Page 33 of The Mistletoe Duke

“I will too.” Lovely. Now Hisdick was in the mix.

Christian laughed. “It seems our Meg has some suitors,” he said, gouging Jonathan with an elbow. “No doubt she’ll be affianced by Christmas.”

Where was the whisky? “Stafford! More whisky!”

“I say, Devon, may I have your blessing?”

He stilled and gaped at Mattingly. “What?”

“Well, you’re her guardian, are you not?”

He most definitely was not.

“No, I want your blessing,” St. Clare insisted.

“I’m not giving anyone my blessing,” he snapped. For Christ’s sake, what were they babbling about?

“You have to. He has to, doesn’t he?” St. Clare asked plaintively.

Christian shrugged. “Meg’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.”

No, she couldn’t. Had they all gone stark raving mad? “Stafford!”

To his surprise, it was not Stafford with a fresh bottle of whisky who appeared at his side. It was Rodgers, with no whisky in evidence. “Your Grace,” his valet said in a dour tone. But then, Rodgers was always dour.

“Yes?”

“May I speak with you?” He shot a glance around the table. “Privately?”

“Of course.” And thank God. Jonathan had had about as much of this as he could take. If one more man asked him to proffer his blessings on a union with Meg, he might just snap.

He nodded to his friends and rose, following Rodgers into the foyer. “What is it?”

“There is, ahem, a problem with your chambers, sir.”

Jonathan frowned. “A problem?”

“Yes, Your Grace, inasmuch as they are not…empty, sir.”

A little flare of excitement rose in his chest. “Is it Meg Chalmers?” Had she somehow gotten the brilliant idea to meet him in his rooms?

Rodgers reared back. His eyes bugged out, making him look a touch like Mawbry. “Good God, no.”

He had no idea why he asked. Clearly he had not been thinking.

“It’s Miss Peck, sir.” A whisper.

Miss Peck? Holy hell. “Well, what is she doing in there?”

His valet looked discomfited. “Sleeping, sir?”

“Sleeping? In my chambers?”

“Apparently you took too long to come to bed and she nodded off. I went to turn down the bed and it was…occupied. I came to find you at once.”

“Good man.” Jonathan clapped him on the shoulders and made a mental note to give his valet a raise. “But what do we do about this?” He had to ask. He had no earthly clue. One thing was for certain, he wasn’t going to that room tonight.

“If I may make a suggestion, sir?”