She smiled at him. “My valiant protector. You cannot help yourself, can you? But you needn’t worry about me. Lord Aubrey has already claimed the honor.”

He seemed surprised—and not very happy. “He did? And you accepted?”

She nodded. “I saw no reason to refuse him.”

“Right. Of course. He is a decent fellow. Well, just let me know if ever you are in need of an escort or a dance partner…or a cards partner.”

Eden felt warmed by his concern. More than that, she liked that he was looking out for her. His manner wasn’t cloying or overbearing. It was just…nice. “Will you choose me for your team during our lawn sports?” she teased.

He cast her a disarmingly affectionate smile. “You’ll be the first one I select. Is there a doubt?”

They parted ways, and she hurried up to the children’s nursery. The boys were too big for her to refer to it as a nursery. Even Priscilla was getting too big for that. Eden needed to start referring to that large space around which their rooms were situated as their classroom or their wing of the house. She could not refer to it as a playroom, either. The boys would be offended and claim they were not babies.

Were the maids assigned to attend them still surviving?

To her surprise, no one was around when she entered their upper-floor quarters. She checked all the cupboards to make certain the poor maids had not been trussed and stuffed in them. She then checked all the bedrooms and peered under their beds. “Where did you go, you little heathens?”

She had just finished her search and was about to leave Priscilla’s room when one of the maids ran in.

“Oh, Lady Eden!” The poor girl’s eyes were wide, and she was obviously worried.

“What is it, Sarah? Have the children run off again?”

She nodded. “They tricked us. Oh, His Grace is going to sack us for certain.”

Eden took the girl’s hand. “No, he won’t. When did you last see them?”

“About twenty minutes ago. Millie,” Sarah said, referring to the other maid assigned to watch the children, “went downstairs to fetch them more milk and ginger cakes. Then—oh, I cannot believe I fell for it—Lady Priscilla began to cry and said she forgot her storybook in her father’s study, and that her father would be so angry if he knew she had left it on his desk. She described it to me in tearful detail. So I ran down to find it.”

Eden groaned. “There was no book, was there?”

“No, Lady Eden. I am ashamed to say I was tricked by an eight-year-old child. She had me completely convinced. By the time I hurried back upstairs, they were already gone. Millie and I have been hunting for them ever since. I think they must have run out of the house.”

“I’ll find them. Just give me a moment to put on my walking boots and change out of this gown. I think I know where they are.”

Sarah let out a breath of relief. “You do? Oh, thank goodness. I’ll come with you.”

“No,” said a deep voice from behind them that Eden immediately recognized as belonging to Connor. “I’ll go with Lady Eden to search for them. They’re my little heathens, after all. Gad, can they not behave for a single day?”

Eden winced as she cast him a sympathetic look. “Apparently not.”

He sighed. “I’ll wait for you in the entry hall. Hurry up and change out of your finery. Where do you think they’ve gone?”

“Remember the geese from this morning?”

He groaned. “The ones I frightened away with a mere comment?”

“It is unfinished business for them.” She nodded. “Wait for me. I won’t be a moment. Sarah, come with me. I’ll need help slipping out of this gown.”

She thought she noticed a flicker of heat in Connor’s eyes when she mentioned taking off her gown. But she dismissed the possibility. His expression was unreadable now.

Why would he ever care about her in that way?

She hurried to her bedchamber, changed into more practical attire, then found her spectacles and put them on before rushing downstairs to meet Connor. She was back to her usual form, except her hair was more attractively styled than usual. She hadn’t bothered to undo it, since there was to be supper and entertainments this evening and she needed to look sophisticated and alluring for that.

Connor smiled as she approached. “There’s my girl,” he said softly.

She grinned back at him. “Your owlish neighbor.”

He took her hand in his. “We had better hurry before the geese attack them. Gad, I hope they are there and not poking their faces or their fingers into a fox den.”

“I’m certain they have more sense than that.” She also hoped the boys would not throw stones at the geese and antagonize them as they had tried to do this morning. Although she did not have any brothers, she had been around Connor’s boys often enough to understand how young boys thought and acted. They would think it was a fun game to hit as many geese as they could while those poor birds were feeding in the pond. Of course, Priscilla, being the youngest, would likely be the slowest to run away when the angry birds hissed at them and retaliated by pecking at her legs.

