Of course she was, but she wasn’t about to admit that. Instead she countered with, “I liked Signor Antonio well enough. A pity that you would not allow me to spend more time inhiscompany or I might have been on my way to the altar already.” A stretch perhaps, but a valid argument nonetheless. At least to Mary’s way of thinking.
“You must understand why I could not allow for you to continue associating with him.” Lady Foxworth paused a moment before adding, “Although, if he is a guest here, as he surely must be, then you must have crossed paths with him since the night of the masquerade. He has to be one of the gentlemen among us, which means that unless he happens to be Lord Belgrave, then he has yet to approach you without wearing his costume. The fact that he has not done so only confirms the fact that he is not deserving of you.”
Mary felt her lips flatten in a tight smile. As always, her aunt’s thought process was logical, even though it happened to be completely wrong in this instance. But Mary couldn’t tell her that. Not without the risk of being prevented from seeing Richard again. So she simply nodded her head in agreement and said, “You are probably right.” Determined to return to their initial topic, she said, “As for Rotridge, however, please don’t ask me to spend more time with him.”
Lady Foxworth frowned. “Has he done something to displease you?”
Mary didn’t want to talk about how disturbed she was by the earl’s strange advances, but she didn’t want to lie any more than necessary either, so without answering the question, she said, “He has made it clear to me that he requires an heir.”
“So... not the love match you were hoping for?” Mary shook her head. Lady Foxworth raised her chin and studied Mary closely. “It is not an uncommon reason though, for marrying someone, that is. Perhaps there is something else that I ought to know about?”
Mary’s shoulders slumped. She averted her gaze. “He enjoys sniffing my hair.”
A brief silence clung to the air between them. “How positively peculiar,” Lady Foxworth eventually said.
“I did not enjoy it in the least,” Mary admitted. “In fact, there was something horribly unnerving about it—like being forced to sit still while a large spider crawls all over you.”
“An unpleasant experience indeed,” Lady Foxworth murmured. “I shall have a word with Lady Duncaster, but I doubt she can ask him to leave unless there were witnesses.”
“There were not,” Mary said. Richard wasn’t an option.
“Nevertheless, I will make every effort to ensure that he keeps his distance from you from now on. A pity since you would have ended up spending part of the year as your grandfather’s neighbor. I know how fond you are of him.”
It was true. Mary had always been close to her paternal grandfather—perhaps because she’d been her father’s only child. “I would rather visit him a bit more often than marry Rotridge in order to become his neighbor.”
Lady Foxworth nodded sadly. “And to think that I was encouraging you to spend more time with him!”
Seeing the distressed look in her aunt’s eyes, Mary leaned forward and clasped her hands between her own. “Please, you must not blame yourself, Aunt. You are not at fault here.”
Lady Foxworth nodded. “No, but apparently I have more work ahead of me than I had thought. Since neither Belgrave nor Rotridge will do, we must consider other gentlemen if you are to leave Thorncliff with an agreeable offer.” She rose to her feet while Mary tried not to look too dissatisfied by such an idea. “Not to worry though. I asked Lady Duncaster to make a list of the most eligible gentlemen currently staying here, as well as those who plan to arrive before we depart. There are fifteen in total.”
Mary’s mouth dropped open as she followed her aunt out into the hallway.Fifteen gentlemen for her to consider?The fact that they might not be willing to considerherwas apparently not a possibility worth mentioning. It was however a fact that was further compounded by the unexpected presence of Lord Rotridge in the hallway. He was standing a short distance away, his eyes on the parlor door as Mary and her aunt made their exit. Bowing his head toward Mary the instant their eyes met, he remained where he was while she and her aunt began heading in the opposite direction.
“Come along,” Lady Foxworth said as she drifted toward the French doors leading out onto the terrace, her tone so light and airy that Mary doubted she’d noticed Rotridge’s presence. “If you hurry, you ought to have enough time to take a walk with Lord Toncham before luncheon.”
Knowing better than to argue, Mary bit back the immediate comment that formed on her tongue about Toncham rhyming with luncheon. She tried not to smile and surrendered herself to her aunt’s incessant attempts at matchmaking instead, convinced that none of the gentlemen Lady Duncaster had suggested could possibly be worse than the man who was currently staring at her back as she hurried away, following her aunt.
“There is something different about you,” Spencer said as he studied Richard. Leaning back in his chair with his legs stretched out before him, Spencer took a sip of his drink before adding, “You look suspiciously happy.”
Richard raised an eyebrow. “Suspiciouslyhappy? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He knew the answer of course. The fact that he’d actually been smiling for the first time in five years, in spite of his best efforts not to, had apparently not gone unnoticed.
Spencer tilted his head to one side in a ponderous way that caused Richard to square his shoulders. “It means that I am extremely curious to know the reason behind that ridiculous grin that you have begun wearing.”
“I amnotwearing a ridiculous grin,” Richard protested.
“You were, just a moment ago. Now you look as though you might like to wring my neck.” Spencer frowned. “What is going on?”
Rising from his chair, Richard crossed to the sideboard and poured himself another drink—his third, that evening. “Nothing,” he said with a shrug. Spencer did not respond to that, and when Richard turned with the intention of resuming his seat, he found him staring at him. His brother was clearly not convinced. Expelling a deep breath, Richard made a noncommittal gesture with his hand. “Very well. If you must know, I have been re-readingThe Dark Secret of Mistletoe Forest.” He would not,couldnot, mention Mary.
Spencer gave him an odd look. “Really?”
Richard nodded, took a swig of his brandy and said, with the most serious expression he could muster, “Really.” And then, “You should give it a try yourself. It is terribly amusing.”
Spencer looked increasingly uncertain. “I think I will take your word for that.”
Richard shrugged, took another sip of his drink and asked, “Have you and Sarah discussed a wedding trip yet? I suspect that the two of you must be eager to get away and spend some time alone with each other.” And just like that, the conversation changed course, directed away from Richard and his suspicious happiness.
When Spencer eventually left Richard’s room half an hour later, Richard leaned back against the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Jesus, he had to be more careful about his facial expressions.
