Robert looked down at his sister. “Lying is a sin.”
She grinned. “He overheard your exchange with the Lady Lydia and saw you stalk out here.”
“I did not stalk.”
“You did indeed stalk. I saw it as well.” She wrapped one arm around his and tugged him closer. “Do you know why Mother is against this marriage?”
“Some fool notion about love, I believe.”
She shook her head. “Not at all. She knows that I plan to marry without it. She had expected Thomas to as well before Rose re-entered our lives. Michael is the only one she suspected would seek a love match, since he has already shown the propensity to do so.”
“You adore Aldermaston. Ludlow.”
Beth let out a little sigh. “I do like him. I think we are well suited. He is a good match. And that’s enough for Mother and Father. But”—she released his arm to face him fully—“I am honest with him. When I am with him, I am just Beth, the same I am at home or here. I don’t pretend to be the grand Lady Elizabeth of Kennet, the elegant Society princess, which I never could be for more than a minute. My language and my temper would reveal themselves too readily. But I can show him that I know etiquette and how to behave properly and be a good marchioness, and if that’s not enough, then we will end our association.”
“And he feels the same?”
“He does. How do you think Lady Lydia feels about you?”
Robert looked out over the Marsden gardens, now gray and black in the nighttime. His gaze roamed over the trimmed hedges and flower-covered trellises that cast long, menacing shadows across the few squares of grassy lawn. The light breeze of the evening caught up a light scent from the roses that bloomed below the terrace. “I’m not convinced she thinks much about me at all. I seem to be a plaything her father has thrust at her to use between dress fittings and soirees. When I am around, she considers me. Otherwise, probably not.”
“So how did the two of you meet?”
“We danced at one ball. At the soiree Lady Dorothea—Rose’s mother—hosted, the duke approached me.” The unsettled feeling that had first stirred the night before began to flare again.He approached me. He realized I could give him something he wants.
“Robert?”
He looked at Beth again, eyebrows arched.
“I do not feel well. I have a painful headache, most likely brought on by worry about my mother.”
“Lady Elizabeth, I have already mentioned that lying is a sin.”
“I would very much like for you to take me home.”
“You will not convince me this is Aldermaston’s idea.”
“No. Mine. But he approves. He will call on me tomorrow for a promenade in the park if I am well enough.”
“Beth—”
“I am growing weaker by the moment.”
“I hope you have no aspirations for the theater. You are a horrid actress.”
She put two fingers to her temple and swayed against him. “I may faint. I am growing quite dizzy.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you are my brother and you have suffered enough for one evening.”
“I hardly consider spending time with Lady Lydia suffering.”
“My knees grow weak.”
“Should I carry you across the ballroom while you swoon in my arms?”
Beth snorted. “Absolutely not. Mother would be mortified.”