Connor had ordered his rig readied while waiting for her, and it was there when they stepped out the front door. He wrapped his hands around her waist to help her into the passenger seat. “I hope they are there,” he muttered.

“I’m sure they are.” She forced herself to stop tingling. The mere touch of his firm, roughened hands on her body put her senses in a roil. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her heart was fluttering, as well.

He hopped up beside her and flicked the reins, spurring the horse to a fast trot.

Eden held on for dear life as they moved fast and seemed to hit every rut along the way. Although she did not complain, Connor must have noticed her hands turning white as she gripped the seat to keep herself from flying off. “Shift closer to me, Eden.”

“What?”

He placed an arm around her waist and hauled her up against his magnificently hard, fit body.

Dear heaven.

Was it wrong of her to hope it would take hours to find his children?

They reached the pond just as the little heathens burst out of the bramble bushes that surrounded the pond. They heard goose honks and angry hisses mingled with Priscilla’s shrieks and the boys’ laughter.

“Devil take it,” Connor muttered, pulling up hard on the reins.

He handed them to Eden, and at the same time hopped down to run to his daughter, who had tripped and fallen. Poor little Priscilla was crying out for him as her bottom was about to be pecked by two large, enraged geese. With truly protective fatherly instinct, he placed himself between the angry geese and Priscilla, then hauled her into his arms. “Get in the rig. Now!” he growled at his boys, who needed no prompting and were already racing to it.

The geese were now biting Connor’s legs. But he was wearing boots, so they merely got a mouthful of leather, which made them angrier. They fluttered their feathers and hissed some more.

Connor ignored them and ran to the rig with his precious daughter clasped to his chest. Why could Eden’s own father never be like this?

She shook out of the thought. She was all grown up and on her own now.

But for a moment, she wished to be in Priscilla’s place. The little girl had her arms firmly wrapped around Connor’s neck and was clinging to him for dear life. His arms were like steel bands around his little girl, and he would not let go of her until she was safe.

Eden scooted over to the driver’s seat and motioned for him to climb in beside her. She wanted to help him with Priscilla, but the child was too scared to let go of him, so he managed to hop in while she stuck to him like a barnacle to the hull of a ship. In the meanwhile, the boys had scooted onto the bench behind them.

Eden took care not to harm the charging birds as she gave the reins a flick and urged the horse forward. But the geese were undaunted and scared the horse by charging at it. Finally, she managed to maneuver the rig away from those angry birds and avoided trampling any of them under the horse’s hooves as she drove away.

Priscilla remained clinging to her father the entire ride back to the manor house. The boys were silent as the rig clattered along the well-worn path.

Connor was fuming. Eden could almost see the proverbial steam pouring from his ears.

As they left the pond in the distance, Connor finally turned to the boys and unloaded his wrath on them. “What in bloody blazes were you thinking? And to bring Priscilla along with you? Obviously, you weren’t thinking. What did you do to the geese to get them so angry? Is this the way I raised you? To be wild as wolves? Did you hurt their goslings?”

He took a deep breath and silenced them with a glower when they mistakenly thought he wanted to hear their answers. He was not yet finished lambasting them. “Did you think twice about Sarah and Millie or what I might have done to them because they failed in their efforts to watch over you? Did you even think once about Priscilla getting hurt?”

“It was Priscilla’s idea,” Alex said lamely.

“Did I give you permission to speak?” Connor roared at his son. “And this is the pathetic excuse you give me? If Priscilla told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?”

He now directed his rage to his eldest boy. “And you, Connor? My namesake. My heir. Is this how carelessly you will undertake your duties? Need I tell you everything you did wrong?”

“No, Papa.”

Connor told him anyway. “First, you listened to Priscilla’s stupid idea.”

Priscilla wailed. “Papa hates me!”

“I don’t hate you, my little sweetheart. But it was a very foolish thing you did.” He turned back to his eldest. “Second, you placed Sarah and Millie in danger of losing their positions in the household by sneaking away.”

