She huffed a sigh. “You desire to be rid of your duties as Lady Virtue’s guardian with as much haste as possible, yes? If so, you must act in her best interest and attend the Montrose ball. I have no doubt that your sponsorship will prove beneficial. If nothing else, it will garner her some notice.”
That caught his attention.
His frown deepened. “No one has noticed her thus far?”
The notion beggared the imagination. When the chit was in a room, Trevor could see nothing and no one else, and only partially because she was the most vexing female alive. Hell, when shewasn’tin a room, she was still on his mind. Particularly when he was alone at night.
No need to linger on that unworthy thought whilst seated across from his sister, however.
“No one she will have,” Pamela said, rising. “There now, it’s been decided. You must admit it’s in your best interest, and unless I’m mistaken, that’s what has always concerned you most.”
He ignored the taunt, not far from the mark. It was what hewantedthe world to believe was his chief concern. Keeping secrets had been easier that way.
Trevor stood as well in deference. “You are certain it’s necessary?”
“Certain. The sooner you see her wed, the sooner you’ll no longer have to fret over her stealing your horses and riding Rotten Row at such an ungodly hour of the morning.”
Ah yes, there was that.
He winced. “Excellent point.”
Pamela moved past him, preparing to take her leave, but paused at his desk. “So many books, Ridgely? I didn’t think you were such a voracious reader.”
He followed his sister. “They’re not mine. They’re hers. I’ve taken them as punishment for her waywardness.”
“I am certain she will be telling me all about it.” Pamela chuckled and offered him an arch look over her shoulder. “Until later, dearest brother. If you will excuse me, I need to collect your ward and take her for a trip to the milliner’s.”
Yet another one? This, too, would cost him dearly, he had no doubt.
“Until later,” he agreed with great reluctance.
* * *
Someone had beenin her bedchamber.
Virtue knew it the moment she crossed the threshold after returning from a visit to the milliner with Lady Deering. Just as she knewwhomit had been. The scent of him lingered, undeniable and treacherously alluring.
Ridgely.
But why would he have ventured into her private rooms? Despite the fact that he was her guardian, such an act was terribly scandalous. And she could think of no reason why…
Understanding dawned.
The books she had hidden!
Virtue rushed to her wardrobe and threw open the doors, frantically feeling about for the philosophical treatise she had been reading. Its hiding place, amongst the layers of her freshly laundered petticoats and chemises, was empty. He had been here, touching her undergarments, and curse the man if the realization didn’t send a little thrill down her spine.
“Blast,” she muttered, turning to her bed. The coverlet appeared distinctly rumpled. “Oh, no.”
Not the book she had planned to begin reading before retiring this evening,Sir Isaac Newton’s Theory of Light and Colors, as translated by Elizabeth Carter. She threw back her counterpane and pulled aside a pillow to find her bed empty. The shrewd scoundrel had located and absconded with that book as well. But surely, he would not have lowered himself by peering beneath her bed to find the other book she had secreted?
Virtue dropped to her knees, eyes searching the darkness, but could find nothing. Stuffing her arm beneath the carved mahogany bedstead, she performed a perfunctory sweep, her fingertips meeting with nothing save the pile of the Axminster.
He had found all four volumes ofThe Orphan of the Rhine.
“Curse him,” she said, disbelief and frustration warring with outrage.
How dare he steal into her chamber when she had been away? And not only to trespass in such a highhanded manner, but to go searching for the books she had failed to provide him and then take those as well? What did he expect her todoat night before falling asleep?
