Aaron left without responding, but Ernest’s teasing followed him through Mayfair’s afternoon crowds. Female company. As if he hadn’t noticed precisely how pretty Louise was. As if he hadn’tspent half the night remembering the way she’d looked at him in the carriage, lips parted, pulse racing at her throat.
He would not become his father. He would not take advantage of vulnerability. He would not let passion override control.
His resolution lasted until he walked through his own front door.
Chaos greeted him. A tremendous crash echoed from the drawing room, followed by Buttercup’s booming bark and what sounded distinctly like his aunt laughing. Aaron strode toward the noise and froze in the doorway.
Devastation. Cushions scattered across the floor, furniture askew, and in the center of it all, Buttercup sat wearing an elaborate bonnet, pink ribbons trailing from his massive head. Emily kneeled beside him, attempting to balance a teacup on his nose while Cecilia clapped encouragement while standing on a footstool.
But it was Louise who stopped his breath.
She stood on a tufted chair with one arm stretched upward toward the mantelpiece while her other hand gripped Cecilia’s shoulder for balance. Her body formed a graceful arc, skirts swaying as she reached for something just beyond her grasp.
“Almost have it,” she muttered, tongue appearing between her lips in concentration.
The footstool wobbled. Cecilia gasped. Buttercup startled at the sound, his massive head jerking upward. The teacup he’d been balancing on his snout flew through the air and shattered against the marble hearth.
“What the devil is happening here?”
Every head turned. Emily’s eyes widened. Cecilia had the grace to look momentarily abashed. Buttercup’s tail thumped against the carpet in greeting, scattering porcelain shards across the floor.
“Don’t move.” Aaron’s voice cut through the chaos. “Emily, stay exactly where you are.”
The child froze, her bare feet inches from a jagged piece of broken china.
Aaron strode to the bellpull and yanked it sharply. A maid appeared within moments, her eyes widening at the destruction.
“Fetch a broom and dustpan. Quickly.” He turned to his housekeeper, who had materialized behind the maid. “Mrs. Hammond, please take Lady Emily to the sofa and find her slippers. She’s not to set foot on this floor until every shard is cleared.”
Mrs. Hammond swept Emily into her arms and deposited her safely on the settee, producing slippers from somewhere with the efficiency of long practice.
Only then did Aaron turn to his aunt.
“You scared us half to death, bursting in like that.” Cecilia descended from her footstool with an affronted sniff. “We had everything perfectly under control.”
“Under control?” Aaron gestured at the wreckage. Overturned furniture, scattered cushions, and broken porcelain glinting like teeth across the carpet. “You were balancing on a stool while teaching that beast to perform circus tricks. You could have fallen and broken your neck.”
“Buttercup is not a beast. And I was in no danger whatsoever until you came thundering in.”
“No danger.” Aaron stepped closer, his voice dropping to something low and furious. “Aunt Cecilia, that dog weighs more than you do. One wrong step, one stumble, and he could crush you.”
Cecilia’s chin lifted. “So I’m to sit around embroidering like some invalid while the world passes me by? Is that what you want?”
“I want you to exercise basic sense. You’re a grown woman behaving like a reckless child.”
“A child?” Cecilia’s voice rose. “How dare you?—”
“One slip.” Aaron cut her off, his jaw tight. “One wrong step, and you could be crushed beneath that wretched dog. I won’t stand idly by while you flaunt your foolishness under my roof.”
Cecilia’s mouth fell open. For a moment, she seemed too shocked to speak. Then her expression hardened into something brittle and proud.
“I am not a child, Aaron. And I will not be spoken to as one.”
“Then stop acting like one. I will not watch you endanger yourself in my own home.”
Silence rang through the drawing room. Emily had gone very still on the settee, her eyes darting between them. Louise stood frozen near the mantel, her face pale.
Cecilia drew herself up to her full height, which brought her barely to Aaron’s shoulder. She seized Buttercup’s leash with trembling fingers.
