Page 47 of The Dangerous Lord

“Nonsense,” Emily put in with a glance at Sara. “You did what was needed to survive. When men use seduction as a weapon, they leave us with only deceit as a defense. Besides, if I remember what Sara told me, Lady Brumley was also present. You could hardly have let her know what had really gone on.”

“Emily’s right,” Sara said. “I don’t blame you for misleading me.” Suddenly, an image of Ian glaring at her when she’d thrown him out of the house sprang into her head, making her laugh. “And if ever a man needed his pride pricked, it’s Ian. You should have seen his face when I accused him of taking advantage of you under my roof. I’ve never seen him look so offended.”

“And with good reason.” Felicity’s gaze swept briefly to the dressing table. “Although he repaid me amply for that maneuver.”

Sara sobered. “You haven’t yet told us what he did this evening after you left the card room and came up here. I know the two of you didn’t simply talk. Yet I also can’t believe Ian would be so callous as to ... I mean, he did not ... he didn’t⁠—”

“No.” But Felicity’s blush belied the words. “He kissed me again. That’s all.”

Emily laughed. “If that’s true, then Ian is more of a gentleman than my husband ever was.”

“And mine,” Sara added with a chuckle.

Their words seemed to shock Felicity. “But your husbands are so gentlemanly!”

“Oh, they have the trappings of civilized men, to be sure.” Sara reclined against a pillow on Felicity’s bed, propping herself up at the elbows. “That’s only because we won’t tolerate anything less in public. In private, well ...” She couldn’t prevent the smile that curved her mouth when she remembered Gideon’s fierce lovemaking this morning. “They’re wicked as can be, aren’t they, Emily?”

“Thank goodness,” Emily retorted, her eyes shining in the firelight.

Felicity halted her pacing, looking from one to the other in complete confusion. “So this evening when I let Ian ... when he made me feel ... Am I not⁠—”

“Wicked because you felt desire?” Sara shook her head, remembering all too well her self-disgust when Gideon had stolen past her defenses and made her desire him. “There’s nothing wrong in feeling desire, my dear.”

“That’s what Ian said, too,” Felicity whispered.

“Still,” Sara added hastily, “that doesn’t mean he can make love to you without taking responsibility for his actions.”

Felicity scowled. “Oh, he’s eager to take responsibility, even though all he did was ...” She blushed again. “Anyway, that’s the trouble—he wants to marry me.”

“Yes, he did say that. Which means his kisses were sincere.”

“Or at least his desire was sincere,” Emily added with an edge of cynicism. Sara regarded her sister-in-law thoughtfully. Emily knew Ian’s recent character better than she. Did Emily think Ian incapable of anything but desire?

Sara couldn’t believe that. “In any case,” she went on, returning her gaze to Felicity, “you refused him. You truly have no wish to marry Ian?”

“None.” Felicity’s words held conviction; her expression did not. She began to pace again. “How could I marry a man whose only interest in me is as a mother to his heir? I have responsibilities—I have four brothers to care for and an entire household that depends on me. Ian wouldn’t want to take all that upon himself.”

“How do you know? Did you ask him?”

“I don’t need to. He only wants me because I can provide him with his heir. And I’m sure he also hopes to rid himself of my troublesome interference in his affairs. He thinks to do all of it by marrying me. Ours wouldn’t be a real marriage, however.” Her tone grew wistful. “It wouldn’t be like either of yours, and I want nothing less.”

“Good for you,” Emily said. “Every woman deserves a man who cares about her. But judging from the way Ian looks at no one else when you’re in the room, the way only you seem to rouse his fury—and his passions—I think he does care for you.”

“The man doesn’t know the first thing about caring,” Felicity said petulantly, “or he wouldn’t lie to me about that ... that woman!”

Sara straightened, her interest piqued. “You mean his friend on Waltham Street?”

“Yes! He won’t tell me the truth about her! He admits that Miss Greenaway isn’t a soldier friend’s sister, but he won’t say who she is to him. He wants me to simply ignore her existence.”

“Miss Greenaway?” The name nagged at Sara’s memory. She touched a finger to her brow, trying to think where she’d heard it before.

With great animation, Felicity hurried to the bed and sank onto the down mattress. “Do you know her? Who is she? Why won’t he talk about her?”

Miss Greenaway’s identity suddenly flashed into Sara’s mind, and she cursed herself for not having remembered it before. “Oh, she’s not anyone to concern yourself with,” she said, attempting to cover up her mistake.

The look of betrayal in Felicity’s eyes was unmistakable. “That’s what he said.” She sighed. “But I don’t blame you for not wanting to tell me, given my profession.”

“That’s not why!” Sara took Felicity’s hand, wondering how she’d managed not to notice the ink-stained tips of the woman’s fingers before. “I simply don’t want you to leap to conclusions about Miss Greenaway and Ian based on my little information.”