His mother scowled at him again. “Ignore my loutish son, Eden. Do not judge these young ladies too harshly or be swayed by his rude comments. I’m sure several of them are quite accomplished.”
Connor groaned. “I hate that word.Accomplished—defined as something none of these young ladies are, having done nothing during their short, overly protected and pampered lives.”
“There may be a bluestocking or two among them,” Duchess Evelyn insisted, ignoring her son’s comment. “Although I doubt any are as smart as you are, Eden. But I have the perfect resolution to this dilemma. Connor insists that I put my efforts into matching you. And you insist that I keep my efforts on matching him.”
“And?” Connor prompted her.
“I shall make it my goal to seebothof you happily matched.”
“What?” Eden said in dismay.
“No,” Connor said between clenched teeth.
“Oh, yes. The game is on. I shall see the two of you wed before the end of the summer. Is it not fortuitous that both your parents are here to partake of the happy event? Well, they are a bit of a nuisance, aren’t they? Still, they are your parents, and you should want them at your wedding.” Having issued the challenge, Evelyn walked out of Connor’s study and shouted insistently for Brewster. “Ah, yes. Good man. Fetch me my betting book. My friends and I shall be placing wagers.”
“On what shall you be wagering, Your Grace? If I may be so bold as to ask?”
“Indeed, you may. It is to be an entire list of bets. First and foremost, whether my son shall marry. Second, whom he shall choose to marry. Third, whether Lady Eden shall marry. Fourth, whom she shall marry. Fifth…”
She peered into the study to check whether either of them were listening to this conversation. Both were.
“Come along, Brewster. The fifth bet is not for their delicate ears.” She then muttered something about setting up the tea service outdoors, since there was a lovely breeze off the water and the terrace was in shade.
This left Eden facing Connor. “This is your fault.”
He had his arms crossed over his chest again. “Don’t you want to be married?”
“Not to some bachelor Evelyn coerces into courting me. Oh, I’m certain several of them will find my wealth irresistibly attractive.”
“Well, we are both stuck now. Won’t be too bad if we put our heads together and come up with a plan to counter her schemes,” he assured her.
She regarded him thoughtfully. “What kind of plan do you have in mind?”
“The simplest one is to set my children loose on our guests if things become too oppressive. Mayhem is quite their specialty.”
Eden laughed. “Oh, dear heaven. You are wicked, and your children are already plotting this very thing. Don’t you dare encourage them.”
“All right, but don’t you dare hide behind them.”
“I am taking them to view birds and perhaps ponies, that is all,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, and strode out to join the other guests now gathered in the parlor. The windows had been opened wide to allow in a summer breeze, and many had already drifted over to the terrace where the teapots and cakes were being laid out.
Connor followed close behind her, taking a moment to lean forward and whisper in her ear, “Don’t hide your loveliness, Eden. Promise me.”
She frowned at him and stepped away as several young ladies charged toward him, Lothmere’s daughter in the lead. The girl was quite pretty and did not waste a moment before flirting with Connor. Eden expected he would quickly be won over by her, since she was all smiles and giggles, and quite sparkly.
Her brother was handsome, Eden had to admit. Connor’s mother led him straight to her. They reached her side before she was able to make her escape.
Eden knew Lothmere’s daughter was called Persephone, but she had yet to learn anything about the brother. “Trajan,” he said, introducing himself as the dowager duchess proudly looked on, “better known as Viscount Aubrey.”
“That is a most interesting name,” Eden said, curious to learn how both Lothmere children got their names.
He cast her a warm smile. “Awful, isn’t it? Persephone is not thrilled with hers, either. My parents are enamored ofancient history and mythology. Persephone was the love of the underworld god, Hades. Trajan was one of the most successful Roman emperors, known for his long reign, most of which was peaceful. It was between that or Zeus for me. Fortunately, my father happened to have a horse named Zeus at the time and decided it would be too confusing to have both son and horse given the same name.”
Eden could not help but laugh heartily. “Do forgive me. I like your name very much. I have no idea how mine came up with Eden. It is also a little bit out of the ordinary.”
“As are you.” The viscount eyed her with unmasked interest.
Oh, good grief.
