The Duke laughed. “You’re always so entertaining,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy these five dates. The unattainable spinster! We’ll see if we can change that by the time we’re finished.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
“And I wouldn’t count me out. I can be very charming when I want to be, you know.”
“Can you? I suppose that means you’ve never wanted to be around me.”
She’d intended to provoke him, but he just laughed again. He reached out and took her hand, bent over it, and kissed it before she could react.
Edwina yanked her hand away. How dare he be so forward?
“Edwina,” Lavinia scolded. “Be nice.”
But Edwina had no intention of being nice. “Keep your hands to yourself,” she told the Duke. “I didn’t give permission for you to do that.”
“Everyone knows how fiery the unattainable spinster is,” the Duke observed. “I look forward to this. I’ll be in touch soon to arrange our first outing together.”
He gave her a smoldering look.
Edwina felt her knees grow slightly weak. She caught her breath. Hewashandsome, and he had never looked at her like that before. She had known he was capable of it—she had heard of him doing it to other ladies—but she had assumed that she would be above it.
She felt her cheeks grow hot, and she was forced to look away or risk having him see how flustered she suddenly was.
He gave her one last cheeky grin, turned, and walked away, leaving her speechless with outrage.
Matthew joined Edwina and Lavinia. “Come with me,” he told them, his voice tight, and led them out of the room. The ladies followed him.
He led them into the dining room, which still held all the paintings from the auction, now bearing tags with the names of the people who had purchased them. Once the door was closed behind them, he turned to face his sisters.
“What were you thinking?” he demanded.
Lavinia was unabashed. “You know as well as I do that she needs to marry,” she said. “You know that she never will if you and I don’t do something about it. How many times have we discussed it? And how many times have you arranged suitors for her, whether she liked it or not? I fail to see why I shouldn’t do the same thing.”
“This isn’t arranging a suitor! You’ve made a joke of our sister.”
“I haven’t done anything of the kind,” Lavinia argued. “You know as well as I do the esteem the ton holds for her. Just look at all the bids she received today. People didn’t find this foolish at all. They were excited by the opportunity.”
Matthew sighed. “I don’t like it,” he said. “You should have discussed it with me first.”
“Discussed it withyoufirst?” Edwina exclaimed. “What about me? You don’t think she should have discussed it with me before she auctioned me away like that?”
“Stay calm please, Edwina.”
“Why should I?” Edwina asked. “You aren’t staying calm, Matthew. I don’t see why you should be allowed to react to this, and I shouldn’t. We’re in agreement that it was not a good idea. I thought you were on my side.”
“It’s only Allan,” Matthew replied. “That’s not so bad, surely.”
It bothered Edwina that her brother was on a first-name basis with the Duke. She knew she was overreacting, but it felt like he was taking the Duke’s side. “The Duke of Harbeck may be a friend of yours,” she said, “but that doesn’t mean he’s suitable for courtship.”
“You don’t think anyone is suitable for courtship,” Lavinia pointed out. “Why should the Duke be any different?”
“No, Edwina is right about that,” Matthew said. “There is no future for her and Allan. He’s a charmer and a flirt, but I’ve never known him to be serious about a lady.”
“And yet you don’t see anyone callinghimunattainable and auctioning off dates with him against his will,” Edwina grumbled.
“Hush,” her brother said. “The best thing to do now is to get through this, Edwina. It’s already been arranged. We don’t want to bring further disgrace upon ourselves by cancelling the arrangement.”
“Can’t you give him his money back, like you suggested you would, and send him on his way?”
