“Well, I suppose I can try to help you,” Lavinia said slowly.
“It would mean a great deal to me. I know that I’ve put you in a difficult situation by asking you to do this.”
“That’s right, you have,” Lavinia said sternly. “And yet, you and Edwina do seem to bring out unforeseen qualities in one another. I’ve never seen her show such interest in another person as she does with you.”
“You think she shows interest in me?” He hadn’t expected to hear that.”
“You mustn’t read into it,” Lavinia urged. “I don’t think she has a particular fondness for you. If anything, I suspect she dislikes you at the moment—and based on what you’re telling me, who could blame her for that? But I also think that you’ve gotten her attention in a way that took us all by surprise. All I keep thinking is that if she wasn’t enjoying someone’s company, the way she wasn’t enjoying yours, her usual way would be to suffer through politely, knowing that the objectionable person would eventually go away. She must haveespeciallydisliked you if she felt the need to call an early halt to your dates.”
“I suppose she did.”
“And you truly don’t know the reason why?”
“I wounded her pride, I think, by suggesting that I would make her fall for me. I suppose she didn’t want to hear that. Maybe she felt as if I was insulting her.”
“It sounds to me as though that’s exactly what you were doing,” Lavinia said sharply. “Acting as if her mind is so malleable that you can convince her of affection for you when she doesn’t truly feel it?”
“We both got into this with the intent of convincing Lady Edwina that she might feel something,” Allan pointed out. “She wishes to remain unmarried, and you have been doing nothing but attempting to change her mind.”
“It’s very different. I’m her elder sister. I’ve only ever acted with her best interests in mind, and even when she disagrees with what I’m doing, she can trust that fact,” Lavinia said. “But you—you’re just a bit of a rake who likes to stroke his own ego by making ladies fall in love with you. I should have listened to Matthew right from the start and kept you away from Edwina. I’m only glad she had the wisdom to see what I didn’t.”
“Do you truly think me such a villain?”
“That’s exactly what I think,” she declared. “A villain is what you are. You may be a friend of my husband and my brother, but you are no friend to any of the ladies of the ton, and I should have known it before allowing you to involve yourself with my sister. I will help you apologize to her because she deserves to hear anapology, and I want her to have that. But I will no longer help you to court her, or even to spend time with her, and from now on, I will trust her judgment when it comes to gentlemen. That’s the lesson you’ve taught me.”
“So long as you’ll help me today,” Allan said evenly. “I can deal with the rest of that.”
She nodded. “There’s to be a treasure hunt on the lawn this afternoon,” she related. “It will be played in partners. The pairs are meant to be random, but I can rig the game and ensure that you have Edwina as your partner. That will give you the chance to say whatever you might wish to say to her. Will that do?”
“Very nicely,” Allan agreed. “I appreciate your help, Lavinia, truly.”
“If I hear that you’ve done anything to torment my sister any further, I’ll involve my brother and my husband,” she warned him. “They won’t like that at all.”
No, they wouldn’t.Allan nodded. “You needn’t worry,” he said. “Lady Edwina and I will have a good time together today. I’ll apologize for my misconduct, and then we’ll simply enjoy the treasure hunt together, and it will be as easy as that.”
“I hope you’re right,” Lavinia replied. “You’re not the only one who has cause for regret, you know. I am not blind to how troubled my sister has been lately, and I know it would never have happened had I not brought you into her life the way I didat the auction. Don’t give me reason to regret any further. I only wish to see her happy.”
“Of course, you want that,” Allan said. “Can you believe that’s what I want as well?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think you care about my sister’s happiness.”
Allan did care about Lady Edwina’s happiness—but he understood why Lavinia might doubt him. He certainly hadn’t done a very good job of proving himself. He wished he could explain to her that concern for Edwina’s well-being was the only reason he had pulled away from their relationship in the first place. She didn’t want to see him anymore, and he couldn’t seem to control his actions around her, so, of course, it was time to bring things to an end. There was no other responsible choice.
He would be partnered with her for the scavenger hunt. That would do. It would give him the opportunity to say what he needed to say, and they could finally close the book on everything that had happened between the two of them. They could finally leave the past in the past where it belonged and move on from one another.
He would never treat her as he had over dinner last night again. That had been disgraceful—and more to the point, it had been far too personal. She wasn’t someone he felt that personally about. She was just a young lady with whom he had had a temporary liaison. He needed to remember that.
There was nothing between the two of them.
Not anymore.
CHAPTER 26
“Lavinia,no.”
“I can’t help it, Edwina. The pairings are random.”
“But you can’t force me to partner withhim. You know perfectly well that I don’t wish to associate with him any further!”