“Don’t sack them, Papa! It was all my fault, and I take full responsibility for deceiving them,” young Connor said, sounding truly remorseful.

“Third, you placed Priscilla in danger. You both ran off and left her behind. You left her behind ,” Connor repeated. “You are her older brothers. You should have been protecting her.”

Now Alex began to cry. “We’re sorry, Papa.”

“Fourth, you stole off and no one knew where you had gone. Anything could have happened to you. You could have been eaten by wolves. Bears.”

“There is no dangerous wildlife in the area,” his eldest meekly dared to point out.

“How can you be certain? A jungle cat might have escaped its cage from a passing circus. Pirates might have abducted you. Priscilla cannot swim. Would you have noticed if she fell in the pond?”

“Alex was watching her,” young Connor assured him.

“I thought you were watching her,” Alex said.

“Dear heaven,” Connor muttered. “Priscilla might have drowned.”

“But I didn’t, Papa. I was afraid to go near the water.”

“Good girl.” He planted a kiss at the top of her head. “At least you showed some good sense. But you are still punished.”

Priscilla was about to wail again, but a stern look from Connor had her quickly rethinking that plan.

He turned back to the boys. “If not for Eden’s intuition, I might have been searching for you all night long. I have a blasted house party going on. I cannot be constantly on the hunt for you when I have a house full of guests to entertain.

“Fifth,” he said as they approached the manor house, “I now have to decide on a suitable punishment for you. If I confine you to the house, that would be punishing my loyal staff more than you three. If I send you up to bed without your supper, you’d probably sneak down to the kitchen and bring up a bloody feast for yourselves. If I cancel tomorrow’s outing with Eden—”

A chorus of “No!” from all of them interrupted him.

He arched an eyebrow. “Even you, Eden?”

She might have shouted the loudest. “They need to be outdoors or it will go worse for all of us. Besides, we are going on a bird-watching expedition. Before we head to the cliffs, I think we must stop at the pond so they can apologize to those geese.”

“Apologize to geese?” Connor asked, sounding quite dubious.

Eden nodded. “Yes. And may I suggest a suitable punishment for today’s escapade?”

He nodded. “Go right ahead. I’m all ears.”

“I think they each must write apology letters to Sarah and Millie asking for their forgiveness in putting their positions in the household in jeopardy. They must also write apology letters to you showing an understanding of what they did wrong and what they will do to better themselves in the future.”

His eldest groaned. “Papa, just take us to the woodshed and thrash us.”

“Thrash you?” Connor growled. “When have I ever laid a hand on you?”

“Never,” his eldest admitted. “But I’d rather take a beating than spend the night writing letters.”

Eden turned away so the children would not catch her struggling to hold back her giggles.

She heard Connor’s soft rumble of laughter as he struggled with the same. “Oh, no,” he said, taking a moment to clear his throat. “The suggestion is perfect. You’ll each write your letters this evening. No pudding for any of you until all three of you are done.”

“But we still get to go exploring with Eden tomorrow?” Alex asked, no doubt wanting to firm up the terms of their punishment before they put quill to paper.

“Yes, you go with Eden tomorrow as planned.”

The children cheered.

When Eden drew the rig up in the courtyard, the boys leaped off. Priscilla tried to imitate them by leaping off Connor’s lap. Fortunately, Brewster had come out of the house in time to catch her when she lost her footing.

Connor groaned. “Thank you, Brewster.” If not for his reliable butler, she would have tumbled headlong onto the stone.

The little sprite also thanked Brewster for his timely catch. “You are most welcome, Lady Priscilla,” he replied.

She smiled at him, and then ran into the house after Alex and young Connor, shouting at them to wait for her.

“I’ll make certain Millie and Sarah are aware the children have safely returned home,” the kindly Brewster said, and hurried back into the house.

Eden and Connor were left alone in the rig for the moment. He spread his arms across the back of their seat bench, lolled his head back, and emitted a hearty groan. “Are they too young to be married off? Let them be someone else’s problem? Gad, Eden, they were out with you all day and still managed to get up to mischief. Do they never stop?”

