“I don’t think he would accept that,” Matthew said. “Besides, at the amount he paid…”
“You wouldn’t pay that amount to buy my freedom?” Edwina hadn’t even heard the bid amount, but surely, no price was too high.
“Please don’t be dramatic,” Matthew urged. “I agree with you that this wasn’t a good idea, but you haven’t been sold into slavery, and Allan won’t do you any harm. In fact, you might have fun. Go on the dates with him.”
“Perhaps it will even turn into a romance,” Lavinia suggested. “I know neither of you believe that, but you can’t rule it out.”
“Oh, yes I can,” Edwina protested. “It never mattered who won your auction on that account, Lavinia. This was never going to turn into a romance because I don’t wish to marry, and you’ve always known that. That’s the end of it.”
But she was sure that, in spite of her words, that wouldn’t be the end of anything. It was only the beginning.
CHAPTER 3
“Not knowing when he’s going to come is driving me mad,” Edwina confessed.
She was sitting with her sister at the breakfast table. Lavinia had come to stay with their family for a few days, as she did from time to time when her husband was away on business. It was their usual practice, when Lavinia was here, to get up earlier than their father or brother and to take their morning meal together, but lately, Edwina hadn’t been enjoying it nearly as much as she once had. All she could seem to think about was the way Lavinia had set her up at the auction without even giving her so much as a warning. It occurred to her that Lavinia must always be thinking about her.
“He’ll be here in his own time,” Lavinia said calmly. “You can’t rush these things, Edwina. Besides, I thought you didn’t feel any sense of urgency or excitement about this, so why are you so eager for it to happen?”
“I’m eager for it to be over,” Edwina said. “And it can’t be over until it begins. I want to get these five meetings done with, so I can put this whole affair behind me. I still haven’t forgiven you, you know.”
“You have,” Lavinia countered. “You wouldn’t be speaking to me now if you were still angry with me.”
There was some truth to that, Edwina had to admit. She hadn’t quite forgiven her sister for putting her in this position, but she no longer felt the same anger she had on the day of the auction. She simply hadn’t been able to stay angry at Lavinia that long.
But she didn’t want Lavinia to interpret her lack of rage as forgiveness. “You shouldn’t have done what you did,” she scolded. “You embarrassed me.”
“I’m sorry you felt embarrassed,” Lavinia apologized. “But I think that the days between the auction and now have proven that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Just look at what’s happened since then!”
“Are you referring to the stream of suitors that’s passed through our doors each day, trying to win my attention?”
“You must admit that it’s been flattering.”
“I’m not remotely flattered by it,” Edwina countered. “I wish they would all go away and leave me alone. Youknowthat I’m not interested in courtship. Not with any of these gentlemen.And now, I feel as if I have to fight them off every waking hour. It’s maddening, Lavinia. I don’t know why you and Matthew can’t respect my choices. Why you can’t simply accept the fact that I don’t wish to marry.”
“Because you’re our sister!” Lavinia said. “We care a great deal about you, Edwina. Surely, you know that. You can’t doubt my love for you.”
Edwina sighed. “No,” she agreed. “I don’t doubt that.”
“I want to see you married because I truly believe that it’s the best thing for you,” Lavinia said. “I know it’s not what you think you want. I understand that, really, I do. But I believe that in the hands of the right gentleman, you’ll change your mind. You’ll discover true love, just as I did.”
“You can’t seriously think that the Duke of Harbeck is the right gentleman.”
“No, of course not,” Lavinia agreed. “But there’s no harm in him.”
“He’s a rake!”
“That would be a worry if you were at risk of falling in love with him,” Lavinia said. “But you’re not going to fall in love with him, are you?”
“Certainly not!”
“Then what difference does it make what sort of man he is as long as he’ll do you no real harm? Let him be a scoundrel. The point of all this is to let other gentleman see a little more of you, and it’s already working.”
“Matthew doesn’t like the idea of me with the Duke,” Edwina pointed out to her sister.
“Matthew thinks the same thing you and I do—that he’s a rake and not a good match for you. But he’s more than happy to see you with so many suitors since the auction took place. I think he’s ready to concede that this was a good idea after all.”
Edwina scowled. Her brother had felt like her one ally in this mess, and now, he wasn’t even on her side anymore. It was dreadful.
