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Seething, Mac clenched his hands to keep them down by his sides. “I am tired of her games. Her previous attempts to trap me when we were in London were feeble and foolish, and I thought them in the past. You told me you would speak with her, and I thought that was enough.” He recalled his surroundings and leaned forward, lowering his voice. “But if she makes another attempt, Desmond, I will not hold myself accountable for finding it necessary to cut her acquaintance.”
“Of course, Mac.” Desmond seemed to age in a single minute. “I had thought she wouldn’t repeat those actions here. We’ve talked…well, never mind that. Please, forgive me for bringing her. I had thought I could trust my sister to hold to her word. She cornered you, then?”
“No. She merely hung off my arm like a harlot.”
“Here?” Desmond asked, glancing about.
Mac nodded.
“Gads, Mac. It certainly was untoward of her. I will speak to her again. You have my word.”
“Your absence would be of more value than that.”
It took a moment for Mac’s meaning to take root, but he could see when recognition dawned on Desmond’s face. “Perhaps we’ve remained in Devon long enough.”
“Perhaps.”
Letting out a sigh, Desmond rubbed his eyelids. “My sisters are set on the trip to the sea, Mac. And Lydia feels as though Charles will propose to her any day now.”
“Then maybe you should nudge him in that direction. I will not tell you what to do, but I would appreciate it if you got your sister’s affairs in order and made a hasty retreat.”
Desmond nodded. The men held one another’s gaze before bowing slightly and continuing in opposite directions.
Mac escaped from the ballroom. He could not force anyone to do his bidding, but when he and Charles had met up on the continent and the Pemberton siblings had joined them, it was clear Sophy had been after one thing: Mac’s hand in marriage. Her futile efforts to attract him were only followed by poorly executed attempts to trap him into proposing once they reached London. But he had extricated himself from their group, traveling with Charles and Desmond to Devon instead.
Of course, he hadn’t known she was going to follow them. He’d done a decent job of avoiding her since arriving at Charles’s house, and her respectful distance had lulled him into thinking she was past those horrible plans—that she’d been informed of Mac’s precarious financial situation.
He had been wrong. And worse, Mabel had witnessed Miss Sophy’s vulgar behavior.
He needed to find her, now, and assure her that Miss Sophy meant nothing, that the way she touched him was in no way a proclamation.
That Mabel, and no other woman, held Mac’s heart.
