Oh, how she hoped nothing was wrong with the baby. She and Dev had already experienced enough tragedy to last a lifetime.
Rhoda stepped nonchalantly toward the French doors. When Cecily caught her gaze, she smiled wanly.
Sophia had asked her to come alone. Otherwise, she would have gladly snagged Cecily away from the older baron who seemed to be monopolizing her attention.
The air outside was warm. June was just a week away and soon most everybody would be retreating to the country.
What would happen to the wager when nobody won it? Surely, it would not persist into a second Season.
Oh, Lord, she hoped not.
The sounds of the fountain grew louder as Rhoda made her way along the cobblestone pathway. This really was a lovely garden. If she weren’t so worried about Sophia, she might have taken a moment or two to enjoy it.
“Soph?” she called out. Water poured from the spout at the tips of Lucifer’s wings. In the moonlight, the face danced beneath the water, making it appear almost lifelike.
Such a dramatic sculpture, really. She preferred this one to others she’d seen with nothing but cherubs. But where was Sophia?
“Soph?” she called out again, making her way around the concrete pool.
“Ah, Miss Mossant.”
Not again!
Lord Kensington really needed to seek out some other means to fill his coffers.
When he strode toward her menacingly, she realized the missive had been a ruse. “Stay away from me,” she ordered him, but he continued approaching her, almost like a panther preparing to pounce.
He jerked his head toward the trees. “I have witnesses watching nearby. Tonight is the night. I can’t risk the Season ending, you see. It has to be tonight.”
Rhoda bit her lip, real fear slithering down her spine. At the same time, anger surged through her core and into her limbs.
She would not let him win.
She would not.
She turned her head frantically. “Sophia?” she called out once more, hoping against hope that her friend truly awaited her nearby.
Flavion laughed but then grew serious. He was but three feet away from her. She would have backed up farther, but the backs of her knees pressed against the stone wall that encompassed the pool.
“It’s not just the money, you know. Because of you and your friends, people laugh at me everywhere. They may not do it to my face, but they all believe I am incapable.”
“Surely, that doesn’t matter!” But she ought to know better. Flavion’s masculine pride would have been devastated by such rumors.
“You’ll swear to all of them for me. You’ll tell them I’m the best you ever had. You’ll tell them what a wonderful lover I am.” Had he gone mad? But no, his eyes appeared more hooded than usual. He did not appear completely steady on his feet.
How foxed had he become before coming to undertake this diabolical mission?
“Relax, Miss Mosssannt.” Oh, yes, he’d had more than just a few. “And enjoy.”
“Never!” She could only imagine the harm it would do to her mother and her sisters.
And what Justin would think of her.
“I won’t do it,” she asserted.
And then he lunged toward her.
He’d not timed his attack well, however, and Rhoda managed to slip just out of his reach before he could latch onto her.
