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His brows instantly furrowed over his eyes. “I wasn’t—”
“My apologies for the interruption.”
Lavinia jumped at the sound of a familiar voice by her side. Dane’s voice.
She hadn’t noticed his approach.
Usually, she was always aware of his presence. She was the first to notice when he entered a room. She felt with the back of her neck what corner he occupied. But this time, she was too busy sparring with Lord Roth, and it was too late to escape.
Damn both of these men.
“Do you mind if I steal Lady Lavinia for a moment?” Dane addressed Lord Roth.
It was the last thing Lavinia needed. Dane would start to speak about her marriage again, about her nonexistent dowry, and just cause her more heartache. She didn’t want any heartache.
Since sparring with Roth was the reason Lavinia hadn’t noticed Dane’s approach, she decided he would be the man to get her out of a conversation with Dane.
“Actually,” she said and turned a brilliant smile toward the marquess. “Did you know that Lord Roth is a very popular artist? Yes, last night, at dinner he was offering to paint a portrait for every lady, and today happens to be my turn. But I am afraid we are losing light. Can’t it wait?”
Dane watched her suspiciously, then turned toward Roth, as if his decision was the one he waited on. As if Lavinia’s word didn’t matter.
Roth looked from Dane to Lavinia, and her heart sank. Nobody said no to the duke. Especially not in her favor. Especially not when she was lying.
“Lady Lavinia is absolutely right,” Lord Roth said, surprising her. Lavinia’s heart soared and she observed Dane’s annoyed grimace as the marquess continued. “We have but minutes to capture her in the perfect light. And since I am booked for the rest of the house party, if you lead her away now, Lady Lavinia would be the only lady without a portrait. You would not be the one to blame for that injustice, would you? I am certain you two can discuss whatever you want to discuss later.”
Roth took Lavinia’s arm and gently weaved it through his.
Lavinia was still reeling from excitement and gratitude, and she could only smile at Dane as they left the room.
She was so tense and full of disbelief that she was truly saved from having a conversation with Dane that she was able to let out a sigh of relief once they exited the parlor. “Thank you. I didn’t think you’d agree to my ploy,” she said heartily.
“A ploy?” Lord Roth raised a brow. “I agreed to no such thing. I am about to paint you. I did not think you’d be amenable to it, but—”
Lavinia tugged her arm out from the crook of his. “I am not amenable! It is insulting that you think—”
“Calmez-vous, s’il vous plait, ma petite.” The retch had the gall to laugh at her. “Just a portrait. Out in the gardens, if people are about. I am not about to break etiquette, and I am not about to put us in a compromising position either. The last thing I need is getting stuck with a wife.”
He offered his arm again.
Lavinia looked at it suspiciously. But she was probably too harsh in her assessment of him. He was a little too forward, and perhaps, slightly arrogant, but he did save her from an uncomfortable situation just now. And for all his talk of painting her nude, she should have realized earlier that he wouldn’t risk it.
Perhaps Lavinia was too jaded from evading indecent offers from her father’s lecherous friends. She’d become too distrustful.
She remembered the first encounter she’d had with Lord Roth and how tired and irritated he had been because he was being hunted by marriage-minded ladies. He was not in need of a wife, therefore he would not risk being compromised with her.
Lavinia nodded and cautiously took his proffered arm. “A portrait is fine, I suppose.”
Roth tucked her hand in the crook of his arm again and led her away. “This is the least that you owe me. After all, I did save you from the big, bad duke.”
Lavinia swallowed but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t wrong.
“What did I save you from, exactly?”
Lavinia sighed. “Nothing. The duke just worries about me, and I prefer to do things my way.”
“Ah.”
Lavinia threw him a side glare. “What does that mean ‘ah’?”