“I’ll try to run them around harder tomorrow.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Do you think you can? I fear they will exhaust you .”

“Perhaps. They seem to be boundless wells of energy. But even the most resilient children can be controlled.” She emitted a soft trill of laughter. “The threat of having them write more apology letters ought to keep them in line.”

Connor chuckled as he climbed down. One of his stable grooms now came running toward them to fetch the horse and rig. Connor strode around to her side and placed his hands at her waist to effortlessly help her down before the lad led the horse and carriage away.

To Eden’s surprise, Connor did not immediately release her. “Eden, I cannot thank you enough for…just everything. You seem to understand my own children better than I do. And the punishment you devised is diabolically brilliant. Writing apology letters. The boys were willing to endure a beating rather than have to compose an essay.”

He still held her about the waist as he smiled at her. She sensed he wanted to kiss her cheek again, but she was wearing her spectacles, so why would he ever be tempted? Indeed, she was probably the opposite of tempting.

But to her surprise, he did give her a tender, lingering kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Eden,” he whispered, reluctantly releasing her as his groom drove the rig away and they were left standing alone in the courtyard.

She blushed. “I had better get changed for supper.”

He glanced down at himself. “Me too.”

They hurried up the stairs together and parted ways at the landing, since his ducal suite of rooms was off to the right at the very end of the hall and her guest chamber was the first door on the left.

Eden realized Duchess Evelyn must have been watching for them, because she sent Delia minutes after Eden returned to her room. She had taken off her gown because it was one of those designed to easily slip on and off without laborious tapes or lacings, and had just moistened a washcloth to clean her hands and face when the girl entered.

“Let me help you, Lady Eden,” Delia said, and dashed to her side.

“I’m almost finished,” Eden assured her. “But I still must select a gown to wear.”

“Oh, that is already taken care of. I took the liberty of having the rose silk freshened for this evening. Her Grace thought these diamond earrings would go nicely with the gown.” Delia reached into her pocket and withdrew two shiny objects.

Eden was surprised because Evelyn was very careful with her things. “She is lending me her earrings?”

Delia nodded. “I mentioned that you had not brought yours along with you.”

Eden nodded. “I did not think of it at the time.”

She had been in too much of a hurry to gather the bare necessities and leave her own home rather than endure a moment longer with her battling parents. The pair always tried to suck her into their disputes, always making her choose which one of them she loved best. In truth, she loved them both…but also heartily disliked their selfish ways. They should have been the adults, but they acted like spoiled and inconsiderate infants.

Somehow, she had taken on the role of parent. She did not mind it with young Connor, Alex, and Priscilla because they were children. But her parents? When were they going to grow up?

“I’ll thank Duchess Evelyn when I go down to supper. This is very thoughtful of her.”

“She likes you, Lady Eden.”

“The feeling is mutual. She is a lovely person.” In truth, she wished her mother was more like the duchess. Over the years, it had been Duchess Evelyn who took her in and gave her maternal hugs whenever she needed to get away from her parents. There were times when she would come to the duchess in tears.

Now that she thought about it, where had Mary been all the while? In those years, Connor had been off fighting Napoleon. His military service had lasted through much of the war, but he also had constant disruptions because his duties as Duke of Lynton had forced him to sail back and forth too often from the peninsula. Not to mention his duties to the Crown required him to sit in the House of Lords whenever Parliament was in session. His children had grown up hardly knowing their father.

Finally, upon Mary’s death, he had reluctantly bought out his commission and returned to England permanently.

In all that time, it was Duchess Evelyn who cared for the children and brought them over to Chestnut Hill whenever Eden had her neighbors over for tea. It was Evelyn who sat in the shade of the terrace watching the children as they toddled around the garden. Of course, they each had a nanny attending them, too.

Where had Mary been even then?

Not that it mattered now. She was gone and the children were left without a mother’s touch. But they certainly had a wonderful grandmother who was doing her best to raise them with love.

Before heading downstairs, Eden took a moment to knock at Duchess Evelyn’s door. “Do come in, Eden dear,” she said, opening the door herself. “Don’t you look lovely?” As she spoke, she whisked the spectacles off Eden’s nose. “But you won’t be needing those tonight.” Delia had followed her in, and the dowager handed Eden’s spectacles to her. “Put those back in Eden’s bedchamber.”

