“Your glower frightened my prey before the trap could spring,” she said.
“Yourpreyis married, cousin.” He refused to mince words as he had done when the Sykesburys first arrived. “You need a husband, not a benefactor who will cast you aside once your beauty fades.”
Rather than the crestfallen attitude he had hoped to trigger, Eleanor beamed at him. “So you think I am beautiful?”
“Where is your mother?”
A haughty sneer curled the girl’s lovely mouth, revealing her true nature. “She promised we could stay until after supper, or have you already forgotten?”
“If you do not adjust your behavior and purport yourself in a manner befitting a virtuous lady seeking a socially acceptable match, we will leave immediately, no matter what your mother promised. Am I understood?”
She stared up at him, narrowing her dark eyes. “You have no right to speak to me in such a manner. Especially not publicly.”
“I have maintained contact with your father’s side of the family, and they have assured me their home remains open toyou, since you are the last of their lineage, even though they consider you a foolish, stubborn girl. Need I clarify what that could mean for you?”
She backed up a step and caught a hand to her throat. “You would not dare. Think of what that would do to Mama.”
He shrugged. “It could not cause her any more damage than her daughter becoming a courtesan.”
“I was merely talking to Lord Fetterill,” she said in a hissing whisper.
“If you had positioned yourself any closer to the man, you would have been inside his waistcoat.”
“I hate you.”
“Good.” He rolled his shoulders, attempting to uncoil the weighty tension of his poor decision to bring his cousins under his roof. As he had learned long ago, but apparently failed to remember, no good deed went unpunished. “I suggest you disappear into the ladies’ retiring room for a while and give Lord Fetterill a chance to forget about you and latch on to someone else.”
Eleanor flounced away, but Matthew noted the direction she chose was the one he had suggested.
“Well done, my lord.”
He cast a sideways glance at Fortuity and immediately relaxed. Strange how she always had that effect on him. He tried to assume a sternness and failed. “Someone once advised me that poking one’s nose where it does not belong could be considered quite rude.”
“No. I said itwasquite rude, no consideration necessary.”
At that, he couldn’t help but smile. The teasing in her tone warmed his heart a great deal more than it should. “Forgive me for misquoting you, my lady.” He angled a glance toward the last known sighting of Blessing in the crowded room. “Have youabandoned your sister after promising Serendipity to watch over her?”
“I was thirsty,” she said, “and my charming brother-in-law only brought lemonade and treats for his wife.Heis watching over her.”
“Allow me to help.” Cutting through the throng much easier than her, he shielded her from the crush and escorted her closer to the refreshment table that now appeared somewhat depleted. He got her a glass of lemonade, but the Naples biscuits and other nibbles were gone, and the plates taken away. “Here you are, my lady, but I fear the lemonade will have to hold you until the supper gong.”
“No worries.” She stayed close to his side as they made their way to a less crowded area within full view of Blessing so as not to be accused of lying to Serendipity. “I followed Mama’s advice. I am just fine until supper.”
Intrigued yet again, he had to ask, “I must know. What advice was that?”
She pointed at him, and her stormy blue eyes flashed with the seriousness of the sternest tutor. “Your word that you will tell no one.”
“You have it, my lady. I shall take your secrets to the grave.” The tensed knot of frustration between his shoulders brought on by his cousin’s antics disappeared completely. Fortuity was a balm to his soul.
“Well…” She glanced around, then eased a bit closer to shield their conversation from others. “Mama always had Cook serve us a healthy portion of mashed potato before we went out for the evening to attend such soirées as these. Mama knew the heartiness of the dish would not only shield us from the effects of an overly strong ratafia but also keep us quite hale should supper run late or the treats run short.”
A warmth filled him, not from the crowded room but from thankfulness at having been accepted as a friend to such a close, loving family. “Your mother was very wise.”
Fortuity ducked her head. “Yes. Very wise, indeed,” she agreed quietly. “We all miss her very much.”
Determined to shoo away her sadness, he nodded across the way at Blessing eating her biscuits with amazing speed. “I wonder if your sister forgot that sage advice?”
“I am sure she did not. Have you not been around her at tea or mealtimes recently? The rounder she becomes, the more voracious her appetite. She attacks her food with such gusto that her knife and fork send off sparks and clang like dueling swords.” Fortuity clamped her mouth shut, and her eyes flared wider. “Pray do not tell her I said that!”
