She was even more incredibly daring than he first thought. To talk so freely and challengingly to a duke, and not be the least bit intimidated about how he might react, was astonishing. And to top off that, she managed to take him to task without being petulant about it. She had good reason to give him that satisfied smile.
Hawk grunted a laugh. “You go right for the throat, don’t you, Miss Quick?”
“I’d rather think of it as going directly to the heart of the matter, Your Grace.”
“Either way, you have unquestionable courage.”
“And you have undoubtable arrogance to think you can come here and expect my brother to simply accept your bidding and take your sister to be his bride.”
He met her confident stare. “In a word, yes.”
She didn’t waver. “You will not win me over on this issue, Your Grace. I will counsel him against such an alliance.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”
“And it doesn’t surprise me that once again I have a peer standing before me who is trying to arrange a marriage between two people who don’t know each other.”
“Tell me, do you have something against my sister?”
“Of course not. I haven’t met her.”
“Maybe you are just against your brother marrying a young lady who is lovely, clever, and brings a generous dowry with her.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, fending off his allegation without hesitation.
“Then perhaps you are simply against him marrying.”
“You are wrong again,” she said pragmatically. “I am for my brother making his own decision about who he will marry with no one else’s interference. And quite frankly, Your Grace, I find all this talk of marriage beyond the pale. My brother has only just passed his twenty-fourth birthday.”
“I am aware of his age, Miss Quick.”
“Yet you seek him out to be a husband?” she argued. “What would you have said if someone had mentioned an arrangement of marriage to you at such a young age?”
When Hawk was twenty-four, he wasn’t too far removed from the Rakes of St. James secret admirer scandal. “No one would have dared to suggest marriage to me, I assure you.”
Raising her eyebrows as if sensing victory, she said, “Correct. And you should also know that Paxton probably hasn’t given marriage a thought, either.”
“That could very well be true, but there is nothing wrong with finding out if he might be tempted to at least meet Lady Adele. I would think that you would be pleased I thought highly enough of your brother to want him to marry my sister.”
She shilly-shallied. At last he’d said something shedidn’t have a saucy retort for. Maybe they were now making progress.
“Of course, that I’m happy you think so flatteringly of Paxton goes without saying,” she finally admitted. “I have no doubt he would make your sister a fine husband.”
“You are not helping your case, Miss Quick, only furthering mine.”
“That is not my intention and you know it. I’m trying not to be completely disagreeable here. My brother does have much to recommend him, and I won’t deny that. But since you are pressing the issue, I will say what I was trying to avoid and spare you the truth.”
The muscles in Hawk’s shoulders and back tightened. “I need no sparing from anyone, Miss Quick,” he said through gritted teeth. “Especially from the truth.”
“Good. Though I’m not in Society now, I have been. And I have met the daughters and sisters of dukes. I found them to be demanding, selfish, and terribly overindulged. I expect Paxton will marry someone who is sweet, thoughtful of others, and more suitable to his happy, gentle disposition. Perhaps a vicar’s daughter.”
Hawk’s jaw hardened. Was she disparaging Adele? Now the bold miss had gone too far; for the first time, her tautly spoken words didn’t sit well with Hawk.
“A vicar’s daughter?” He repeated the phrase as though it were a curse. He took a menacing step toward Miss Quick. “Are you suggesting my sister isn’t good enough for your brother?”
She stood her ground. “I’m not suggesting anything about your sister particularly, but overall about what I’ve heard, read, and observed the short time I was Society. And I only add the kind of lady I would like to see Paxton marry. Now do you still think I am furthering your cause, Your Grace?”
Her back was straight and her head tilted defiantly. She spoke her mind fearlessly better than most of the men he knew. If Hawk’s sister were only half as strong-minded as Miss Quick, he wouldn’t be seeking a husband for her; she’d be looking for one herself.
