The two brothers marched back to the ducal chamber, where Ailis was no doubt fretting and hopefully not in tears.
On their way to his chamber, Jonas noticed the door to the East Room was open, since the maids were cleaning it after his use. This was where he had been washing and dressing these past mornings.
Edward stopped in his tracks and peered in. “Did you stay in here while giving the lovely Miss Temple your bed?” he whispered so as not to be overheard by the maids bustling about the room.
“I slept downstairs in my study,” Jonas responded quietly, “but readied myself for the day in here.”
“Ah.” Edward adjusted his spectacles to properly set them on the bridge of his nose. “You did not trust yourself to remain too close to her. I cannot blame you. That is one delicious crumpet you’ve—Ack!”
Jonas yanked him out of the chamber and continued to his bedchamber. “Stop making those crude remarks about Miss Temple.”
Edward grinned. “You like her. What is going on between the two of you?”
“Nothing. She’ll be returning to the vicarage now that the snow has finally stopped. I would have taken her back today, but I thought the roads would be too treacherous.”
“They are,” Edward confirmed. “Mother thought I was mad to set out amid the ongoing storm. She was right. I almost landed headfirst on the icy ground at least a dozen times along the way. My horse will no longer speak to me.”
Jonas laughed despite wanting to be angry with his brother for ignoring those dangerous conditions and invading his home. “You are such an arse.”
“I know, but you love me anyway.” Edward turned serious a moment. “You spent a year as a prisoner of war because of me. Do you think that is a sacrifice I will ever forget?”
“I did not enlist to fight in the war because of you,” Jonas insisted, for he would have purchased his commission at some point to join the battle against Napoleon even if his brother had not been the one expected to serve in the military.
“Yes, you did it all for me. We both know you signed up first because you wanted to protect me. I would not have survived a day if I was the one shipped off. So, I am forever grateful and will keep your littletendrefor Miss Temple a secret.”
Jonas sighed. “There is nothing between us, Edward.”
“Your eyes say something different.” Edward held up a hand to stop Jonas’s protest. “I will hound you no more on the matter. Just make sure your servants do not let slip that she was ever here. But bloody blazes, Jonas. Did you have to put her inyourbed?”
“Her shoulder had to be fixed without delay and the other rooms were not made up yet.”
“Very poor excuse, and you know it. But go ahead and deny the truth all you want. Mother will be quite put out when she realizes she dragged these lovely diamonds all the way out here in the midst of a blizzard for nothing. She will demand explanations.”
Jonas raked a hand through his hair. “How far back did you leave her?”
“Oh, you needn’t worry that she will arrive today with her entourage. She plans to wait in her comfortable inn lodgings for another day or two before daring to make the last leg of the journey north.”
“Are you certain?”
“Well, no. She does want you to meet the lovely ladies and their rabidly eager families. On second thought, perhaps it iswisest to get Miss Temple back to the vicarage at first light tomorrow morning.”
Precisely what Jonas had been thinking. “Who is in our mother’s entourage?”
“Several diamonds you have escorted around London previously. Lady Viola Carstairs, for one. She’s come along with her father, the Duke of Carstairs. Lady Willa Montroy, for another. Her parents, the Earl and Countess of Montroy, will be chaperoning her.”
“Chaperoning? Or conniving to have me compromise her?”
Edward shrugged. “I won’t deny this is going to be a battlefield for you. The betting book has Lady Viola and Lady Willa down as the favorites. But our mother has also brought along Viscount Tenney, his wife, and their two daughters, Faith and Hope. Watch out for them.”
Jonas arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
“My friends and I refer to them as Faithless and Hopeless. Those two young ladies might look sweet, but they are completely without morals and vicious schemers.”
He groaned. “What possessed our mother to invite them?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps she thought their presence might sooner push you into the arms of Lady Viola or Lady Willa.”
“Stupid idea.”
