The outrage with which he spoke only clarified their situation. He wanted her close, and while she secretly wanted the same, she did not trust herself to resist him indefinitely. Eventually, their desire would prompt them to do something foolish, and while he had the power to walk away from such indiscretion without any affect to his reputation, she did not.
“I am sorry,” was all she could think to say, after which she made her way back to the bench and proceeded to take off her skates.
* * *
“What did you tell her?”
Having entered his study seconds earlier, Rowena now stood with her hands on her hips and a disconcerting glower. Devon shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the idea of where this conversation might lead.
“Who?” he asked, trying to think of how best to answer her question.
His sister marched toward him. “Don’t pretend ignorance, Devon. Josephine was furious after the two of you went skating. She is presently preparing to leave our home and refuses to tell me why.”
“Suffice it to say we had a disagreement.” He still felt rotten about his faux pas. If only there were a way for him to take back everything he’d told her.
“A disagreement?”
Sighing, Devon acknowledged Rowena would not let the matter rest without receiving a reasonable explanation. “I told her I like her.”
“And?”
He looked her straight in the eye. “I told her I like hera lot.”
Rowena frowned as she lowered herself to the chair opposite Devon’s. “That doesn’t seem like the sort of thing to cause offense.”
Since she wasn’t getting his subtlety, he told her more directly “It led her to believe I might want to make her my mistress.”
“Good heavens!”
He grimaced. “I never did have a flair for tact.”
“And you clearly don’t have respect for my warnings, either. Did I not tell you to stay on your best behavior? Josephine is a guest in our home, Devon. To proposition her, or whatever it is you did, is utterly disgraceful.”
“You sound like Mama right now.”
“Only because you’ve behaved like the worst sort of reprobate.”
Wincing, he did what he could to turn the conversation around by saying, “You are the one who ensured I would be alone with her on the ice with that ridiculous lie of yours.”
Rowena gave him a chastising glare. “So you could form a closer attachment to her if you wished to do so. It never occurred to me you might muck it up with vulgar insinuations.”
Hating himself for what he’d done, Devon stood and went to pour himself a brandy. “Would you care for some port?”
“No thank you. What I want is for you to fix this.”
He blew out a deep breath. “I already tried to apologize.”
“And?”
“I think doing so made her angrier.”
“Hmm.” Devon waited for Rowena to continue speaking while taking a sip of his drink. She eventually said, “That must mean she didn’t believe you were being sincere.”
“Honestly, I feel terrible about the whole thing. But my pride was wounded when I overheard her telling you I’m the last man on earth with whom she would ever consider an attachment. I wanted to prove her wrong.” And in doing so, he’d betrayed the gentlemanly code of conduct with which he’d been raised. “Mama would be horrified if she found out. Promise me you’ll keep this between the two of us?”
“Of course.” Rowena leaned back in her seat with a sigh and contemplated Devon. “You need to figure out what Josephine wants, and I don’t mean flowers or a trip to the opera, because that is too easy. Any man with a moderate income can give her those things.”
“I am well aware, Rowena.” As if he hadn’t drawn the same conclusion days earlier.
