Vanessa grinned. He was certainly that. And she saw Charley leaning against the parlor doorway in a bored manner, though he perked up when she approached him.
“I know Monty has deserted you tonight, but is he even in the house?” she asked.
“I don’t believe so, but I have my orders. I’m to continue to be your reluctant swain’s rival, but only if needed, of course. Not that it isn’t true! I do so adore you.”
She grinned. “I think you adore all women.”
“How can I not? There is only one of me and so many of you.”
She laughed. He was such an outrageous flirt even at his young age. Heaven help women when he got older. But then she saw Daniel at the door with his mother. Of course Albert wasn’t with them. She mustered up a wide smile for her supposed intended. He noticed because she saw him looking at her, but he didn’t smile back. So much for her cracking that icy shell of his. Nonetheless, she moved over to the little group at the door and, after a slight curtsy for Lady Margaret, put her arm through Daniel’s to lead him into the parlor.
“I was told you called today. Dare I guess you’re ready to declare yourself?”
She led him to the small bar in the back corner of the room and took a glass of champagne from the servant manning it. Daniel requested brandy instead before he said, “Women shouldn’t guess in regard to men’s motives. They are never correct, so what is the point?”
“I’mguessingyou don’t know it can be fun to guess?” she rejoined. “Sort of like a treasure hunt. You never know what you’ll discover. And you’ve avoided answering the question.”
“I didn’t hear a question, merely an inaccurate guess,” he replied.
She chuckled. “If I didn’t know better, I might think you have a sense of humor buried under that icy veneer. But I do happen to prefer frankness, so the question was and still is, why did you call on me today?”
He drained his snifter and requested another. She only sipped at her champagne while she waited for his answer. He was still looking away from her when he gave it.
“I wanted to see if you were merely toying with me while you entertained other prospects closer to your own age.”
She hadn’t thought of that reason! Had jealousy actually kicked in? Or was he overly aware that he was older than the Season’s crop of bachelors? But why would he even admit it when it apparently embarrassed him, at least, he wouldn’t meet her eyes now. But, ashamed or not, she wasn’t going to let that subject go when she considered any expression of feeling from him as progress.
“So you thought you would catch me being duplicitous? I didn’t think you would resort to spying, but how encouraging that you did!”
He snorted, but then his eyes were back on her, and he asked baldly, “Why do you persist?”
The obvious reason was love. It wasn’t true, but he still ought to conclude the possibility and she probably should encourage him in that direction, so she countered, “Have you never been in love?”
The flicker of pain in his expression was so brief she might have missed it if she weren’t staring at him. It suggested Lady Roberts’s rumors about him were indeed true. Not once but twice thwarted in love—thanks to his father’s interference.
But the most recent one must still be a raw subject, so she asked carefully, “D’you still love her?”
His reaction was frigid. “Mention her again and we speak no more—ever.”
Her mistake brought a chill. She shouldn’t be so bloody nosy, not with him. She tried to recover, saying, “I just wondered if you knew the feeling, since I have it—and it’s why I won’t give up on you.”
He was back to snorting—and being crude. “It’s not a lady I want in bed.”
Such a bored tone! And boring him wasn’t part of her lessons. “What about out of bed?”
“Meaning?”
“Would you like me to be as outrageous as you? Breaking with proper decorum? I assure you I wouldn’t balk if that is your wish.”
He gave her a blank look for a moment before he actually laughed. “You really are—different, aren’t you?”
She smiled. “Have I swooned even once over your attempts to shock me?”
“No, you haven’t, which was disappointing, but now it’s rather intriguing. So you aren’t a virgin?”
She didn’t blush despite being mortified by that outrageous question, but she was now in a quandary. She had the distinct feeling that he wasn’t interested in virgins other than to shock them with his rude and inappropriate behavior. A momentary satisfaction that would immediately dissipate into boredom. And yet, didn’t every groom expect his bride to be a virgin? But there was nothing normal about this jaded man. And the conversation had turned a little too personal for them to continue it in a room that had quickly filled up with guests.
“A lady never tells,” she whispered. “But—follow me.”
