Page 21 of The Redemption of the Shrew

“Why? What is wrong?” She took Gloriana’s hands and chafed them. “You are cold, and you seem unwell.”

“I’m well, I assure you. It is a confidential matter, but I fear he will not respond if I write and ask to meet him. Perhaps if you speak to him on my behalf . . .”

It dawned upon Gloriana, suddenly and unpleasantly, that her friendship with Sophie was in jeopardy once again. She would be deeply offended, and rightly so, when Gloriana accused her brother of theft.

Unless she already knew about his disreputable past. She had never inquired about Sophie’s means of support, but it might well be her brother.

“Fortune smiles on you, ma chère. He has given up his lodgings in London and now dwells here. He is upstairs in his bedchamber.”

Anxiety washed over Gloriana. Philippe was here. She had to face him now.

“He is to leave shortly for Town to attend a musical event held by Lady Bilchester,” his sister said. “I can only hope none of the young ladies present will seek to compromise him. They are the bane of his existence.”

Gloriana intended to be a far worse bane, but she hadn’t expected to encounter Philippe so soon. She wasn’t prepared for a confrontation, particularly with him. She was tired and miserable and . . . afraid of what he might say or do.

That realization stiffened her resolve. She did not fear Philippe. “I only need a few minutes with him.”

“Very well.” Sophie left the room and came back seconds later. “I am very sorry, but he says no. To quote him, ‘Absolument non.’” Absolutely not.

The lowly cur. Did he know why she had come?

“He said more than that, but it was of a vulgarity the most extreme, and I shall not repeat it,” Sophie said.

“How dare he?” Gloriana clenched her fists. She wouldn’t let him get away with this.

“He is in a bad mood lately because of the so many lustful young ladies trying to trap him into marriage. He tried to discourage them by flaunting a mistress in public, but still they pursue him.”

Was this the trouble Julian meant? Gloriana couldn’t suppress a disgusted snort. Men! They had no idea of real trouble.

Sophie made a face. “And the widows and married ladies too, who fall over one another to entice him into bed.”

Do they succeed? Gloriana wondered, not that it mattered to her. “I don’t lust after him.” Not anymore. “Which is his chamber?”

Sophie’s eyes widened. “On the right, but . . .”

Gloriana paused on her march toward the stairs. “What?”

“I think he anticipated such a reaction, for I heard him lock the door as I left.” Sadly, she said, “I am very sorry, but he has sworn to have nothing to do with you.”

“No doubt,” Gloriana ground out. The thieving dastard. She reached the landing and banged on the door to the right. “Let me in, damn you!”

After a pause: “Go away, Miss Warren.”

“I need to talk to you.” She waited. “It’s important.” After a few seconds’ thought, she added, “Unless you prefer me to accuse you in public? Loudly and with a great deal of fuss?”

He snorted. “That would be to no avail. You are one single woman I have definitely not compromised and never shall, and the whole world knows it.”

Unbelievable. “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man alive.” She thought about this idiotic comment, and added, “The only man lower on my list is Lord Hythwick.”

“I am honored. Go away.”

“Not until I speak to you, or I swear, I will tell the whole world what you have done.”

“You are speaking to me, loudly and, as you put it, with a great deal of fuss.”

“Privately,” she growled.

He barked out a laugh. “Not a chance.”