“And you didn’t swoon from paying witness to his excessive handsomeness?”
Diana blinked before she broke out into a fit of giggles.“Oh, dear, I did not,” she claimed.“But it sounds as if you did?”she teased.
He made a sound of protest.“I met him at school.Trust me when I say that with his looks, he could have gotten away with behaving as an arse, but he never did.”Dipping his head, he said, “I will admit I am relieved he is happily wed.I shouldn’t want you considering a tumble with him.”
Diana scoffed in disbelief.“Randall Forster,” she scolded, although she was grinning in delight.She leaned over and kissed his cheek.“So...Lady Helen passes all the tests for consideration as a potential wife?”she asked.
It was Randy’s turn to blink.“Of course.”He suddenly stiffened.“You’re thinking Lady Helen and Tom.Together?”There was a bit of disbelief in the query, although no indication he found fault with the idea.
“Married, yes,” she acknowledged.
Randy settled back into the squabs and let out a chuckle.“He doesn’t stand a chance, does he?”he asked rhetorically.
Diana’s good mood sobered.“Actually, he hasn’t shown Helen the slightest bit of interest this entire trip,” she said on a sigh.
“Actually...”Here Randy stopped and chewed his bottom lip.“I think he has, but I’ve been misinterpreting his attentions.”His gaze seemed set on something in his mind’s eye.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve seen him watching her,” he admitted.“When she’s been holding the baby.I know he wants children.Eventually.We’ve talked about how many we might have,” he said, lifting a shoulder.
Diana’s eyes widened, but she decided now was not the time to learn on how many he wanted.“And?”she prompted.
“Well, now I think he’s merely jealous of Bradley, which has me wondering who the father is.Did he stay behind in London, or is she widowed?Or...”His face displayed a grimace.“Did someone ruin her?”
Diana covered her mouth with a hand, glad to learn she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know the truth about the babe.“Lord Everly is Bradley’s father,” she stated.
Randy sat up straight and stared at his wife for several seconds before she added, “Bradley is Helen’s little brother.Everly’s spare heir.”
“Thatdog,” Randy said in awe.
Wincing, Diana waited for him to clarify.
“He’s old enough to be that boy’s grandfather, which is part of why I thought he was Lady Helen’s son.”
“So you thought that, too?”Diana asked in a quiet voice.“Now I don’t feel so foolish.She’s such a good mother to him.”
“Exactly.Which means she would make an excellent mother for her own babes,” Randy murmured.
The hantour turned as they approached the river, and Diana glanced out to see that theirs was one of the last to arrive at the dock.She wasn’t surprised to seeThe Denderaalready moored and Captain Mahmood stepping off the ship to greet his passengers.
“Don’t tell him,” Diana stated.
“What?”
“Don’t tell Tom about the babe being Helen’s brother.”
Randy frowned.“Why ever not?He’s probably as confused as we were.”
“Yes, and let’s leave it like that,” she said at the same time the hantour came to a halt.
Randy didn’t make a move to exit the equipage, his attention still on his wife.“What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours?”he asked.
Diana arched a brow.“If he does have feelings for her, then the babe shouldn’t make a difference.”
He considered the comment a moment.“True,” he finally said.“Unless he believes the father is alive and back in London.Or...or that she was ruined and left with child,” he said, his eyes filled with concern.
“Which would have had to have happenedbeforeTom kissed her at the Morganfield’s ball.”
