“I need quiet in which to read and reflect properly. How am I supposed to concentrate with all the noise?” He tipped a jerking nod at the pug where it sat in Grace’s lap, crunching on a biscuit.
“He eats no louder than you do,” Grace said. “Do not blame the dog for your own shortcomings.”
“My shortcomings?” He opened his mouth to say more, then thought better of it. It would not be wise to give Fortuity’s younger sister a curt answer. One never knew how Lady Grace might respond, and he didn’t wish to upset Fortuity more than he already had.
“Gracie.” Fortuity gave her sister a stern frown, then turned back to him and narrowed her eyes. “Please forgive her. Gracie is protective when animals are unjustly blamed.”
“Unjustly blamed?”
“Yes. Unjustly blamed.” She rose and snatched the papers out of his hands. “If you find my stories boring and impossible to immerse yourself in, simply say so. Do not blame the dog for being noisy.”
“If you must know, you were the distraction.”Damn and blast.He had not meant to say that.
“I was the distraction?” She arched a brow, clearly not believing him. “Do go on, my lord. Explain how I distract you.”
He held out his hand. “Give them back so I may finish reading.”
“From the sound of it, you haven’t even started.”
“Then give them back so I may start.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Yes, my lord. The answer isno, which means you do not get your way.” She straightened the pages and returned them to the bundle on the table. The alarming rosiness of her cheeks warned she was furious or about to burst into tears—or both.
“Fortuity.”
“Do not say my name like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you have the right to say my name like that, because you do not.”
“Come, Ignatius,” Grace said as she hefted the wriggling dog up into her arms. “Let us stroll the halls and find the perfect place for you to lift your leg.”
“Gracie!” Fortuity stared at her sister in open-mouthed dismay as Grace marched out of the parlor but left the double doors open behind her. After a barely audible groan, Fortuityslowly shook her head. “I do beg your pardon, Matthew. Gracie can sometimes be—”
“Shocking?”
She nodded. “Yes. I fear we have used that word more than once when describing her. Again, I apologize.” She pressed her hands to her still-rosy cheeks. “We should not have come here today. It is too much to ask of anyone, of a friend.”
His heart ached for her. Why was it that the harder he tried to repair the fracture between them, the worse it became? “I offered to read your stories, my lady. Forgive me for not forcing myself to concentrate.”
“You see?” She jabbed a finger at him. “That is just it, isn’t it? You should not have toforceyourself to concentrate. A good story pulls you in and refuses to let you go until the last page.”
The way the fullness of her bottom lip quivered made him yearn to pull her into his arms and kiss her until they both became senseless.
He blinked away the thought.No.They were friends. Friends did not kiss unless it was on the cheek in greeting or farewell. He raked a hand through his hair and looked away. “Forgive me, Fortuity. I do not know what has gotten into me. I have a great deal on my mind.”
She immediately calmed, and sympathy shone in the stormy blue depths of her eyes. “Eleanor?”
“Yes. Eleanor.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but he damn well couldn’t tell her she had become a distraction he was powerless to ignore. “I fear the ungrateful chit is headed for certain ruin and determined to take me with her.”
“You don’t believe she would trap you in a marriage of convenience, do you?”
“I believe she would if I were her only remaining option.” He sipped his tea and wished it were something much stronger.“Your brother is her current target. Warn him to take the greatest care.”
