Ash expelled his breath as he circled Griffin. “Of course it is. You and Meredith both always seem to complicateeverything.”
“Easy for you to say. You’ve never been in love,” Griffin replied with his practiced nonchalance.
“And thank God for that,” Ash said with a grin as he continued to circle him. “Tell me. How much longer do you intend to live in agony?”
Griffin wiped his forearm across his sweaty brow. “I have a plan.”
Still sweating and bobbing, Ash smiled and shook his head. “Of course you do.”
“What’s wrong with having a plan?”
Sweat beaded down Ash’s bare chest as he bobbed and weaved around the space. “Sounds complicated again.” He let out a long, loud groan. “I swear you’re both wasting valuable time. And what do you intend to tell her now that she’s so hell-bent on your marriage this Season? I had dinner with her the other night and it’s nearly all she talked about.”
A bell sounded from the corner, indicating their bout was through. Griffin expelled his breath. He dropped his fists and jogged over to the wall to get water and a towel from the bottle man. Ash followed him.
“All part of my plan,” Griffin said, taking a large swallow of water. “I already told her that I know precisely who I intend to marry.”
Ash’s brows shot up. “Really?” Ash took a swig from his own bottle.
“I just didn’t tell her who.”
“Really?” Ash repeated before a sly smile spread across his face. “That must have gone over like a ship’s anchor.”
Griffin scrubbed the towel across his sweaty face. “She has seven guesses.”
Ash rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead with one knuckle. “See? Complicated. What if she guesses herself?”
Griffin shrugged. He’d thought of that. Of course he’d thought of it. “I hope she does. If she guesses herself, it will mean she’s open to the idea,” he finished with a grin. “Otherwise, I intend to court her properly and ask her to marry me at the Cartwright’s Midsummer Night’s Ball.”
Ash shook his head again, blowing out his breath in a rush. “You aremad, you know that?”
“Perhaps, but I intend to handle this my way. Besides, I doubt she’ll guess herself.”
“This is allfartoo complicated, if you ask me. What if I make it easier for you? If you tell Meredith you love her before the Cartwrights’ ball, I’ll agree to find a bride before my thirty-firstbirthday.”
Griffin grinned at his friend and shook his head. “You? The forever-sworn bachelor? Marry?”
Ash’s sly smile returned. “Ah, but that’s how certain I am that youwon’ttell her.”
Griffin shook his head. That was Ash. Never a care in the world. Never a problem he couldn’t solve. The quintessential devil-may-care rake about town. It was impossible not to like him.
“I hope to see you fall in love one day,” Griffin said as he and Ash headed for the back of the saloon, where a makeshift showering system had been set up behind curtains with buckets, water, and barrel tubs. “Then perhaps you’ll know how difficult it is.”
Ash’s crack of laughter bounced off the high, plastered ceiling. “I’ll tell you one thing. If Iamunfortunate enough to fall in love someday, you can rest assured that I will come out and tell the lady my feelings. I’d much rather be rejected than subject myself to years of torment the way you have.”
Griffin gently elbowed his friend in the ribs. “Care to place a wager on that?”
CHAPTER SIX
The Next Morning, The Duchess of Maxwell’s Breakfast Room
“And not only did she dance with Lord Pembroke, one of themosteligible bachelors of the Season, but she told Lady Mary if she dared to utter a word against her, she’d start an equally damaging rumor abouther,” Meredith said, finishing the story she was telling Clare Handleton over scones. “Oh, how I wished you’d been there. Not only would you have loved to see Gemma in action, but I daresay you would have helped to thwart that awful Lady Mary,” Meredith finished with a nod.
A catlike smile popped to Clare’s bow-shaped lips. “Yes, one cannot underestimate the value of a well-timed slide of the foot to trip a particularly unpleasant chit,” she finished with a saucy wink.
Meredith laughed. “Indeed.”
“Quite brave of Gemma, but I do hope you shared my story with her. A reputation is nothing to take for granted,” Clare continued as she picked through some grapes on herplate. “Take it fromScandalton.Notthat I give a toss about any of it these days.”
