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She tilted her head. “I spent three nights at Northwood Park and left in the same virtuous state I arrived in.”
“Send him a note.”
“I also need to know if Mary Gardener is a favorite and whether or not I need to continue to consider finding a wife for him.” And then there was Miss Turnbull to discuss.
“Which you can do in a note,” Tessa insisted as she stared at Louisa. “There is more, isn’t there?”
Louisa sighed and told her sister the other matter on her mind. “The looks I have seen on Lady Bolton’s face have me concerned for Emma. Mamma insists I stop speaking with Harry because Lady Bolton will not be happy about any connection between our family and his.”
Tessa frowned. “Are you going to stop your search for a wife for him, then?”
“Of course not,” Louisa agreed reluctantly. “If Mary Gardiner is not the right lady for him. We will need to be more tactful.”
“I hardly think visiting Worthington at his home at almost midnight is being tactful.”
“It may be my only chance,” Louisa whispered.
Tessa looked away wistfully as if remembering something from her past. “Promise me you are not going to his home for a liaison.”
After the way he gazed at Mary, an affair with Louisa was the last thing on his mind. “I hardly think he is interested in me. I must talk to him about our pact, but after Lady Bolton’s visit, I must be careful that no one sees us. I am having difficulties finding anyone suitable for him.”
“Because he wants you,” Tessa said, smiling.
“No, he does not.” He wanted Mary, not her.
“Let me speak to Jack.”
Within thirty minutes, Louisa walked out the door with Jack. Once they were in the carriage, Jack said, “One hour, Louisa. Not a minute more.”
“Yes, Jack.”
“I shall wait right outside should you decide to leave early.”
The carriage departed for Harry’s home in Grosvenor Square. She prayed Harry had returned directly to his house. By the tim
e she arrived, her nerves were taut. Noticing several windows still lit, it appeared he had not yet retired.
The door opened slowly to Jenkins’ scowl. “Miss Drake? What are you doing here at this late hour?”
“I—I must speak with the duke immediately, Jenkins.”
He shook his head as he opened the door for her. “Come in.”
“Tell him it is imperative.”
“When isn’t it?” he grumbled as he walked down the hall.
Louisa inhaled, praying for calm.
“Come this way, Miss Drake,” Jenkins grumbled from the end of the corridor.
Louisa followed him to Harry’s study, where he sat by the fire sipping a brandy. She suddenly wished she’d had far more than one glass of wine tonight.
Harry rose and shook his head. “Close the door behind you as you leave, Jenkins.”
Jenkins paused as if to question the request, but then said, “As you wish.”
Once the door closed, he glared over at her with clenched fists. “What the bloody hell are you doing here at this hour?”
