And little ears that curled at the tops.
He cleared his throat again.
“Would you care to sit?” she offered when he said nothing more than her name.
He shook out of his bemusement. “No, I merely brought my grandmother here to properly introduce you.”
He then made the pointless introductions since Harriet and his grandmother already appeared to be old friends.
“You have an excellent grandson, Your Grace. You must be very proud of him.”
“I am. Thank you, my dear.” She cast the girl a doting smile.
Max looked on in amazement as his grandmother fawned over the girl.
Well done, Harry. One dragon dowager duchess tamed.
It hadn’t taken George’s sister very long to accomplish this task.
A remarkable accomplishment since his grandmother never warmed to anyone this quickly.
Harriet, for he really should not be getting too comfortable thinking of her as Harry, cast him another breathtaking smile. “You look quite spectacular, Your Grace. If I may speak honestly, I believe the ladies will be in a swoon over you.”
He grunted to dismiss the possibility.
These ladies would be swooning over his title and wealth, and not give a fig about him.
Perhaps the war years had made him too cynical.
His features were not elegant.
He looked more like a battle-hardened soldier than a gentleman, a man more used to slogging through mud than through a glittering London ballroom.
He had scars and a small bump on his nose where it had been broken several years ago on some battlefield.
Harriet was looking at him with her big eyes wide so that they appeared to take up half of her face. The other half was also quite striking, for she had a slim nose and a gracefully curved mouth that he would not mind kissing if the opportunity ever arose.
But it would not, for he had to concentrate on finding himself a wife from among the bejeweled elite of London. Oh, how he hated the thought of endless hours engaged in nonsensical chatter.
He hated these blasted house parties and should not have allowed his grandmother to talk him into holding one.
Harriet was frowning at him. “What, Miss Comeford?”
“You will scare the young ladies if you scowl at them the way you are scowling at me.”
“I am not scowling at you. I was merely thinking to myself. If those ladies are so timid as to be afraid of a harmless frown, then am I not better off without them?”
“Why would you bring them all the way here just to dismiss them?” she asked, pursing her lips that once again brought on his urge to kiss her. “It would be a shame to pass up the opportunity to get to know them better. This is why they have come to Pendrake Hall. This is whyyouinvited them here.”
“My grandmother did the inviting,” he corrected her. “This was never my idea.”
“But it is done and it is a good idea to have them all conveniently close to you. You’ve mentioned they are here for a week, so why not use the time to learn more about these young ladies? Should you not have some sort of plan? Or a schedule?”
He had never given it a thought.
She opened her mouth as though to say something more, then snapped it shut.
“Yes, Miss Comeford?” He tried to hold back his amused laughter. The girl seemed to have a comment about everything, but was he not the one to blame for urging her to voice her opinions?
