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“Davis opened the door for me when the post arrived. And Mamma went shopping with Lady Huntley. You two never tell me anything. Therefore I decided to eavesdrop.” Emma strolled toward the chairs where they sat. After pouring herself tea, she added, “The duke wants you, Louisa. He’s pushing you away because he feels guilty over the death of his wife.”
Louisa’s jaw went slack. “How would you know this?”
Emma laughed as she picked up her teacup. “Haven’t either of you read any of the novels by Mrs. Henrietta Lewis?”
/> Louisa glanced over at Tessa who shrugged.
“She writes the most marvelous books of romance. They are full of adventure and passion.” Emma shook her head with her lips in a frown. “I will make sure you each have one to read. Any matter, this is very similar to a story where Miss Brooks finds herself in love with Captain Harris. He fought alongside Wellington at Waterloo. But when he returns from battle, he discovers his wife and son are dead from some mysterious fever. He is distraught—”
“What does any of this have to do with Harry pushing me away?” Louisa interrupted, exasperated by the story.
Emma’s blond brows furrowed into a scowl. “Captain Harris didn’t believe he could fall in love again after such a horrific loss. So, he pushes Miss Brooks away time after time, but she doesn’t give up on him. Eventually, he realizes that he loves her. They marry and live happily ever after.”
Louisa could only stare at Emma. “So, I’m just supposed to not give up on Harry?”
“Oh no,” Emma said emphatically. “You must pursue him.”
“Pursue Harry.” Louisa couldn’t understand just how her sister had completely lost her mind. The man said he wanted Louisa to find him a wife. He didn’t ask for that wife to be her.
“Yes,” Tessa added with a nod. “Emma, I do believe you are right.”
Emma gave Louisa a triumphant smile. “See?”
“No, I do not see!” Emma was only twenty-one. Louisa could excuse her ignorance of all the facts. But Tessa? Her older sister. The same woman whose name was ruined by Harry’s father. How could Tessa think pursuing Harry would be good for any of them?
“Louisa, whether you love him or not, you do have feelings for the duke.” Tessa rose and walked the room as she rubbed her rounded belly. “You will never know for certain if you do love him unless you put yourself in front of him at every opportunity.”
“Just as Miss Brooks did with Captain Harris,” Emma added.
Both her sisters had lost their minds. She could almost excuse Tessa since she was with child, but her younger sister had the most to lose if Louisa chose to pursue Harry. Emma was telling her to chase Harry! This was the most ridiculous idea either of her sisters had ever had. She was not about to pursue her best friend.
She couldn’t possibly.
He would be furious with her for attempting such a devious thing. Then again, it seemed he was always irate with her about something lately. Emma could not possibly be correct. No, he needed a perfect young lady to become his wife—not someone like her who had family secrets almost as dark as his own. If her family’s secrets were ever revealed, it would ruin them all.
As Tessa left and Emma returned to her novel reading, Louisa stared at the fireplace. Her mind returned to his list of requirements. Was Tessa right that Louisa met every qualification he wrote requested? It didn’t make sense. Except if she closed her eyes, she saw his face coming closer to hers, his eyes half-shut and his lips only an inch from hers.
Foolish thoughts, indeed.
If Harry had wanted to kiss her, he would have. If he wanted her as his wife, he would have paid a call on her and proposed.
Maybe the old Harry. But not this man who was so utterly different from his younger self. Could some of what Emma said be right? He was pushing her away out of guilt. If he felt guilty, then he might not have realized what he wrote in his list.
Could Harry want her?
There might be only one way to discover the truth. But it would involve flirting with him. While her sisters had learned how to flirt and be seductive at an early age, Louisa had kept her head in scholarly books. She had no idea how to entice a man.
Perhaps there were books on flirting.
HARRY ASCENDED THE steps to Lady Leicester’s home in Grosvenor Square. With the country finally into half-mourning, he had received a few invitations to dinner parties and even a poetry reading at Lady Gringham’s salon. But tonight, he would have to fight his apprehension and re-enter Society. And face Louisa’s sister.
The door opened as he approached, and the butler smiled at him.
“Good evening, Your Grace,” the man said before Harry had even pulled a card out. “I am Stevens and if you should need anything at all, just let me know.”
“Thank you, Stevens.”
The butler helped him with his coat and then gave it to a footman. “Most of her ladyship’s guests have arrived and are in the salon.”
