“Is it a distasteful errand?” she asked. “Is that why you won’t tell me?”
“Not exactly.” He let out a slow exhale. “I’m off to see Mrs. Rupper.”
“The widow?”
“It’s been more than a twelvemonth since her husband died, and he left her with a veritable fortune.” James delivered this with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.
“But she’s…old.”
“Not terribly. I would be surprised if she has had her fiftieth birthday.”
“James,” Caroline admonished, “you are not yetthirty. She is more than twenty years your senior.”
“What does that matter? It means I have a greater chance at winning her favor. We spoke at the park the other day and she gave me leave to believe she would accept my attention.”
Cold shock skittered through her body. “You cannot be as desperate as that.”
“I will not stand by and permit you to marry a man you do not love.”
Caroline propped a hand on her hip. “Soyouwill marry a woman you don’t love? That isn’t fair.”
“I’m the older brother. It is my duty?—”
“Oh, how I hate that word!” Caroline released an exasperated huff, tossing her hands in the air. “If one of us deserves love, both of us do. At least my prospective husband is handsome.”
“Mrs. Rupper is pretty.”
Caroline glared. “You do not love her.”
“I do not love anyone.”
“But you might, if you allowed yourself time. You’ve hardly been in London. I have tried for four seasons to secure a husband. It is time I hang up my hat and concede defeat. You’ve hardly given it any effort.”
James rubbed his eyes, looking every bit the tired, plagued old man instead of his seven and twenty years.
She took his hand. “Promise me you will wait a little while longer. Father said we have this house until the Season ends. We will go to every event we possibly can, and you will search for a decent, more age-appropriate match first.”
“And if I do not find one? If the invitations stop coming?”
“If you do not find oneandI do not receive a proposal from Mr. Dennison, then we can revisit this horrid plan.”
He seemed to consider it far longer than she liked. Finally, James relented. “Very well. Where are we off to tonight?”
“Almack’s, of course. It’s Wednesday.”
James frowned. “I have a feeling I would far prefer courting Mrs. Rupper to your scheme.”
“It is no scheme; it is merely putting in an effort.”
“Hm.” James patted her arm before slipping around her. “In that case, I shall see what entertainment can be found on St. James’ Street. Or perhaps a good bout of boxing will distract me, if I venture toward Bond.”
“A gentlemen’s-only establishment,” Caroline said. “And you wonder why you’ve yet to fall in love.”
James’s chuckle could be heard as he made his way down the stairs.
Caroline’s shoulders were tense, her mouth pressed into a firm line. She had yet to see her mother that day, so she bypassed her bedchamber and continued on to her mother’s. There was no answer when she knocked, so she waited a moment and knocked again.
“Enter,” Mama said weakly.
