As he visited with Mrs. Pettengill, he noticed the resemblance between Nic and her. Both had hair and lashes the color of midnight. In fact, Emma was quite a handsome woman, if he dared admit. Of course, he wouldn’t think of dallying with the young widow since she was off limits, being Nic’s cousin, but one lucky man would find her a treasure, indeed. Lately, the only woman who occupied Trey’s mind was the woman he could never have.
His heart ached with the realization. He had to give Judith to another man when the time came. She was never going to be his. It surprised him that it mattered since most of the women Trey met in his life were certainly not worth his time. So why did he think Judith was so different?
Forcing himself to relax in his chair, Trey kept his attention on Emma and conversed with her. She laughed at his comments and occasionally touched his hand. Nothing too forward. On impulse, he glanced across the table at Judith. She’d fixed her stare on him as she cut her meat. By the whiteness of her fingers as she gripped her knife and fork, he received the impression she wasn’t pleased with him.
He grinned. She was jealous, just as he was envious of Nic. The knowledge filled his chest with excitement.
After the meal, the few men gathered in the drawing room for cigars and brandy. Trey didn’t want to mingle, yet constantlymulling over something he could never have didn’t sound pleasing, either. Nic stood beside him near the hearth as they sipped their drinks. Trey doubted this was the place to talk about Nic’s flirtation with Judith, but he’d let his friend know his feelings soon.
Nic chuckled, breaking the silence between them. “Miss Faraday is certainly one intoxicating woman. She’s very easy to talk with, and she made me laugh more times than I could count.”
Trey held in his anger as he gripped the glass tighter. Perhaps now was indeed a good time to talk about Nic’s actions. “Good to hear she’s performing well. Mother worried her ward would not be able to carry on a good conversation with nobility.”
Dominic raised his drink to his lips. “I believe she has mastered that goal. Why, she nearly had me hypnotized this evening. I could not get enough of her.”
Trey gulped down the remaining liquid, then motioned to the servant for another. “I noticed.” He rested his glare on Nic. “But I thought we had already discussed this.”
“Discussed what?”
“That you would not pursue your feelings for her until we learned more about Alexander Cutler.”
Nic threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, Worthington, old boy. Be careful. The green monster of jealousy inside you is baring its hideous, sharp teeth.”
The servant brought Trey another drink, which he quickly tossed down. “You are talking nonsense. I’m not envious in the least. I just don’t think you should begin your pursuit until we find out more about Mr. Cutler.”
“Well, if you don’t find him, rest assured, Miss Faraday will win every man’s heart at her ball.”
Trey clenched his teeth. “It relieves me to know she will do so well.”
“Oh, yes. Your drawing room will be filled with many callers after the event, I can assure you. You will have her married in no time.”
Married and away from me.
That had been Trey’s goal since learning his mother had a ward. Now he couldn’t imagine her with another man. Didn’t want to. When Trey thought of her in a man’s arms, it was withhimand no other. His chest constricted and he took another long gulp. Why couldn’t he get her out of his head? The best thing for her was to find a good husband who would take care of her. Unfortunately, Nic was not that man either, since he and Trey were titled rogues with the best of them.
All around him, the walls closed in, and suffocated him. Dizziness swam through his head, warning him he might have drank too much tonight.
“Hawthorne? I need to step outside for a moment. Please excuse me.”
Without waiting for his friend’s answer, Trey rushed to the side doors and hurried out. He walked down the path toward the stone bench near his mother’s flower garden, taking deep breaths as he tried to clear his head. So perhaps he did have too much to drink. He dismissed that thought. If so, he wouldn’t be thinking about Judith and caring that she would marry another man.
He reached the bench and plopped down, holding his head as he closed his eyes. The night air helped clear his head, but still thoughts of Judith wouldn’t disappear. At least the ground wasn’t tilting any longer.
Several minutes passed and he stayed in this position, elbows resting on his knees while his palms cradled his head. Songs from the evening’s insects hummed around him, but it didn’t override the laughter from inside the house. A few times, he detected Judith’s voice, and he smiled. Strange how he knewher sound so personally. Not only that, but he knew the tilt of her head and creased brow as confusion filled her. He knew the exact part of her lips when she breathed heavily, especially the heady twinkle in her eyes right after they kissed.
Her flowery fragrance would continue to stay on his mind, reminding him how wonderful she smelled. Even now, he detected the scent of flowers, and his hands itched to wrap around her as he buried his face in her neck. The soft click of shoes brought him out of his thoughts as the scent became stronger.
“Trey? Are you ill?”
He snapped his head up and met the wide eyes of his fantasy.
Tonight was going to be pure hell, to be sure.
Chapter Twenty-One
Judith breathed asigh of relief. Trey was all right. She worried when Nic had mentioned Trey had stepped outside to inhale some fresh air due to his intoxicated state. Not very often did she run across a man who’d consumed so much alcohol. Even now, she couldn’t tell if Trey had or not.
“Ah, Judith, my love. You are a sight for these tired eyes tonight.”
