“Then why are you bribing men to dance with me?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Aiden is canceling any debt owed to his club, Finn is offering breeding or training services, and Mick is offering investment advice. Are you saying you’ve not offered anything to entice the fellows into dancing with me?”
Gillie’s jaw tightened as she glared at their brothers. “You daft dunderheads. You didn’t.”
“No one was dancing with her.” Aiden’s voice was clipped, harsh, and she could sense how much it angered him that they’d been ignoring her. He’d always concerned himself with ensuring women were happy. It was one of the reasons his newest club catering to ladies was such a success. While the knowledge lessened her own hurt a bit, it couldn’t erase it completely when viewed from a different perspective.
“You didn’t believe I could entice them on my own?”
“Eventually, yes. One dance and you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand. But they weren’t moving fast enough to suit me.”
“It is not you they have to suit.”
“If they want to marry you, it damn well is.”
She loved her brothers, but at the moment at least one of them was in need of a smack across his head.
“We were trying to make the night unforgettable for you,” Finn said, looking somewhat chastened. He’d always been the more sensitive of her brothers.
“Well, you’ve certainly managed that.” She held her hand out toward Gillie. “May I?”
Her sister glanced down at the tumbler she was holding. “It’s scotch.”
“I assumed as much.”
Gillie handed her the glass, and Fancy took a good healthy swallow, licked her lips.
“You’ve had it before.”
“I’m not as innocent as you all think.”
“The quiet ones never are,” Finn said softly.
“I am, however, rather mortified.”
“We meant well,” Mick stated tenderly.
“I know you did. It’s the only reason I won’t stay cross with you for long. But if gentlemen believe you’ll offer them some sort of compensation for showering me with attention, they’ll never dance with me on their own volition. They’ll be waiting for the payoff, and to be honest, it should be me.” She grimaced. “And the dowry you’ve all so graciously put together.”
He scowled. “They should want you without the dowry. But our origins prevent you from being accepted without it. Still, once these nobs get to know you, as Aiden implied, they’ll love you as much as we do.”
It was impossible to ask for a more loving, supportive family. She took another sip, allowing the heat to relax her. “I appreciate the sentiment. However, after everything you all have done for me over the years to get me here, it’s now time to shove me out of the nest and let me fly. I’m fully capable of flying.”
“It’s hard to realize you’ve grown up.”
“Well, I have.” The music drifted into silence. She downed what remained of the scotch before giving the glass back to Gillie. She lifted her wrist. “I have another dance claimed, so I must be away. Please, don’t interfere again.”
“I think they’re duly chastised,” Gillie said.
But knowing her brothers, she feared they’d unintentionally clipped her wings.
“I daresay your debut was a rousing success,” Aslyn announced with enthusiasm as the carriage traveled toward Mick’s hotel.
Apparently, Mick had yet to tell his wife how the rousing success had come to be. “Yes, I was quite taken aback by all the attention.” After confronting her brothers, she’d stopped prodding her dance partners in order to determine why they’d approached her. She didn’t want to know if they had no success at gambling, investing, or horse management. Instead, she’d made inquiries regarding their estates, hobbies, and pleasures. Some seemed taken aback that she had such an interest in them, but all welcomed the opportunity to talk about themselves.
“The next ball should go even better.”
