“He should be birched.”
Alex allowed a small smile. “Yes, well, he actually implied that himself just this morning.”
“For what reason?”
“I told him in no uncertain terms that I was perfectly capable of deciding with whom I wished to dance and converse.”
The humor immediately drained from Branford’s face. There was a perceptible pause before he spoke again. “What else have you heard?”
“She met his gaze squarely. “Everything, I imagine.”
“Then you are either very brave or very foolish,” he said coldly.
Alex frowned. “I think I am neither, sir.”
“Do you not give any credence to tittle-tattle?” asked Branford.
She didn’t answer for a moment, thinking back on her own experience with the rumor mills. “Growing up, I would hear things that were … twisted versions of the truth. My father was the subject of much speculation due to his inquiries into the natural world. In Cornwall he was rumored to have been a warlock due to his nocturnal ramblings and collecting of odd plants and specimens. Needless to say, we were soon forced to leave the area.” The unpleasant memories drew an exasperated sigh. “So, I prefer to judge people for myself.”
A ghost of a smile reappeared on Branford’s face. “I suppose that’s because you believe in the basic rule of science, Miss Chilton—one learns the truth through empirical knowledge.”
As the last notes of the waltz danced through the air, he steered her back toward the potted palm. “I believe your botanist friends eagerly await your return—and offer a safe haven. I hope I have lived up to my promise not to bore you.” He bowed slightly. “Good evening.”
“Milord …”
But he had already turned and disappeared in the crowd.
Branford wanderedinto the card room and helped himself to a glass of brandy. He needed something stronger than champagne to ease the knot deep inside his chest.Hell’s teeth.He usually had his emotions under tight rein. What hadhappened tonight to cause him to feel on edge? It was disconcerting to be so …
“Lord Branford, I would like to have a word with you, if you please.”
The voice coming from behind him was trying hard to sound both deep and self-assured.
The earl turned to face a young man not quite his own height. The face was only vaguely familiar, but the flashing color and intensity of the eyes were all too recognizable.
Branford inwardly cursed whatever pernicious forces of the cosmos were turning his evening arse over teakettle..
“We were introduced last night, sir. I am Justin Chilton, Miss Alexandra Chilton’s brother. I wish to have a word with you.” He gestured toward the hallway. “The library is empty.”
Heaving an exasperated sigh, Branford followed without protest.
When the door was firmly closed behind them, Justin took a deep breath, his chin coming up in precisely the same manner as his sister’s when she felt challenged.
“Sir, I must ask you to refrain from dancing with my sister again,” he began. “In fact, I would prefer that you refrain from any further contact whatsoever.”
Branford regarded him with an icy stare—the one that usually set men to quaking in their boots.
The young man’s jaw clenched, but he refused to blink.
“Your sister is of an age to make her own decisions,” replied Branford. “And she appears to be more than competent to make up her own mind about such things.”
“She does not understand Polite Society. She knows her books and her plants and her eccentric friends at the Botanical Society, not the rules and the … the games that the beau monde play in order to amuse themselves.” A pause. “Therefore I really must insist that you cease your attentions.”
The earl responded with an ominous softness. “Just what are you implying, Mr. Chilton?”
Justin drew in a deep breath, his brows knitting together. “I—I have very little experience in this sort of thing,” he replied honestly. “No doubt I shall say this badly.”
He hesitated. “I mean no disrespect to you, sir. How you choose to … to conduct your affairs is not for me to comment on. It is my sister with whom I’m concerned. Despite her age and her ideas on the world, she has very little experience with …well, with the opposite sex. I do not wish to see her hurt.”
