“Please smile. At least for appearance’s sake. I prefer no lecture from Mama this evening because we did not rub along well together.”
“My apologies. I don’t feel like pretense this evening.” He lifted his glass to her in mock salute before taking a slow drink. “I’ve had quite enough of it these many years.”
She shook her head and started to move away, but then stopped. Her chest heaved slightly and he knew he had affected her. He felt a rush of triumph as she glared at him with gleaming eyes. “I’ve explained to Mama that you’re a big boy now. You feed yourself and everything. But for some reason, she thinks you cannot handle yourself and require coddling and protection from me.” She smirked. “We know that’s not true, don’t we?”
“I’ve a tough hide,” he agreed tightly, shoving aside the memory of when she had eviscerated him with a simple drawing. He avoided her gaze and scanned the room, tension tightening his jaw. What was it about her that made him feel as though he were about to come out of his skin? The sensation had only worsened since the incident at Sodom.
“Indeed,” she murmured, her false smile fixed in place for the sake of her onlooking Mama.
“This is an intimate gathering tonight,” he remarked, adjusting his stance. At the idleness of his tone, she shifted on her feet and moistened her lips, her brown eyes watching him warily. “No swains of your own to include in the group?” he added with a tsk of his tongue. “Usually your mother makes certain you have a few prospects in attendance. Whatever is the matter, Aurelia? Scare them all away?”
She hissed out a slow breath, as if battling for control. “Some of us have discriminating tastes.”
“ ‘Some’ of us,” he rejoined, lowering his mouth to the rim of his glass, “are about as appealing as a rabid monkey.” Her eyes flared and then narrowed at the bold insult. He continued, knowing he was close. She was about to snap. “Have you considered hanging a rope of garlic about your neck? That might improve your allure.”
Her smile finally, at last, fled. Hot color suffused her cheeks. Her arms dropped stiffly to her sides, hands curling into fists. “Unlike you, my self-worth does not revolve around how many conquests I can make.”
He chuckled, feeling very much like he had just won a skirmish. “The last I heard, you have no conquests. Pity.” He leaned down close to her ear as though to impart something of great importance. His warm breath fanned her neck and he did not miss the small shiver that rolled through her. Nor did he miss the faint waft of bergamot that seemed to rise up off her skin. Would she taste of bergamot, too? The thought only flared his ire. He did not care what the hellion tasted like. “Might I suggest you cease being such a brat? That might improve your chances.” He stepped closer. Perhaps unseemly so. He did not care. “Perhaps you should cease your inappropriate pursuits.”
“I don’t know your meaning.”
“Leaving artwork all over Town that pokes fun at the echelons of Society?”
“Oh. That.” Her lashes fluttered over her eyes.
“Yes.” He nodded. “That inappropriate pursuit. You’ve become quite notorious. Did you think I would not know it was you?”
She shrugged in an attempt to look unaffected, but the color still rode high in her cheeks. “Why have you not said anything, then? To anyone? You know it’s me. You could ruin me. That would give you some satisfaction, would it not?”
“Why have I not outed you? Denounced you?” He snorted and rubbed a finger against his bottom lip, considering her. “For the same reason that I did not reveal your identity at Sodom. I care for my friends. Your brother and cousin. Your mother. They needn’t know what you really are.”