But shehadcaught his interest.
Evan lifted a brow and gestured lazily to the chair across from him. “Sit.”
She hesitated but only for a moment before lowering herself onto the seat, her back straight.
“I have to say your methods are quite… unconventional, Lady Isadora, but you have succeeded in getting my attention. Now, what is it that you want? Has this something to do with… what were the names… Duchess Violet and Duchess Daphne?”
Isadora shook her head immediately. “Not in the slightest, Your Grace. I have not come here on behalf of my friends.”
His brow arched slightly. “Then, what is it that you want?”
“This has to do with my sister.”
Something about the way she said it made him pause.
“Your sister.” He leaned forward slightly. “And what has your sister done that requires my involvement?”
“She is to be married.”
Evan blinked once then exhaled a soft laugh. “Congratulations.”
Isadora’s expression did not change.
“You do not look particularly overjoyed, Lady Isadora. I must assume, then, that the match is… less than ideal?”
“That is one way to put it,” she sighed, sounding defeated.
Evan could not say that he was surprised. He had heard that story before. For a society that made such a fuss about matchmaking, it was truly fascinating just how often matches turned out to be the wrong ones.
“And what,precisely,do you expect me to do about it?”
Evan was no matchmaker. If anything, he kept his distance from the whole charade. He could not understand for the life of him why she had opted to seek his help of all people.
“I need you to stop the wedding.”
It took a moment for her request to register and then a low chuckle escaped his lips.
“That is a new one. I do not think I am the right person for the job.”
“You must at least hear me out, please.” She shifted slightly in her seat. “I would not have come if it were not… necessary. The man she is set to marry—he is not a good man. He is a rake; his reputation is unlawful. I cannot let my sister ruin her life by marrying him.”
He let the word hang between them for a moment then sighed dramatically. “Well, Lady Isadora, I must confess—this is quite the predicament.”
“Are you mocking me? I have come out here to seek your help.” Her voice rose in irritation.
“Not at all,” he said though the amused glint in his eyes suggested otherwise. “It is simply that I fail to see how I could be of service. If your sister is determined to marry this man, there is very little I can do. After all, if she is choosing him over you, I fear you must accept that the better woman has won.”
“I wish that were the case.” Isadora shook her head.
“So, the villain in question is not a man of her choosing?”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “No. My sister is betrothed to a rake—one only my father deems worthy.”
Evan exhaled a mock sigh of relief. “Well, that is entirely different then. For a moment, I feared I was being asked to interfere in a grand love affair.”
“There is no love in this arrangement,” she clarified immediately. “And there never shall be. He is a scoundrel.”
Evan smirked. “We are off to a promising start.”
