“Then be assured that all is well.” Ariana knew it would be wiser to send him away, but this was an opportunity. “I was thinking about your sister again.”
“Why?”
“She’s appallingly dressed.”
“She’s young as yet.”
“Even so, she’s here. It can’t be pleasant to know oneself poorly turned out.”
“She’s expressed no discontent to me.”
“She probably doesn’t want to cause you extra expense.”
“That would be foolish, and she’s not. May I point out that this is no business of yours.”
“Tit for tat?” Ariana rose, and felt better to be even with him. “It must be the business of any woman with a kind heart. When she planned to come to Town, someone should have provided her with a new wardrobe.”
“I didn’t know she was coming until she arrived. If I had, I’d have taken action.”
“Then clearly you’re not well enough informed about her movements.”
“I grant you that. I’ll keep a closer eye on her in future.”
As he was said to be opposed to his sister’s early marriage, that might not suit, but Ariana didn’t see how to object.
“She seems a sensible, well-informed young lady,” she said.
“Bluestocking tendencies, but they should keep her safe.”
“Safe from what?”
“Folly.”
“You fear she’ll follow in your footsteps?”
“Perhaps I do.”
“Then set a good example and cease ruining yourself through drink!”
“I haven’t had a drink in days,” he snapped.
“Which has put you in a foul mood.”
“But addiction to alcohol could be easier to recover from than a bad marriage. Give up your plan.”
“Not that again! What do youwant?” she asked, suddenly at her limit. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”
It was as if she’d hit him. He even stepped back. “I apologize. I did promise not to interfere.” He bowed. “My sincere apologies, Lady Ariana.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
Ariana collapsed back into the chair and rested her throbbing head on her hand. Why did she become so ridiculously dramatic whenever she was in his company? She couldn’t seem to control herself. Of course, put like that...
Oh no.
What did such irritation have to do with the sweet sentiments of love poetry? With sighs and blossoms and gentle adoration? Her situation felt more in tune with Sappho’s poem about the ruinous love of Helen of Troy. Her father had introduced her to that as part of their exploration of the story of Troy. Ariana had never learned Greek, so he’d made a prose translation for her, and she could remember the gist.
Consumed by insane desire for Paris, son of the king of Troy, the beautiful Helen had left her good husband without a thought for him, her child, her parents, or any consequences.
