“Why?” Josie’s tone was defensive. “Because you don’t want anyone else in the family sharing your spotlight now that you’re going to become a duchess?”
This was the thing about sisters: Melanie loved Josie, she truly did, but sometimes she had to fight the urge to strangle her. At the same time… she could see why Josie might feel this way. Melanie did feel guilty—for how her silence had affected her family, for being caught in a compromising position withthe Duke of Malum, for that blasted article—for all of it. But she wasn’t actively trying to sabotage her baby sister, for goodness’ sake!
“This has nothing to do with me,” Melanie said. “I just… I want to make sure you’re happy, truly happy. Do you even like him? Or know anything about his character? Do you enjoy conversing with him? Please, please tell me it isn’t because of his title.”
Josie faltered, her cheeks flushing. “It’s notjusthis title,” she muttered, striding across the room and sitting on the edge of Melanie’s bed. She kicked her feet out and stared at them wordlessly for nearly half a minute before continuing. “It’s the way he treats me. He makes me feel… grown-up. Everyone else treats me like a child, but he doesn’t.”
Now Melanie merely wished to strangle Lord Northwoods, for preying on someone as young and vulnerable as her sister.
She crossed to her bed and reached out, taking Josie’s hand. “Feeling grown-up is one thing, but that’s no reason to marry someone.” Later, Melanie might take a moment to appreciate the irony in her lecturing anyone on the reasons to marry or not to marry. And, knowing also how heady attraction could feel, she realized that forbidding Josie outright might only drive her closer to Northwoods.
If it was Caroline telling Melanie to steer clear of Malum, Melanie thought she might do just the opposite. No, she knew that she would.
Telling her sister that the man she was infatuated with was only being so attentive and flirtatious because of Josie’s dowry, when she herself didn’t know all the facts… It seemed almost cruel. “Just don’t…”give him your heart. Don’t give him your body…“Don’t make any promises. And be careful. You have all the time in the world. There is nothing wrong with waiting for someone better.”
Josie’s mouth pinched together, her expression guarded, but then she nodded reluctantly.
Melanie was going to have to speak with Malum about this. He would know how to handle the earl, wouldn’t he? Or at least how to keep Josie safe from him.
Moving to join Josie on the bed, Melanie felt a lingering…awareness, a new kind of tenderness that made her acutely aware of the intimacies she’d experienced earlier—the fact that she’d allowed him…
It was impossible to ignore, just as it was impossible to deny—she was going to have to speak with Malum about everything.
When Josie finally left, Melanie declined her maid’s assistance and closed the door firmly behind her, alone at last. She crossed the room to the window, pulled back the drapes, and pushed it open. The silence of Regent Street stretched beyond the window, serene and undisturbed, a stark contrast to the thoughts racing through her mind.
The events of the last few days played through her thoughts in fragments. The few things she’d learned about Harry, about his father. And later, their disquieting meet-up with the Duke of Crossings—his cold stare and what had felt like veiled threats. Her concerns about Josie and Northwoods.
And then, what had taken place in the courtyard…
Her cheeks burned at the memory, her body still tingling from Malum’s touch. She could almost feel him, his warmth and weight, his mouth on her skin.
The stretching.
The filling.
What was he doing now?
Would he send a missive—a love letter? That didn’t really seem his style. He would call on her, surely.
When, she couldn’t know. All she knew was that they needed to talk. And soon.
When Malum had first proposed, under Reed and Helton’s pressure, she’d convinced him their engagement would only be temporary. She didn’t want a husband who had no choice in the matter.
But tonight… What had happened between them changed everything. Hadn’t it?
“Melanie…” What would he have said if Josie hadn’t come outside?
She heard it again, her name, faint and distant, as if carried on the night breeze.
“Melanie?”
SWEET WHISPERS
Melanie leaned forward, and when she saw a shadow moving in the window directly across from hers, her heart skipped a beat.
“Harry?” she answered.
His features, though partially obscured by shadow, were unmistakable—sharp, commanding, and wholly arresting. Standing there, his dark hair gleamed faintly in the moonlight, and for a moment, all was right with the world.
