Joanna tucked her hands behind her back. “I don’t know if I’d say he’s notinterested.”
“Oh?” Evie queried. “Did something happen?”
Ordinarily, Joanna shared everything with her siblings, and they with her. But she hadn’t shared her kiss with Kincaid. She didn’t know why, exactly. Only that it seemed…private. A secret to be kept between the two of them. Which made her feel guilty, because the only reason she was in England to begin with was because a secret had been kept fromher. But she simply wasn’t ready to tell Evie the truth. Especially since she was still figuring out what the truth meant for herself.
“Not…exactly. I told you what he said to me the night we went searching for you at the pleasure gardens.”
“That he wouldn’t have to ask permission when he wanted to kiss you.” A sly smile stole across Evie’s lips. “Yes, I remember. The scoundrel.”
Kincaid was, indeed, a scoundrel.
At least, part of him was.
A part Joanna had been desperately missing these past three days.
“I thought…after that….he might…” Her shoulder lifted in a shrug. “You know.”
“Admit he cannot live another second of his life without you?” Evie suggested.
Joanna rolled her eyes. “Not exactly.”
“It’s called rejection.” Finally ending her game of solitaire, Evie swung her legs over the edge of the bed and regarded her sister with an air of sympathy. “I’ve never experienced it myself, naturally. But I imagine it isn’t very pleasant.”
Rejection?
Was that what this heavy knot of emotion was in the pit of Joanna’s throat? It tasted bittersweet, like the dandelion tea her grandmother forced her to drink whenever she was starting to come down with a cold.
“No,” she said quietly. “It isn’t very pleasant.”
“Do you want to marry Kincaid?”
“What?No,” said Joanna emphatically even as her flush deepened. Pressing her hands to her cheeks, she willed the warmth to subside. Marry Thomas Kincaid? She didn’t want to marry him. The idea had never even crossed her mind. All right, maybe once. Or twice. Three times at the most. But she had never considered itseriously.
“Do not be ridiculous,” she scoffed. “I just…”
“Want his tongue to hit the floor when he looks at you?”
“Maybe not the floor. But a chair would suffice.” As her blush faded, she dropped her arms with a sigh. “At this rate, I’d even settle for a bookshelf.”
“Thorncroft women donotsettle,” Evie declared. “If Kincaid is too foolish to see how wonderful you are then surely that is his problem, not yours. Chin up, sweeting. Soon, we’ll find Mother’s ring and be on our way back to Boston. Then this will all be nothing but a distant memory.” Her nose wrinkled. “The number of eligible dukes in London has beengreatlyexaggerated. I’ve yet to meet a single one under the age of sixty.”
“Have you tried looking in trees?” Joanna said innocently.
“Don’t make me throw another pillow at you.”
With another sigh, Joanna flung herself onto the bed with the sort of dramatic flair usually employed by Evie. “I just don’t know what to do.”
Carrying a candle to the mirror above the dressing table, Evie held the light up and inspected her reflection with a critical eye. “It rains far too much here. Does my skin appear sallow to you?”
“Evie!” Glaring, Joanna sat up on her elbows. “This is important.”
“So is my complexion. All right, all right,” Evie said when Joanna inhaled sharply. She set the candle aside and met her sister’s gaze. “You want this detective’s attention, and he isn’t giving it to you. Is that the crux of the matter?”
“Well, when you put it likethat, it doesn’t sound very important.”
“Matters of the heart always take precedence over practical feelings.” Evie paused. “Did I make that up, or read it in a book? Regardless, do you even have a plan for what you are going to do with Kincaid’s attention once you have it? You said you had no intention of marrying him.”
“I don’t know if I havenointention.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “Anything is possible, I suppose.”
