Was that a real question? “Of course I am.”
She was not. But she also wasn’t about to tell him that. And regardless, she would just keep guessing until she worked it out.
He poked out his cheek with his tongue. “Very well. I shall allow you to guess…with one caveat.”
She scowled at him. She didn’t like caveats.
He chuckled. “Don’t look so disgruntled. I’m giving you a chance, aren’t I?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Fine. What is your caveat?”
“You may only have seven guesses.”
This time, she did stamp her foot. “But that’s not?—”
“Ah, ah, ah.” He waggled a finger in front of her face. “That’s my condition. Accept it or don’t. Seven guesses. No more. No less. Otherwise, you’ll guess every woman in England.”
Thwarted. Her eyes narrowed to slits. Of course Griffin was too clever to allow her an infinite number of guesses. “Fine. I accept.” She turned toward the ballroom and surveyed its occupants with a shrewd eye. “Now. Who shall be my first guess?”
CHAPTER FIVE
The Next Morning, Gentleman Jack’s Boxing Saloon
“Will youpleasejusttell my sister you’re madly in love with her and have been for years?” Ashford Drake said as he swung a fist directly at Griffin’s head.
Griffin ducked, narrowly missing the hit. Damn Ash. Not only did the man have a mean left hook, he was also far too astute. He’d guessed Griffin’s feelings for Meredith long ago and while he had sworn to keep the secret, it didn’t stop him from bringing it up to Griffin when they were alone.Nearly every time they were alone.
Ash was a tall, strapping man who shared his sister’s dark-brown hair, light-gray eyes, and penchant for being forthright. Ash would do anything for a friend in need, and Griffin trusted him with his life. Which is how he knew the marquess would never share his secret. He would take it to the grave if need be.
The two men had been boxing for the better part of an hour, and Griffin had just finished telling Meredith’s olderbrother about how set she was on helping him find a bride. Hence Ash’s question.
“You know perfectly well why I haven’t told her yet,” Griffin returned, landing a solid blow to his friend’s right side. He enjoyed that particular hit a bit more than usual.
Ash grunted and repositioned his bare fists. “I know why yousayyou don’t tell her, but I still contend it’s ludicrous.” He swung at Griffin and missed.
“You mean it’s romantic.”
Another swing. Another miss. “For God’s sake, man, why wait? Just tell her the next time you see her.”
Another undercut to Ash’s right side that landed with a solidthwunk. “Patience is a virtue.”
“Patience is boring,” Ash shot back with a groan.
“Spoken like a man without a drop of patience in his veins. Look. The situation must be handled delicately. You know as well as I do that Meredith has sworn off marriage. She says shedetestedit.”
Breathing heavily, Ash bobbed on his feet, no doubt looking to attempt one of his vicious left hooks again. “She detestedMaxwell.”
Griffin bobbed too, just barely dodging the punch when it came. Ash was correct, but Griffin knew Meredith’s aversion to marriage involved more than simply a bad match with Maxwell. Something had happened in her marriage. Something she refused to talk about. He could only hope that once she realized they were the perfect couple, once she realized how much he loved her, Meredith would open up to him about it.Patience.Patience. “It’s complicated,” he said.
Ash rolled his eyes. Patience was anathema to him. The marquess had never encountered anything so complicated he couldn’t just barrel in and accomplish it. He made decisions quickly and worried about the consequences later. So, ofcourse, Ash made it sound simple. Just tell the woman you love her, and everything will fall perfectly into place.
Ash was a good man and a great friend, but he would never understand. He might be a marquess in need of an heir, but like his sister, he was completely uninterested in marriage. Griffin suspected he was set against marriage to spite his dead father. Which was really something when you thought about it. The man wasno longer alive.
The truth was that, sadly, Ash didn’t understand the meaning of the word “love.” Not when it came to marriage. Ash saw marriage as little more than a business arrangement. It wasn’t his fault, of course. He’d grown up in a house devoid of that emotion. Griffin knew firsthand how cold Ash’s steely-eyed father had been. At least Griffin had been loved by his mother. He knew love. And he had no intention of marrying if Meredith refused to be his wife. He didn’t want to live a life without her,andit would be unfair to marry any other woman. But Griffin wouldn’t bother trying to explain his feelings to Ash. Such things just didn’t make sense to the marquess.
“Tell me againwhyit’s so complicated,” Ash said with another eyeroll.
“It just is,” Griffin replied, missing Ash this time with another right undercut.
