“Oh, how interesting,” Helen whispered.
“I was with Marcus when he met Jane.I could tell he felt affection for her.Or lust, at the very least.I often wonder if he wanted me there because he thought to introduce me to Antonio.”She rolled her eyes.“The future Lord Reardon.”
“I hear he is the most handsome heir in all of Bath,” Helen said, her brows waggling.
“His features are rather easy on the eyes—and you will not share what I just said with my husband.”
“Oh, I won’t,” Helen promised, tittering softly.“Do go on with how Jane became your sister., though”
Diana grinned.“Well, the day following their arrival in Athens, we were all up on the Acropolis when Lord Penton and the Forsters appeared.They were on the next leg of their Grand Tour...and when Marcus discovered Penton was supposedly betrothed to Jane?—”
“He challenged him to a duel?”Helen guessed, her eyes wide.
“They never actually came to blows,” Diana assured her.“But once David confirmed that Jane returned Marcus’ affections, he graciously stepped aside so Marcus was able to marry Jane.”
“Oh,” Helen breathed.“How romantic.”
It was Diana’s turn to display a grimace.“Penton never was going to marry her.He’s my age—far too young to be considering matrimony given he’ll eventually be a marquess,” she reasoned.
Helen angled her head to one side.“So is that when you and Lord Forster fell in love?”she asked, her voice nearly a whisper.
Diana dipped her head.“I suppose it was,” she admitted.“He was most insistent we should be together...”She swallowed, remembering how he had already accepted her desire to be a spinster and had offered instead to be her lover.“Or married,” she murmured before allowing a wan smile.
“You don’t regret marrying him,” Helen stated.
Diana giggled.“No, I do not,” she admitted.“The way Randy speaks of matrimony with his brother, well, I suppose it should come as no surprise that Thomas would be amenable to marriage earlier than his age would indicate.”She sighed.“I admit I have noticed Thomas watching you.When you haven’t been looking.”
Helen inhaled softly.“When I catch him staring at me, he turns away,” she countered.“I was sure...”She stopped speaking and sighed.“I think I’ve made a mistake in talking my father into bringing us on this tour,” she said quietly.
“You have not,” Diana countered, reaching out with a hand to place it on Helen’s arm.“Lord Everly seems quite engaged with it all.He and Lord Bellingham are getting on as if they are long lost friends,” she added.“And he’s certainly enthralled by those flowers he’s been studying.”
“Hibiscus,” Helen stated.“They are used to make tea here, but he wants some for his conservatory back in Mayfair.He’s quite the botanist.A naturalist.”
“Ah,” Diana replied thoughtfully.She regarded the younger girl for a moment before she said, “Do you still feel affection for Thomas?”
“I think so.I would like to know that he returns my affections, though.Before I would ever do anything like...kiss him again.”
“I concur,” Diana replied.“Which has me wondering if Randy knows what happened at that ball.”She paused, her expression thoughtful.“Would you like me to ask him what he knows?Mayhap mention how I’ve noticed Tom’s regard for you?”
“You won’t tell him why?”Helen countered.
Diana furrowed a brow.“I won’t,” she assured her.She chuckled softly before her eyes rounded.“If you end up married to Tom, we’ll be sisters.”
Helen grinned.“I’d like that,” she admitted.
“And the sooner you’re wed, the sooner you can become arealmother.”
Helen beamed in delight.“I once told Mother I might have to take Bradley off her hands.”
“She wouldn’t allow you to, though,” Diana said, although there was a hint of a question in her voice.
“Oh, there are days when she simply hands him to me,” Helen said without a hint of amusement.Her sudden grin betrayed her words.“My parents were not expecting to have another child after me, and although we had a nurse when we left London, we...lost her in Malta.”
“Oh, dear,” Diana replied.“How awful.”
“Oh, not like that,” Helen said, waving a gloved hand as if to erase her initial words.“She met a man there, you see.Love at first sight, I think, and they decided to marry, and she stayed behind on the island of Gozo.”
Diana dipped her head.“Still, it must be a challenge to travel with a baby.”
