And he quickly warned, “Don’t mistake this, it was my mother’s idea.”
She almost laughed. Having a soft spot for his mother wasn’t a bad thing. “At least you like one of your parents,” she remarked. “How ironic that we have that in common.”
He wasn’t curious enough to ask for an explanation but said in a blasé tone, “For some reason, you impressed her the other night.”
“Perhaps because I didn’t swoon over your rude snub?” she guessed.
His eyes narrowed at the criticism. “For whatever bloody reason. I need to show her that I’m utterly uninterested in you.”
She refused to let his insult offend her this time. She even smiled. “By all means, snub me again. That should do it.”
“Not if you don’t swoon this time.”
Had the odious man made a joke? But if he meant to be humorous, he must have regretted it because he immediately went on the attack, adding, “I should be dancing with one of your sisters instead. An unusual pair, prettyandidentical. It would be interesting to have them both in my bed.”
She was so shocked she couldn’t even attempt to reply. Unfortunately, she didn’t think he was joking now. Not lambasting him for his salacious remark about her sisters was likely the most difficult thing she’d ever done. Instead, she did her best to project an air of nonchalance. And, thankfully, he said no more. But he did go straight from dancing with her to asking Layla to dance. And Vanessa’s protective instincts shot to the fore. She wasn’t about to let either of her innocent sisters get involved with any member of that family.
She immediately looked for Monty and was glad to see him walking toward her, so she met him halfway and guided him onto the dance floor. He obliged.
As soon as they began dancing he mentioned, “Now that the hordes know I’ve returned to London, people might remark on my dancing with you more than once this evening—which could be to your benefit—depending.”
“Oh?”
He didn’t elaborate but instead asked, “You’re still annoyed with me?”
She realized she must still look perturbed from her unpleasant encounter with Daniel, so she smiled at him. “No, not a’tall.”
“A wonderful trait, not to pout.”
“Oh, be quiet. What benefit?”
“You haven’t accepted my offer of lessons yet.”
“Oh, but I am now, most definitely. What do your lessons entail?”
“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?”
She’d rarely seen him look so serious. “He’s showing an interest in the twins. I can’t allow that.”
“Ah, mother hen has arrived.”
“Don’t joke, not about this. When do we begin?”
“Immediately—one of the two barrels I mentioned, remember? I will dance us close to him. You’re going to laugh with me, give me a few adoring looks—if you see that he’s watching us. And should you speak with him again tonight, make sure to tell him you have other options, or at least, mention me.”
“But I told him I like older men.”
“I’m twenty-six, old enough for our purpose and still younger than he is, which will bite all the harder if he does get jealous.”
“If? There’s no guarantee?”
“He has to at least have some interest first for it to annoy him. So we will likely only be planting the seed tonight.”
“And the other barrel you mentioned?”
“Mothers teach their daughters only what they were taught—prior to marriage. They don’t teach what they gain in experience and sophistication after marriage. We need to arm you with the latter, in point, step up your flirting techniques to a more worldly approach—we’re close to him.”
She panicked. “I’m not good at faking laughter!”
