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She shook her head vigorously. “You did not!”
“Trust that you can come to me, Perdie. Always. Even if the problem seems insurmountable, come to me. You must think about whether you wish to marry Lord Owen, and then as a family, we’ll discuss the next step. You’ll not be forced to honor the agreement if it makes you unhappy. However, an explanation must be provided to him. You cannot run from it. Whatever the outcome is, we shall confront it as a family.”
Her sudden smile dawned. “Thank you, Sebastian.” Perdie rushed to him again and hugged him fiercely.
“There is something I must tell you,” she murmured into his jacket. “In my travels…I met someone.”
His heart jolted. Clasping her shoulders, he eased her from him, noting the flush on her cheeks. “Perdie?”
“He is a most odious creature who is insisting that we are married.”
Sebastian choked on air. “Married,” he repeated faintly.
“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “There was a point he obliged me by pretending to be my husband so I could check into an inn. At first, I thought him so charming and affable!”
“He shared a room with you?” Sebastian asked darkly.
A brighter blush reddened her face. “It wasmostproper, I assure you, and the truth of the matter is he did not know my identity. The daft man was…was insisting I belong to him.”
Now he understood why she had run back to Maidstone.
“Who is this man?”
“I do not know the truth of it, but he had a Scottish brogue,” she said with great annoyance.
Sebastian knew his sister. She was not frightened, more intrigued. He did not know what to make of it, and he would investigate the matter most thoroughly.
He chuffed under her chin. “There is another matter…I will be marrying Theodosia.”
Her jaw slackened. “My Theodosia?”
“She belongs to you?”
“Sebastian! I cannot credit it,” she said, her eyes glittering with excitement. “Theo and I are to be sisters! Does that mean it will be acceptable for me to return to the club?”
He smiled at her. “The choice will be yours.”
Too overcome, she flung herself into the chaise longue with a happy sigh. With a smile, Sebastian left the drawing-room and made his way outside. A lady was in the hallway, taking off a feather plumed hat. A slight smile hovered about her lips, and that was enough to cause his belly to tighten and his blood to surge with need.
As if she sensed his stare, she glanced up, and a radiant smile lit her entire face.
“You came,” he said, walking toward her.
“Did you expect less after teasing me with news of a special license?”
He tapped his top pocket.
“Truly?” she breathed.
“We are marrying tomorrow at nine in the chapel.”
She leaped toward him and his arms closed around her by instinct. Theodosia tipped onto her toes and mashed her mouth to his. They kissed, a long and languorous embrace which ended at the shocked clearing of his butler’s throat.
“Let’s take a walk across the lawns,” he suggested, tugging her down the hallway. “I miss chatting with you.”
“I do have so much to tell!” she said with a laugh. “My dearest friend Charity has accepted the most shocking wager…or was it a dare, but with the best of intentions to climb into a notorious rogue’s, Lord Stanhope’s, bedchamber!”
Bloody hell…
* * *
