“Am I?” the older man challenged.
“Of course,” Carew returned evenly. He wasn’t about to believe that this obsession he felt for Miss Hargrove could be anything more than a base desire. After such a brief reacquaintance with the lady, because he wouldn’t dare consider their association in London as anything substantial since they had hardly exchanged more than a few words, it was quite absurd to even entertain the idea of something like love at first sight.
“Am I to understand that even if you won the lady’s heart, you wouldn’t wish to obtain her hand in marriage?”
“Not in the least,” he lied. “Even if some members of the house party might wish for that very occurrence.”
His companion nodded. “It’s a relief to know that I won’t have any competition.”
Carew stilled. “What do you mean?”
Lord Everly downed his port and set the glass aside and then rose to his feet. “Merely that I mean to court Miss Hargrove. I see the worth in her, even if you cannot. She will make a fine wife, and I intend to coerce her to accept my suit.” He paused slightly. “Unless, you would like to recant your statement? But even then, I may not bow out gracefully.”
Rising to his feet to engage with the other man on a similar level, Carew was chagrined to see that they were of a similar height, so any attempt at intimidation would be for naught. Nevertheless, he allowed a neutral mask to fall into place when he said, “While I will not fight your attempts to persuade Miss Hargrove to the altar, I may be inclined to enjoy her delights before you whisk her away.”
Lord Everly frowned in disapproval. “That doesn’t sound like something a gentleman would do.”
Carew grinned. “I may hold a title, but I never said I was a gentleman.” He stepped closer. “I’m here for my own amusement. Nothing more, and nothing less.” He turned on his heel, walked a few steps and then paused to say over his shoulder, “Good luck, Lord Everly. I have the feeling you’ll need it.”
Dulcenia twistedher fingers in her lap when Lord Everly and the marquess made their appearance a short time later. She could feel the tension between them as surely as if they had entered the room in a bout of fisticuffs. But then, it had been the same ever since that engaging exchange during battledore.
Determined not to be drawn into whatever nonsense they were about, she intended to quit the parlor and enjoy the fresh night air. However, the instant she slipped out onto the open terrace, she realized she wasn’t alone.
“Miss Hargrove.” That deep baritone drifted over to her and made gooseflesh break out on her arms. “How your beauty does put the evening stars to shame.”
She laughed and pushed her spectacles further up her nose. “Is it the glare of my glasses that overpowers the heavens, my lord? Or perhaps the awkward way I squint at the sky?”
His brows drew down heavily over his blue eyes. “You shouldn’t mock yourself in such a manner.”
She crossed her arms and gave a halfhearted shrug. “Why not? Isn’t it better if I do so, rather than wait for someone else to do it on my behalf? At least this way I save myself the embarrassment.”
“Do you think so little of yourself?”
Dulcenia turned away and stared at the railing in front of her. “I don’t pretend to be someone that I’m not.”
“You don’t need to.” A gentle hand grasped her beneath the chin and lifted. She was forced to endure that heated stare. “I find that you are perfect just the way you are.”
Her lips twisted. “And yet, why do I find that so difficult to believe? Especially since this is coming from a man who will never change.”
He stared at her for a moment, and then he exhaled slowly. “I feel like you are a woman who appreciates honesty above all else, and since I can no longer offer pretense without feeling as though I’m deceiving you, I should tell you that at the end of this house party, no matter how much Lady Osbourne might attempt to appeal to my good nature, I will not be offering you a proposal.”
Dulcenia clutched her hands at her sides, because although she had expected it, the harsh reality of his words was still rather cutting. She hadn’t realized, until then, just how much she could have gotten used to the sound ofLady‘Dollhouse.’
“However,” he whispered softly. “Just because I choose not to be a husband, doesn’t mean that we can’t engage in other pursuits.”
She lifted a brow. “You are suggesting that I make a cuckold of the man I do settle down with?”
“There are ways of convincing a man of a lady’s virtue in the marriage bed.”
Dulcenia wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She lifted a hand and set it against his chest, pushing him away. “While I accept your truth, my lord, might I offer some in return? Theonlyman I will allow into my bed will be the one who offers his protection for something more than just temporary sport.”
Feeling that the subject was closed, Dulcenia turned and swept into the parlor.
Carew leanedagainst the railing for some time after Miss Hargrove’s departure. He couldn’t seem to shake the fact she was disappointed in him, and while it had never occurred to him to mind with any other female before, he found it odd that he wantedherapproval.
He ground his teeth together. Why couldn’t she accept a brief tryst? It would surely cure this aching he had for her and purge her from his thoughts. But what could he do if she wouldn’t accept his terms?
“I wondered where you might have wandered off to.”
