She wasn’t his. He had no right to interfere with her happiness.
But he was going to do it anyway, just for this month.
He’d be careful.
No one would be hurt.
***
Dillie set down the book she was reading and looked up as Rose burst into the Farthingale library, her eyes sparkling and her breaths coming in soft gasps, as though she’d run the entire distance across the park that separated their fashionable neighborhoods. “Dillie, there you are! I’ve been looking all over the house for you. What are you doing hiding in this musty library? Have you heard?”
Dillie closed her book and rose to greet her sister. “I love this room. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s the coziest in the house. What’s the important news?”
“It’s about the Duke of Edgeware. His mother, the dowager duchess of Edgeware, is Eloise was paying a call on us when Lady Withnall stopped by with the news. Goodness,” she said with a roll of her eyes, “that woman hears everything. I haven’t a clue how she manages it, but she has everyone with secrets quaking in terror. She’s worried about Edgeware.”
Dillie tipped her head, confused. “Lady Withnall? I didn’t think she cared about anyone.”
“No, not her. Lady Withnall hurled that fireball, then dashed off to tell the rest of the world. Eloise is the one who’s worried. She wouldn’t say much, other than to reveal that there’s bad blood between him and his mother. They don’t get along. In fact, his mother detests him. She refuses to be within a hundred miles of him.”
Dillie frowned. “Then why is she here?”
Rose shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know. To cause mischief? Because she wishes him ill? I wonder what happened between them. No doubt his fault. He must have done something to insult his mother.”
“Why would you ever suggest such a thing?” Dillie’s frown deepened and she felt the urge to clench her fists. Instead, she clasped her hands behind her back to hide her anger. “He helped us immensely when Lily was abducted, stayed beside us the entire time. He did everything for us, even used his vast resources to help track down her abductors. He didn’t ask for a single thing in return. He calmed Mother and Father. He was strong and protective, stayed by my side even as I fell apart. If his mother hates him, it must be her fault. Ian isn’t a beast. He’s... nice.”
Rose’s eyebrows shot upward. “Holy crumpets!”
“What?” But Dillie felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She’d said too much. Now her entire family would know that she felt something for Ian. She didn’t quite know what that something was, but he didn’t deserve to be thought of as a horrid beast.
Rose raised her hands as though in surrender. “Daisy and Laurel said you liked him. I don’t think they realize quite how much.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” But her ears were burning and so were her cheeks. Why had she defended him? She didn’t know anything about him or his family. In truth, the little she knew of him was bad. He was a rakehell. He seduced other men’s wives. He ran with a fast crowd.
On the other hand, Gabriel and Graelem liked him. More than that, they considered him a loyal friend. He was also very brave, having worked with Gabriel and Graelem to protect king and country from Napoleon’s army, quietly risking his life and making no fuss about his valor.
She hadn’t pressed Gabriel or Graelem about their exploits during the war years, for neither liked to speak of those difficult times. Still, she could ask them about Ian’s exploits, couldn’t she?
She dismissed the notion at once. No, not a good idea.
She wanted to believe Ian was a dissolute rakehell, because if Ian was something more, something better... well, she’d be utterly lost. Ian made her heart flutter.
A noble, heroic Ian... oh, she’d lose her heart to him faster than a hummingbird could flap its little wings. Fast and hard, that’s how she’d fall for him.
“You’re blushing,” Rose accused. “You never blush.”
“The library’s musty. I feel a sneeze coming on.” She did a pathetic job of faking a sneeze.
Rose pursed her lips, a sign that her married brain was working up a plan. She began to slowly walk around Dillie. Ugh! She definitely had a plan in mind. “Have you seen Lord Ealing lately?”
The little pulse at the base of her throat began to throb. “Stop prowling around me.”
“I’m doing nothing of the sort.” She continued to circle her in a slow, deliberate manner that Dillie found most irritating.
“Yes, I saw Charles Ealing yesterday and will likely see him this evening at Lady Wakeford’s ball.” She wasn’t particularly looking forward to it, but couldn’t admit it to Rose. Everyone liked Charles. Her parents thought he was a perfect gentleman. She liked Charles, as well. She wished to like him more than she did. She wanted to fall in love with him and be in raptures when he proposed marriage.