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Harry let out a curse before hurling the note into the fireplace. He should be pleased. She was gone. Out of his life. He’d pushed her away for her own good.
So why did he feel so bloody irritated?
Chapter 6
THREE DAYS LATER, A hackney pulled up in front of her mother’s home on the outskirts of Mayfair. Not a large house, but enough for Mamma, Emma, and her. Dread slowed her pace to the door.
She still had no idea what to tell her mother.
On the way to Northwood Park, Louisa had concentrated on how to ask Harry for what she wanted. She’d assumed, quite incorrectly so, that on the return trip she would invent an excellent excuse for her mother. Instead, all she’d done was scrutinize every conversation with the frustrating duke. His attitude toward her continued to puzzle her.
They had never quarreled as much in all the past seven years combined. Nor had she ever felt such tension between them. A part of her felt guilty for leaving Harry when it was apparent that he needed a friend. But with the odd desire for him, it was for the best that she had departed before she’d made an impulsive mistake.
Like, kiss him.
Which was exactly what she’d almost done. No, this was for the best. If she had stayed, kissing him might have been the least of what happened.
Davis opened the door as she ascended the brick steps. “Oh, Miss Drake, we have all been so worried for you. Your mother will be pleased to have you home safely.”
“Thank you, Davis.” She walked into the house and sighed. “Is my mother at home?”
“Yes, miss.”
“Louisa,” her mother bellowed sharply from the top step. “You have finally decided to return?”
Another door upstairs banged shut and then Emma was standing there too. “Louisa!”
Both rushed down the stairs. Emma pulled Louisa into the salon as their mother followed behind. Mamma sat on the floral divan as Emma and Louisa sat across from her.
“I will call for tea,” Emma said, glancing at them both.
For a long moment, Louisa could only sit and look at them both. She felt terrible for making them worry. “I am sorry, Mamma. I should not have left as I did on Christmas. It was very thoughtless of me.”
“Emma, I need to speak to your sister alone. You may return when we are finished.”
“Mamma, I am about to be married. Surely there is nothing you cannot say in front of me,” her sister complained.
“Leave us,” Mamma ordered, pointing her finger at the door.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once her sister left, her mother crossed her arms over her puffed out chest. “Exactly where, and with whom, have you been?”
“What did you tell everyone?”
“I said you went to see my aunt in Scotland. What else was I supposed to say when you left on Christmas Day with some story about finding a husband? You could have ruined us all!”
Louisa knew there was no point in lying to her mother. “I went to see Harry.”
“Harry?” Her mother paused with a frown. “You mean Worthington! How could you do such a disastrous thing, Louisa? That family wants nothing to do with us, and I feel the same. His insane father all but ruined us.” Her mother pulled out a handkerchief and twisted it in her hands. “Why would you go to see him?”
“He was always a friend to me, Mamma. And I needed his help.”
“You didn’t think he would offer to marry you, did you?”
“Of course not.” She’d never really considered the idea, not even when they made that foolish deal. Years ago, he’d hinted that he desired her, but she’d always disregarded his innuendos as nothing more than his rakish behavior. Because who would desire the plain Drake sister?
“Did that blackguard do anything improper?” When Louisa only stared at her in confusion, her mother added, “Do we need to worry about a child from this?”
