Brig’s tawny eyebrows were drawn together. Something was not as it should be. Lydia’s sudden attack of nerves alerted and alarmed him. Had she heard one of her parents? Madeline? Brig realized he was better prepared to face Samuel’s censure than Madeline’s. Samuel would want him to marry Lydia; Madeline would want to draw blood.
Lydia slipped into the hallway and hurried toward the back stairs that Nathan would be using. He was a third of the way up when she saw him. “You’ll have to be more quiet,” she whispered.
Nathan nearly laughed aloud at her admonishment. “I’m not near the sneaksman I used to be,” he said softly. His hand slipped around her waist when he reached her. He was standing on the step below the landing and their faces were level. “Are you certain you want me here, Lydia? It’s not too late. I could leave now and come back in the morning.”
She shook her head and her fingertips found the side of his face. She touched his jaw, his cheek, the corner of his mouth. “The morning will be too late,” she said. “I’ll have come to my senses by then. You must know why I want you here.” The look in his eyes was all the confirmation she required. He thought she asked him to come to finish what they began earlier in the evening. He didn’t believe that she wanted answers to her questions, didn’t believe that she deserved a better explanation for his incredible marriage proposal. He, like Brig, thought she wanted him in her bed.
Lydia kissed Nathan full on the mouth. “This way,” she said, placing a finger to her lips. Taking his hand, she led him along the dark hallway to her bedroom. She paused at the door, opening it carefully and soundlessly. “You first.”
The moment Nathan was inside Lydia slammed the door behind him, turned the key in the lock, and waited.
“Lydia?” Brig asked, turning away from the window.
“Lydia?” Nathan asked, turning toward the closed door.
“Nathan!”
“Brig!” Nathan spun on his heel and faced his old friend.
“Lydia!” They both shouted her name simultaneously, realizing they’d been had.
Nathan tried the door and found it locked. “Damn you, Lydia, open up. We’ll wake the entire house.”
“If you haven’t already,” she whispered harshly from the other side of the door. “Do you think I care? I’m quite safe on this side.” She took the key from the lock, dropped it between her breasts, and went in search of her father’s shotgun.
“She’s gone,” Nathan said, leaning against the door. His mouth curled to one side in self-deprecating humor. “I’d say the little baggage had this planned.”
“Baggage?” repeated Brig. “Little bitch is more like it. What’s she up to?”
“I’m certain we’re going to find out.”
“Can’t you do something about the lock?”
Nathan bent, looked at the keyhole, and shook his head. “She’s taken the key. By the time I get the door open she’ll be back. I don’t think she plans to be gone long.” He straightened. “Did you propose to her this evening?”
Brig nodded. “You?”
“Yes.”
“Did she give you an answer?”
“No. What about you?”
“No.”
Nathan sighed. “I’d say we’ve been found out, wouldn’t you? She’s more her father’s daughter than I would ever have supposed.”
“Too right she is.” He was not amused by the revelation. It was anger that brightened his eyes, nothing else. “Madeline whelped a blue-blooded bitch.”
Jamming his hands in his pockets, Nathan moved away from the door when he heard Lydia’s approach. “Have a care, Brig,” Nathan said softly. “The least we can do is let her say her piece.”
“Do you really think she might still choose one of us?”
Nathan shrugged. “She might.” Behind him the key grated in the lock and the door opened. The first thing to enter the room was the barrel of a shotgun. He backed away respectfully.
Lydia kicked the door closed and waved the shotgun in the general direction of Nathan and Brig, indicating that they should move closer together. They complied without argument, both of them standing on the marble apron of the fireplace, backs to the mantel. “Thank you,” she said calmly. “I shouldn’t want to have to use this. You may as well know that I don’t know much about this weapon. I chose it because it sprays the buckshot. If I have to fire, I don’t think I can miss.”
“You know enough,” Nathan said under his breath. She couldn’t miss. Whether or not she had the will to shoot was another matter entirely. Nathan wasn’t willing to put her to the test and he hoped Brigham felt the same way. “Are you going to tell us why you’ve brought both of us here?”
