“Not at all. Have you met Lord Spencer? He is also staying with us at the moment. This is my sister, Lady Hannah; she and Lord Spencer are—”
“—betrothed, brother.” Lady Hannah grinned, and May got the impression that she might have elbowed him, as younger sisters are often wont to do, if not for the company. But she needn’t have bothered, as the duke winced well enough at her words alone. “I am very pleased to meet you, Cousin. I confess, I do not remember meeting you before, although my brother says I should.”
“I believe we were both very little.” May’s worry could not be concealed. “I regret to say I’ve been a stranger for too long to you all, only keeping up with your brother through some letters. Even a third cousin like me knows one should not be too imposing on familial relations. Truly, if I hadn’t come to London to marry, I wouldn’t trouble the duke at all. You must know better than I do how protective he is of his time.”
The duke inclined his head. “You need not be so harsh, Cousin. Family takes care of one another, and that includes you.” Was she imagining the warmth in his voice? A hint of heat crept upMay’s cheeks. “It is my responsibility to see you settled here for the Season. We must observe your father’s wishes for your future. Although I cannot imagine we will have any difficulty seeing you well matched, as eligible as you are. I’ve no doubt we will see many suitors at the door.”
“Nonsense, brother.” Lady Hannah smiled. “You are most welcome to stay as long as you like. We women must be allowed to be choosy. Now, shall we get you settled into your rooms?”
“I will show her the way, sister,” Elias added smoothly. “I believe Lady May brought some documents for me to look at that are somewhat urgent.”
“Let Cousin rest from the road first, Elias.”
But the duke’s cue was clear enough. May moved to thank her hostess. “It is all right. I would much rather dispense with the business first and open my time to the leisure of getting to know you better.”
“Oh, all right. But do come down as soon as you are changed and settled. I will show you around.” Lady Hannah’s eyes were bright at the thought.
“Shall we, Cousin?” The note of sarcasm in Elias’s voice tickled.
She took the arm he offered.
How did that saying go?If you lie with the devil, you wake up in hell. May was only beginning to realize just what kind of fresh hell she’d gotten herself into.
Elias held open the door leading into Lady May’s quarters as his newly christened cousin made her way into the room. They made the trip up in silence, but Elias broke it as soon as they walked into the room.
“I trust you will find your lodgings comfortable, Cousin.” He toyed with the address, savoring its texture on his tongue.
His eyes followed Lady May as she strolled about the room, trailing her hand across the bedposts and chairs, as if examining the room for flaws. When his guest swung open the closet door, the numerous gowns and garments inside nearly burst out in a colorful kaleidoscope.
He watched for her reaction despite himself. Lady May’s lips quirked—in surprise, or something else…?
“My arrival must have been quite a shock.” She turned to him. Ah. It was amusement, then.
“Indeed. You caught me quite unprepared.” Elias threw up his hands with a smile. He was impressed that she waged no direct accusations against him. They would have been fair—he did leave her rather to fend for herself right upon her arrival. Yet it had clearly been the right move. She’d made quite a first impression, one that was bound to linger with the damnable Lord Spencer. It was unfortunate that Elias could not hold Hannah back a little longer to give them more time. His dear sister had wretchedly good, albeit inconvenient, instincts.
Lady May turned back to the clothes, her fingers running over the fabrics. “How in the world did you manage this? You did ask for my measurements, of course, but all this—in two weeks? They can’t have been your sister’s?”
“Of course not.” What an offensive idea. “She would recognize them right away, dispelling your entire heiress image. But this is mere child’s play. I can do much more than this.”
“Really?” The wonder in her voice somehow spurred Elias to prove his claims.Focus, man.He kept getting distracted by the easy charm of her smile. “Yet you still have need of your cousin.”
She walked away from him yet again, only to lower into the chair by the vanity table and toy with the hand mirror that rested upon it.
How long has it been since Elias last felt this well matched in a conversation? Last time, at the masquerade, she’d held her own well enough, but her surprise was evident. The woman who stepped into his household today was impeccably composed, every word of hers thought out, every gesture a piece to a puzzle he would delight in cracking, bit by bit.
Elias moved to stand against the high-backed chair, fingers curling over the top of its carved back, just brushing Lady May’s shoulders. From this vantage point, he could see her breasts rise and fall with every far too evenly measured breath. She betrayed nothing, eyeing her own reflection and fixing a stray lock of hair. Everything in Elias begged him to do more, to see if he had the same effect on her as she did on him.
He bent toward her ear.
“Family ought to help each other, don’t you think?” His voice dropped into a drawl.
Their eyes met in her raised mirror.
“Are you certain you wish to do this, Your Grace?”
With one unflinching question, the games had been abandoned. Elias’s façade faltered under its weight, leaving him winded with the answer he could not bear to say.
No, he had no wish to do this. Yet it had to be done if he was to spare his sister the agony of the heartache he himself endured. The heartache Father had put him through to spare him a bigger pain. Better to discover a loved one’s treachery before you were bound and trapped… to find your future hollowed out by a stranger you trusted.
