Alice sighed. “I should go before Mama comes looking for me. I’ll see you at supper?”
Lily dropped her gaze. Sharing tea with Lockhart had been nearly impossible, she wasn’t certain she could manage an entire meal with him just down the table from her. Or God, perhaps even close to her. What if he tried to talk to her? What if she couldn’t school her expressions and he would guess, at last, her true identity? He was an observant man, after all. No fool.
“I-I am very tired,” she said. “I wonder if I should skip supper tonight so I can be my best the next time I’m gathered with all your future family.”
“Oh.” Alice looked a little upset, but then she nodded. “Of course, Lily. I know you must be exhausted, especially after the troubles on the road. I’ll make your excuses with the countess and I know she’ll understand. She’s so very kind.”
“Thank you, love,” Lily said, and smiled as her sister hugged her again and then hustled from the room, off to give excuses and then probably go dance on flower petals like the sprite she was.
When she was gone, Lily flopped back on her bed and put her arms over her face. At least she’d given herself some time to figure out what to do. How to act. How to breathe when she was in the same room with her sister’s fiancé. The surprise of his identity would be faded by tomorrow when she’d have to face him again. Certainly, she could pull herself together.
And also refocus on Alice. Protecting her was the most important thing now. She couldn’t stray from that path just because Lockhart existed and what they’d shared had happened. In fact, she had to rededicate herself to her sisterly role even more just to be certain Alice was in good hands.
She could do all that and also make sure no one ever found out what she’d done. Especially the man she’d done it with.
* * *
George stood in the parlor at seven-thirty, drink in hand, and he found himself watching the door. He could have pretended otherwise, but he was fully aware he was waiting for the only person who had not yet joined their party: Mrs. Manning. Truth be told, he was beginning to become bothered that she wasn’t there yet.
“We’re missing your sister, Miss Westinghouse,” he said with a brief glance at his fiancée, who stood at his side, watching the others as they talked and sipped their drinks.
She started a fraction and looked up at him almost as if she forgot he existed and then inclined her head. “My sister won’t be joining us, my lord. I’m so sorry I didn’t mention it earlier. I fear she’s very tired from the road and needed a little extra rest.”
“Ah,” he said. “Of course, that makes perfect sense. Travel can be most taxing.”
There was a flicker of disappointment at that information, but he pushed it aside. He only wanted to get to the work of understandingwhythe woman seemed so distant from him when she seemed perfectly at ease with everyone else in the house. He had no other reason to be interested in Mrs. Manning’s comings and goings.
He drew a breath and refocused his attention where it should be: on his fiancée. She really was very pretty with her perfectly curled blonde hair and blue eyes, both so different from her sister. He should have felt some stirring for her, but he didn’t.
His mind drifted briefly to the woman from the hell a few days before. Of her ardor when they kissed, of the ripple of her when she came apart beneath his tongue and cock. Of how fucking good she felt in his arms afterward.
He blinked.Thatwas an entirely inappropriate thought to be having while standing next to his future bride. He was normally much better at separating the proper world from the wicked one he loved to visit. Why couldn’t he do it now?
“You—you must be pleased to have Mrs. Manning here,” he choked out, if only to force himself to stop thinking.
To his surprise, Miss Westinghouse lit up in a way she’d never done before in any conversation with him. She pivoted more fully toward him, clasped her hands together and said, “Oh, yes! I do adore seeing her. She is my favorite person in the world…well,almostmy favorite. Lily is almost ten years my elder, so she was a second mother to me as I grew up. I couldn’t love her more.”
“How wonderful,” he said, and meant it. He had been an only child and had often wished he could have had the closeness of that kind of relationship with a brother or sister. He had something like it with Clarissa, but it wasn’t really the same between cousins, as they didn’t live in the same house. “And your mother must be happy to have her here, as well.”
He didn’t know exactly why he said that, for he had been reminded by his mother earlier in the day that Lady Westinghouse’s relationship to her stepdaughter wasnotclose, but he supposed he wanted to know more about that fact. This slip was one way to force the subject.
Miss Westinghouse’s expression fluttered slightly, some of her excitement immediately tempered by whatever thoughts his comment created. “Well, er, she isn’t Lily’s mother, you know. “
“Ah yes, that’s right. I’d forgotten.”
Alice nodded. “Mama married our father only a few months after the first viscountess’s death.”
George lifted his brows. A fewmonths. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if his father did the same thing after the death of his mother. His chest hurt just thinking about it. No wonder the two women had some tension between them.
“I do wish they were closer, but…” Miss Westinghouse trailed off and blushed. “Forgive me.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing to forgive. I asked the question and I wanted the answer. Soon our families will be linked by our marriage. I’d be remiss if I didn’t try to make some understanding of yours.”
She worried her lip and then sighed before she continued, “I suppose you’re right. You must understand that the trouble isn’t on Lily’s side. My sister is the kindest, most wonderful person I know. I adore her beyond what I could ever express.”
George took in that information. It was interesting that Miss Westinghouse would rather he think ill of her mother than her sister. It truly did speak to their strong bond. And made him more determined than ever to get to the bottom of the coldness Mrs. Manning had exhibited toward him earlier in the day. With a start, he realized Miss Westinghouse was still speaking.
“And I hope—” She broke up and looked fully into his eyes for what he realized was the first time. “I do hope that she’ll be welcome in our home.”
