“I know you did,” Edwina reached out and took her sister’s hand. “I’m not angry. I only wish you remembered more clearly what it felt like to be unmarried and to have your family putting pressure on you about it, Lavinia. As I recall, you had a miserable time of it when Father was trying to arrange your marriage. You were so unhappy. And part of the reason was that he was forever trying to put you together with people of his choosing instead of people you yourself had chosen! You hated the idea of someone else choosing for you. Now that I’m in this situation, it’s as if that version of Father has come back to life. He left me to my own choices all these years, and now, he’streating me the way he once treated you. I know how much you hated that.”
“I did,” Lavinia agreed. “But, Edwina, my situation isn’t yours, and you know it. You’ve had fiveyearssince your debut. Father was going to force me into an arrangement by my second season. He’s much easier on you than he ever was on me, and that’s why Matthew and I feel the need to step in.”
“I’ll go on these dates, but I have no intention of allowing the Duke to win my heart—and no other man ever will either. With a little luck, these five outings will be the very last of my life, and when nothing amounts of it, everyone will accept that I truly am theunattainable spinsterand will give up on trying to attain me!”
“Oh, Edwina,” Lavinia sighed. “I only want you to be happy. That’s all I care about. I don’t understand.”
Edwina drank her chocolate quietly.
She knew that her sister didn’t understand.
Lavinia was in love. It was different for her.
She would never understand the way Edwina felt about this.
CHAPTER 5
The gentlemen’s club was dark and cool, with a smell of ale in the air. Allan sat back in his chair and surveyed the scene, happy to be there. He probably would have been happier to be at a party with a beautiful lady—but then, he reminded himself, he was promised to the unattainable spinster for the next few weeks. He didn’t want to ruin his chances of impressing her by being seen with someone else.
Across from Allan, his good friend Seth, Duke of Loxburgh, sipped his ale. It was always a miracle to get Seth to come out for a drink—indeed, it was surprising to get him to come out at all.
But it was less surprising than it had been a few years ago, before Seth had married. In those days, he had kept to himself almost all the time, never wanting to socialize with anyone. Allan still felt fortunate that he had persuaded Seth to attend the house party where he and Lavinia had met one another, and he prided himself on his role in their coming together in marriage.
“How does your wife feel about the fact that you’re out tonight?” he asked his friend. “I know you just returned from time away on business. Surely, she would rather have you home.”
“She would,” Seth agreed. “But Lavinia understands that I’ve been working hard and that I need to spend some time relaxing. She knows that the gentlemen’s club is good for me in that regard, and she wants that for me. She also wants me to be able to spend time with my friend.”
“Good of her,” Allan said. “She’s a remarkable lady.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Everything worked out so well for you,” Allan observed. “I’m overjoyed to see how happy you are these days in your marriage to Lavinia. To tell you the truth, I never would have imagined it would happen for you. You pushed everyone away for so long. I don’t know how she managed to be the one to penetrate the walls you had up, but I’m very happy that she did.”
“You’re very happy, and yet you have no intention of marrying yourself?”
“Oh, no. Don’t make this about my life. I wanted to express my pleasure that your life has turned out so well. We’re not comparing me with you.”
“Perhaps we should, though,” Seth said. “Especially since you’re involving yourself with the unattainable spinster now. My wife’ssister. How can we help but make a comparison when you’re going on dates with my wife’s sister?”
“It’s entirely different,” Allan insisted.
“Explain to me how.”
“You know I don’t have any serious intentions with the unattainable spinster. I’m not going to marry her. Just as you weren’t going to marry Lavinia when the two of you first met—except that in my case, I mean it.”
“I meant it too,” Seth said. “I had no intention of marrying Lavinia. I had no romantic interest in her at all—until suddenly, out of nowhere, I did.”
“And you believe the same thing will happen to me.”
“Well, it could. Have you met with her yet?”
“Not significantly. I went on a walk with her, nothing more.” Allan laughed at the memory of that brief outing. “She certainly is outspoken.”
“Yes, she is. She always has been,” Seth agreed. “She’s like her sister in many ways. When Lavinia feels passionate about something she doesn’t hesitate to let you know. But I suspect that Lady Edwina feels more passionate more frequently.”
Allan shook his head. “Truer words were never spoken,” he said. “She’s a firecracker. She’s going to pose an interesting challenge to me.”
“But what’s the challenge if you don’t wish to marry her?” Seth asked. “I don’t know why you bid so much money on her in the first place if you don’t have an interest.”
