They had made it to a set of eroded stairs and begun to climb when Randy said, “I couldn’t help but notice that Lady Vittoria seems to have overcome her derision of you.What the hell happened betwixt you two?”
David made an odd sound in this throat.“I made the mistake of trying to save her from an overzealous would-be suitor at the beginning of the ball.As it happens, she is her own best protector.”
A guffaw escaped Randy.“You’re saying she bested a rake?”
“He was a rather handsome bloke, but now he has a broken nose, and his family jewels are probably no longer.”
Randy’s look of amusement changed to a grimace.“What did he do to her?And what did you do to him?”
David held up a hand as they made it to the next level concourse.“She did most of the damage.I only broke his nose with my knee, and Apollo delivered the death blow, so to speak.”
“So...why was she angry withyou?She called you a rogue.”His brows suddenly rose.“Did you take advantage?”
“No!”David replied, stepping over a chunk of rock in order to make his way it into a belvedere.The arched opening looked out to the east, and he quickly spotted the three ladies.They were seated on a blanket one of the coachmen had seen to spreading out on the lawn.“As I said, I tried to help.She...took offense, though.Which is why she’s been behaving as such a shrew towards me.But...”He lifted a shoulder and sighed.
“But?”Randy prompted.
“I, uh, talked with her.Last night.Made my case and cleared the air betwixt us.”
Waving in the hope Diana might see him, Randy turned his attention back to his cousin.“You weren’t in the parlor last night,” he stated.
David dipped his head.“I went to her bedchamber.”
“Youwhat?”Randy glanced around, as if he feared they might have been overheard.“Were youmad?”
“Probably,” David admitted.“But I don’t regret it, and I don’t believe she does, either.”
“What did you do?”
“Well, she was limping into dinner last night, so I...I might have massaged her feet.”He took a steadying breath.“Her naked feet,” he added in a whisper.“I particularly liked her toes.The one next to her big toe is longer and?—”
“Oh, my God!”Randy interrupted.“Who are you, and what have you done with my cousin?”
David gave a start.“Don’t you massage Diana’s feet?”
Randy blinked.Twice.“On occasion, but...we aremarried.”His brows suddenly furrowed.“Wait.Does this mean...?”He let the query trail off when he noticed Diana waving at him.He forced a grin and waved back, blowing her a kiss.
“I am considering it.I arranged for a pair of half-boots to be made for her.To better fit her feet,” David explained.“After I bought a betrothal ring.Which reminds me...”
“You’re going to propose?”The look of disbelief Randy displayed was almost comical.
David sighed.“I...I haven’t yet decided, but I wanted to replace the ring I allowed Lady Jane to keep.”
“You do know she cannot accept the shoes,” Randy said, not making it a question.
“No one has to know from where she got them,” David argued.He nodded in the direction of the three ladies still ensconced on the blanket.“But I don’t want her suffering because her aunts insist she join us on all these tours.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Randy regarded his cousin with a critical eye.“I’m not sure if you know this, but I remember thinking at the start of this Grand Tour thatyouwere going to be in trouble all the time.”
David blinked.“Oh.Because I’m amiable and handsome and all the ladies fall prostrate at my feet?”
Randy chuckled.“Something like that,” he admitted.He sobered.“You realize she may not wish to leave her home.To leave...”He waved a hand to indicate Rome.“All this for a life in Oxfordshire?”
“London,” David stated.“I won’t be living in Oxfordshire any longer.I told Father I was going to see to learning the business of the marquessate when we return.”
Nodding his understanding, Randy said, “I may be joining you there in a few years,” he said.
“I’m counting on it,” David replied.He glanced around the interior of the Colosseum.“Are you up for another level?”
