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Donella shook her head. “No, it—”
“Lass, would you please let me explain?” Logan interrupted, exasperated. “We’ll be here all night if I don’t.”
“It’s going to take me all night to fix this dress and Donella’s hair,” Edie said as she once more yanked on the girl’s sleeves. “You are a menace, Logan Kendrick. The dress is ruined.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s ruined,” Donella said morosely.
Logan briefly closed his eyes, feeling like an utter worm. He’d made a complete cock-up of everything, and his poor, sweet girl would suffer the consequences.
As would his attempts to woo her, if her scrambling retreat was any indication.
“Victoria, perhaps you can assist Eden,” Nick said, “while Logan explains why, exactly, he felt the need to lure Miss Haddon into a very ill-advised private conversation.”
Logan glared at his brother. “From what I heard, you had more than a few ill-advised private conversations with your wife. While she was still a spinster, I might add.”
“Point taken,” Victoria said.
Edie smothered a chuckle. “It would appear that every man in this room is a reprobate. How shocking.”
“Not me,” said Angus in a pious tone.
“We are straying quite beyond the point,” Nick said, looking massively annoyed.
“Aye, we are,” Alec agreed. “Start talking, Kendrick, and it had better be good.”
Logan glanced at Donella, now sitting on the chaise while Victoria tried to readjust her lopsided bandeau. She nodded her silent approval.
“It was about Donella’s mother,” Logan said. “About her current unfortunate situation.”
Alec immediately went stiff as a plank. “My aunt’s situation is no one’s business.”
“Tell that to the guests who were loudly gossiping that my mother was in a lunatic asylum,” Donella countered. “They said I belonged in there with her.”
Her stark statement knocked the room into momentary silence.
Predictably, Angus recovered first. “Yer mam’s in a lunatic asylum?”
Logan jabbed him in the shoulder. “Of course she’s not. And do not repeat that gossip.”
His grandfather scowled. “I wouldna do that. I’m not a boob, ye ken.”
Edie bent down to give Donella a hug. “I’m so sorry, dearest. It must have been incredibly distressing to hear such ugly talk.”
Donella gave her a wan smile.
“Hell and damnation.” Alec rubbed a frustrated hand over his head. “I thought we’d scotched that sort of nonsense years ago.”
“Apparently not,” Logan said. “I might also add that you’ve done a piss-poor job of protecting Donella from gossip. You and your uncle have left her dangling in the damn wind, from what I can tell.”
“Language, Mr. Kendrick,” Donella said.
He smothered a smile. Even in the middle of a crisis, the almost-nun managed to scold him for cursing. It was perverse, but he loved that about her.
“That’s bloody nonsense,” Alec snapped. “And it’s none of your damn business, anyway.”
“Language, dear,” Edie said in a mocking tone.
Alec shot her a disbelieving glance before switching his attention back to Logan. “May I remind you that Donella has been staying with the Kendrick family, undertheirprotection? If you ask me, your family has been making a hash of it, especially after that incident in the sweet shop.”
