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“Yet he saw no reason not to rip your heart from your chest.” Ainsley tapped a long, slim finger against the tip of her nose. “Justice is sweet. And mine.” She cackled like a witch.
Cecelia began to drag a brush through her hair. “So, tell me, please, why you’re here.”
Ainsley sat up quickly, as though she’d forgotten something. “We’re here to see my grandmother.” She looked down her nose at Cecelia. “You know, that woman who never knew I existed until recently. I’m still not certain she likes me,
by the way.”
“How could anyone not love you?” Cecelia scolded.
Ainsley’s gaze grew somber. “I could ask the same of you.”
Cecelia shrugged. “I couldn’t force him to love me.” She bit back a grin. “Although he did get rather upset when he caught his brother holding my hand this morning.”
“What!” Ainsley shrieked as she flopped back onto the bed. She sat up again just as quickly. “How could you have all this information and not share it with me the moment I walked into the room?” Her brown eyes narrowed. “Is his brother handsome?”
“Allen looks very much like Marcus. They’re only a year apart in age. And he’s very nice. Quite mischievous. I believe he likes to antagonize Marcus.”
Ainsley looked overjoyed. “I like this Allen already.”
“You’ll like him even more when you meet him.”
“Does he live here, too?”
“No, neither of the brothers lives here. They have bachelor’s quarters in town.” Probably where they took their whores. Cecelia’s gut clenched at the thought of Marcus availing himself of all the loose-moraled women in London. “Allen is very handsome. Like Marcus. You’ll like him.”
Cecelia hoped Ainsley liked him. Because she could sense that, deep down, Ainsley wanted to find her own happy ending. But being half fae and half human, Ainsley didn’t know where she belonged any more than Marcus did.
“You’ll be staying at Ramsdale House, won’t you?” Cecelia asked. She tented her hands. “Please say yes. If they have no room, we can share.”
Ainsley waved a breezy hand in dismissal of that idea. “No need. My trunk was already delivered to the room next door.” She smiled broadly. “I’ll be here to help you with Marcus.”
“And I’ll introduce you to Allen.”
“Mmm,” Ainsley mumbled.
“What?” Cecelia asked. “I think you’ll like him.”
“You also said I’d like Robert Winstead, and he liked to pull the wings off helpless flies.”
“We were six!” Cecelia complained.
“He still does it!” Ainsley exclaimed. “And he picks at his underarms and then sniffs his fingers. It’s disgusting.”
Cecelia dissolved into a fit of giggles. Goodness, she was glad Ainsley had arrived.
A knock on the door jerked them from their laughter. “Could that be Marcus come to fetch you?” Ainsley whispered dramatically. “Perhaps he wants to kiss you.”
Cecelia was sure that kissing her was the last thing on Marcus’s mind. “Come in,” Cecelia called.
A maid poked her head in the door. “Lady Ramsdale would like to see you below stairs in the parlor, miss,” she said. Then she curtsied and backed out of the room.
“How do you like Lady Ramsdale?” Ainsley asked.
Aside from pouring her heart out to her this morning, Cecelia hadn’t spoken to the lady very much. “She’s seems right enough.” She pulled her hair into a knot at the back of her neck. “Are my ears covered?” she asked as she arranged her hair to cover them.
Ainsley joined her at the mirror. “Yes, are mine?” She looked up at Cecelia. “One has to be careful to maintain appearances in this world, doesn’t one?” she asked.
“Yes, appearances are everything.”
