A sudden blush washed over her to the roots of her hair. Still, she managed to say with all the primness of an eighty-year-old spinster, “Quite.”
A loud guffaw sprang from Blaze. Beatrix was discovering younger brothers could be decidedly irritating creatures. “Well, aren’t we a grand old family of adventurers.”
She saw his point and, reluctantly, conceded it. Her dealings with Dev from start to finish were possibly—definitely—those of an adventurer.
“Except,” continued Blaze, “why did you end it with him? That’s what I can’t figure.”
“We’d each gotten what we wanted.” She only realized what she’d said when Blaze opened his mouth with what promised to be another naughty rejoinder. She lifted a staying hand. “Don’t.”
He heaved a defeated sigh, eyes glinting with mischief. “What was the arrangement?”
She didn’t see any harm in telling him. “He paid me to be his pretend fiancée.”
“Why?”
“There was a certain lady he wished to spur into action.”
“Did it succeed?”
“I believe so, yes.”
Although, it was strange that she hadn’t yet heard even the faintest whisper about Dev and the Countess of Bridgewater—and she would have. Daily—and to her everlasting shame—she scoured every gossip rag in London for the news.
Still, it was only a matter of time.
Blaze wasn’t finished. “What did you get out of it?”
“Ten thousand pounds.” She saw no reason to hide it.
Blaze pursed his lips into a low, appreciative whistle. “You were going to use that to pay me off, eh?”
She gave a curt nod.
“You’re an upright one, aren’t you?” He winked. “Mostly.”
Beatrix wished she could stop blushing.
Blaze set his teacup and saucer down, then shifted back and laced his hands behind his head. “You want to hear what I think?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Wise woman,” he said on a dry chuckle. “But I’m going to tell you, anyway.”
Beatrix’s grip on her teacup tightened. She might just snap the handle.
“It’s obvious to anyone with eyes that the man is madly in love.”
“That’s what I was trying to tell?—”
“Withyou.”
Frustration poured through her. “I believe that look of love was intended for another.”
“That countess chit?”
A laugh escaped Beatrix. She was really coming to like her brother. “Yes,that countess chit.”
Blaze pursed his lips. “Nah.”