Delia bobbed a curtsy and hurried out before Eden could grab her spectacles back. “I won’t be able to see a thing,” she muttered.

“You’ll see just fine. You aren’t out hunting quail or dueling at fifty paces. You need only look at your dinner companions immediately to the left and to the right of you.”

“I would enjoy seeing the food on my plate,” she muttered.

“Whatever for? It isn’t going to crawl away,” Evelyn retorted. “My dear, you will survive the evening.”

Eden laughed. “All right. But do not berate me if I squint.”

The dowager tucked a finger under Eden’s chin while studying her features. “You are going to leave the gentlemen breathless. Walk downstairs with me. I’m sure some of the guests have already gathered in the parlor.”

Eden had barely taken two steps into the parlor before Lord Aubrey came to her side. “May I be so bold as to remark how radiant you look, Lady Eden?”

Duchess Evelyn nodded in approval. “I told the dear girl the very same thing only moments ago. Do you believe me now, Eden?”

Eden blushed.

Damien, the Marquess of Rathburne’s son, appeared about to approach her, noticed Aubrey already at her side, and veered off toward the very giggling and fan fluttering Miss Margaret Wallingford, the heiress in pink he had fawned over at afternoon tea. She seemed to adore the color, since she was once again wearing pink from head to toe.

Connor strode in moments later and immediately approached them. No doubt he only meant to dutifully greet his mother, but Eden caught his appreciative smile as he studied her.

Was she mistaken, or had his gaze lingered on her?

Lord Aubrey stepped between them and took her arm in his. “Your Grace, if you will excuse us. My parents are keen to speak to Lady Eden.”

“Of course,” Connor said, his voice more of a grumble. “You look lovely tonight, Eden.”

“Thank you.” She felt her cheeks heat again, because it had been quite a while since two handsome men had squared off against each other, seeking her attention. This had happened on occasion during her first few Seasons out, but she’d experienced nothing like this in years.

Not that Connor had any serious interest in her, but it did warm her heart to know he was not completely immune to her charms.

She had no more time to think about Connor now that Lord Aubrey escorted her to his parents. Lord Lothmere and his wife were friendly and interesting to talk to. They had traveled extensively on the Continent this past year. Eden listened as they told her about the canals of Venice.

“Quite beautiful,” Lady Lothmere said, “but I do not recommend visiting in the height of summer. There is a foul stench that pervades the city on the hottest days.”

They then spoke of the damage done on the Continent during the years of war. “My regiment was mostly based in Belgium,” Lord Aubrey said. “In truth, we were primarily reserve units until Waterloo. We were in the thick of it then. A terrible loss of lives on all sides. But people are ever resilient, quickly rebuilding what was destroyed. And there was much destruction, but also many places that remained untouched and beautiful.”

“I haven’t traveled outside of England,” Eden admitted. “But I have read much about Greece and Italy and the majestic Alps.”

“I enjoy a good book myself,” Lord Aubrey said, “but it is not the same as actually seeing the sights. You ought to travel, Lady Eden. Who knows? Perhaps after you are married.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” she said, blushing as he cast her a meaningful smile.

Was he suggesting he would marry her?

She glanced away to avoid his smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lord Aubrey’s sister, Persephone, was chatting with Connor and his mother. Eden heard the girl’s youthful laughter and wondered whether Connor was warming up to her. There was no doubt these Lothmeres were a handsome family. Both the son and the daughter would make profitable matches, especially since they both seemed quite efficient in the manner in which they approached this house party. Lord Aubrey had homed in on her while his sister had shot like a bullet to Connor’s side.

Eden had grown wary over the years and was not so swept away by Lord Aubrey’s rakish smiles and doting attention. In all likelihood, he was more enamored with her wealth than with her. The same might be said for his sister, who was all giggles and coquettish smiles for Connor because he was the duke. He was the prize.

Despite his repeated declarations that he had no interest in remarrying, could the astute Persephone persuade him that a young wife was exactly what he needed?