“And I hear you are to go to the theater tonight. Lovely. I think your brother’s box is a trifle better than mine so I will not offer mine instead. But, of course, if you had been in need of a box, it would have been my pleasure to have hosted you and your brother.”
That flow of words washing over her. That interjectedlovely. She might attempt athank you. But she could not. She licked her lips. She looked at her brother.
Help me, Edmund.
“Caro, Phin is like a brother to me. You don’t need to worry. You would be safe with him.”
Ha. Would Edmund still call Phineas a brother if he knew what Phineas had done with his sister? Would Edmund think she was safe with Phineas if he knew how the earl had touched her most sensitive place with the tip of his cock? Before making her spend with his sweet words and his fingers and then plunging into her maidenhead.
Phineas apparently had a similar thought since he was blushing.
The rake could blush. How . . . surprising.
But now Phineas looked concerned. “And what would Lady Caroline have to worry about, Edmund? Has someone else importuned her?”
She almost laughed then. How he revealed himself so flagrantly. The use of the wordssomeone elserather thansomeone. Someone else besideshimself, he meant.
But Edmund did not seem to make much of his friend’s choice of words. “No, we have not seen anyone socially since arriving in London. You’re our first caller. And I think our friends know I would thrash anyone who was inappropriate with my sister.”
“As-as would I,” Phineas stammered. “As would I.”
“No, I didn’t want Caroline to worry because she has a bit of difficu—can I tell him, Caro?”
“No!” She got it out. Loudly. Quickly. Forcefully.
Too forcefully. Both men were looking at her with raised eyebrows. Lavinia had gotten to her feet and was also gazing up at Caroline’s distress.
“Just as you wish, sister,” her brother said and bowed.
He was dismissing her. She had embarrassed him. And now he would speak privately with Phineas and tell him that her speech was impeded. That she mangled words and could not make herself understood. That she was deformed and her tongue was too far forward.
She would no longer be alovely girlto Phineas.
She curtsied, and Phineas made a deep bow as she left the room with Lavinia.
But she had misjudged her brother. When she came downstairs for the dinner they would eat before the theater, Edmund came out of the library and took her arm as they went into the dining room. He seated her at the table himself.
“I said nothing to Phin, Caro, just so you know. And he did not press me. Really, even though he and I are friends, he can be very polite and behave well. He’s not a rough beast like your brother. I’d like you to like him since we’ll see so much of him here in town. And he understands women wonderfully well. He could see you were upset and wanted to make sure you knew he didn’t—what did he say? He didn’t want to be the source of any distress to you.”
Then, during soup. “I wish you would let me tell him about your problem. Phin’s a bit of a joker at times, but unstinting and well-meaning. He would never tease you, Caro, or make you feel bad. And it would be good for you to have a friend besides me in London. He would know some nice women you could meet. He knows a lot of women.”
I know he knows a lot of women. And he probably calls them alldarling. I don’t want to meet any of his women. I want to meet a woman for you. For us. A wife for you, a sister for me.
Her brother went on. “And I understand you perfectly well when you speak.”
She swallowed a spoonful of soup. “You do? Really?”
“Yes. See? That was perfect.”
“Noesses, Edmund.” Of course, she actually saidnoetheth.Even after a lifetime of hearing herself sayethin place ofess,her lisp was like a knife in her heart. “Youanddoandreallyh-h-have noesses.”Etheth.
“I still wish you’d let me tell him.”
“No.”
“Not everyone is like our father. Not everyone thinks the way you talk is a damning flaw.”
She frowned.
