“An aberration, I assure you, Your Grace. No, my Hannah is not at all like this, not at all…”
Aaron went back to ignoring him. The truth of the matter was that he did not particularly want Miss Hannah to return. Oh, hewould like her to be safe, of course. He might be scarred from his time at war, but he wasn’t a complete monster.
But he hoped that she could be safe somewhere that wasn’t necessarilyright here.
He’d liked the idea of marrying Miss Hannah Turner when he’d initially spoken to her father. She was young, yes, but he hadn’t really thought that twenty wastooyoung—not until he saw her. She’d been out in Society for several years after all.
But then he laid eyes on her, and he was struck with the realization that twenty years old wasthree years youngerthan his little sister, Clio. She was practically a babe. He simply could not look at her and think the kinds of things that a man was meant to believe of a wife.
Miss Turner, however…
She was a challenge.
And no soldiers ever turned down a good challenge.
Not even when they really, really ought to.
But no. He wasn’t marrying for his own sake. He had a plan. He was going to improve his reputation for his sister’s sake. He was going to finally participate in his family. He was going to do better.
And Miss Turner would not help with that. She was not at all the right kind of duchess. Even thinking about it was getting wildly,wildlyahead of himself in any case.
He drew himself up when Miss Turner herself entered the room, as if upright posture was the difference between her being able to read his mind and not.
“What are you doing here, Phoebe?” her father snapped as soon as he saw her.
Aaron didn’t like that Miss Turner did not so much as blink at this treatment. Was this always how Turner spoke to her? Aaron wondered if there was a way to punch the man without it negatively affecting his goals.
Miss Turner’s gaze was calm as she looked first at the breakfast spread, then back at her father.
“I’ve come to have breakfast,” she said without a hint of irony in her tone. Aaron almost laughed at how pitch-perfect it was.
Turner’s face went bright red.
With that same unshakeable calm, Miss Turner filled a plate and took a seat.
“So,” she said, nothing in her demeanor indicating that she recalled him threatening to carry her off to her bed, “are weleaving today, Father? I am hoping that we will find Hannah safe at home.”
At the mention of Miss Hannah’s disappearance, Turner’s face went downright purple. Aaron might have been concerned that the Viscount was about to keel over at the breakfast table if not for how Miss Turner didn’t react beyond eating a dainty forkful of eggs.
“There won’t be any traveling today,” her father said while he choked and sputtered. “The snow has been falling lightly but steadily all night. The roads are impassible.”
Miss Turner looked disappointed but not surprised. She nodded down at her lap, then set her fork aside. Aaron frowned. She’d barely eaten anything. She wouldn’t be able to keep up her strength without food. He’d seen more soldiers killed by empty stomachs than by most weapons known to man.
And then, before his eyes, she recovered. She drew in a deep breath, sat up straight, and ate another bite of her breakfast—which satisfied him more than it likely should have.
“Right,” she said. “So. What is next? My father said you were hoping to have the wedding before Christmas. Are there arrangements that need to be made?”
Aaron also recognized this behavior—the need to keep busy in order to hold nerves at bay—but it also usefully opened an opportunity for him to say something that he needed to say.
“I intend to marry by Christmas,” he confirmed. “But whether I marry your sister… remains to be seen.”
As he had expected, Miss Turner’s eyes sparked with anger. He liked it more than he liked her disappointment.
“So that’s it, then,” she said, both of them ignoring the way Turner squawked his objections. “My sister steps a toe out of line, and you replace her.”
“It was rather more than a toe,” he returned. “She fled into the night like a criminal.”
He was baiting her, but he couldn’t help himself.
