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Richard was shocked. “Why not?” he begged to know. “Miss Loery is a lady of the finest quality. She never would have been caught racing across the lawn with her ankles on full display to the entire party, so she could meet some mystery man in the rose garden.” As he spoke, fury built up inside Richard. This was different from that which had been there previously when he thought of some other man spending time alone with Leticia. Now, he was livid because Leticia was, once again, being so extremely vexing.
“Miss Loery is no saint,” Leticia said through gritted teeth.
“Maybe not,” Richard conceded, “but you could do with taking a lesson out of Laura’s book. Perhaps if you carried yourself with a little more comportment, and you learned from the example she has set, you might find yourself a husband.”
CHAPTERSEVEN
“How dare you?” Leticia fumed while his arrogant words resounded through the empty library.
Richard gazed at her coolly and walked toward the mahogany desk that sat in the center of the room. He leaned up against the edge of the desk and gave her a languorous look. She wondered at first if he had only been joking with her, and now, he was doing his best impression of Harry, but then, he opened his mouth and continued speaking.
“This is my Manor, Leticia, and I’ll speak to you any way I like. And as your oldest friend, I feel compelled to tell you that the time for your childish games has come and gone.” He stiffened a little, and his broad shoulders widened as he put both palms on the lip of the desk. “When you were younger, it was sweet—I suppose—that you liked to be your own woman and make your own path. But you must know that it’s time to settle down.”
“What are you suggesting?” Leticia said, uncomprehending precisely what it was Richard wanted her to know. She eyed him critically, watching the way he rolled his taut shoulders, loosening up as he proceeded with his ideas. He ran a hand through his silky black curls, and Leticia tore her gaze away from him as all she could think about was how Miss Loery and Miss Walch had talked about his lustrous locks.
“I was hoping that when your friend Mrs. Hoffingbrooke wed, you might come to see reason. And after that failed to open your eyes, I thought that perhaps in introducing you to Miss Loery that you might be persuaded to act like a lady, but—”
“Miss Loery is no lady,” Leticia broke in, unable to hold herself quiet any longer. Her eyes flicked back toward him, and her shoulders shook with the effort of restraining the rage she felt toward Richard at this moment, but she planted both feet firmly and spoke her piece. “I don’t know how she managed to persuade you to marry her, but she is aiming to make a fool of you.”
“I am not the fool here,” Richard said, dropping his feigned relaxed pose and crossing the room, so he stood just an inch or two from Leticia’s face.
“Are you calling me a fool?” she asked, and her fingers clenched in the folds of her dress.
“No,” Richard said bitterly, shaking his head so that she could scent the alcohol he’d been drinking earlier now mixed with something much stronger. It had a masculine tang to it, but she couldn’t define what it was because she was too busy glaring at him. “You are not a fool, Leticia. You’ve never been, but now, you are acting like—”
“Acting like what?” she challenged, daring to suck in a breath and once more envelop herself in his intoxicating scent.
But Richard didn’t answer her. They stood so close, they were sharing the same air, and while she could see his blue eyes, the color of sapphires, searching her face, looking for the right words to say, he didn’t open his mouth.
“That’s what I thought,” she whispered, releasing the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “You can’t put your finger on my actions, but you don’t know what’s going on with me. You’ve turned a blind eye to everyone and everything in this Manor, and you are just standing still while this wedding revolves around you. But let me tell you something—”
Then, before she could tell Richard everything she’d overheard Miss Loery say, he lifted his hand and laid his fingertips across her lips. “Hush,” he whispered. “I’ve no wish to quarrel with you, Leticia.” She stood stock still, unsure of what to do next. If he had continued arguing, she would have been ready to banter with him, but this…quietly calming himself and then her? She had no clue how to react. “You are one of my oldest and most treasured friends. I know, sometimes, we don’t see eye-to-eye, and I am sure you think I am making a mistake by marrying someone as elegant and charming as Miss Loery.”
At that, Leticia opened her mouth to speak, but Richard just made a soothing sound and pressed the pads of his fingers to her lips in an even more tender gesture. “Leticia, I am grateful that you are looking out for me, but it’s unnecessary.” Slowly, he put his hand behind the small of her back. Her mouth dropped open as he pulled her toward him, and the space that had been there a moment before vanished entirely.
“I only want what’s best for you,” Leticia whispered as she looked into his eyes, seeing her own reflection mirrored back at her.
He licked his lips, and she could smell the sweetness of his breath as it wafted across her face. “I know that.”
“And…” Leticia swallowed, trying heartily to get her bearings as she felt a warmth radiating from Richard’s body as it was pressed against hers, “I think that you should listen to me.”
Richard smirked, “I know that, too.” The fingers he held against her mouth brushed gently across her top lip, but then, he dropped the hand away from her and used it to turn her around, so she was facing the door. She walked numbly toward the locked door with Richard’s gently guiding hand at her back. When he opened it and gave her a tiny shove, she walked smoothly and obediently out into the hallway.
“But—” she said coming to her senses and whipping back around so she might tell him everything.
“There’s nothing left to say, Leticia,” Richard said, his voice low and full of remorse. And his eyes, his deep blue eyes, look back at her woefully.
“Lady Leticia!” As she was still looking at Richard, she saw him stiffen, and she felt her own spine go rigid as well.
“Aunt Amelia,” Leticia said as she widened her eyes, and Richard mimicked the motion. “What brings you inside on such a lovely day?”
Aunt Amelia tutted as she walked forward and laid a hand on Leticia’s forearm. “Oh…Your Grace,” she said, “I had no idea you and Leticia were having a private conversation.” She craned her neck, trying to look beyond Richard into the library. “Or is Harry in there with you?”
“I haven’t seen, Harry, Lady Pearl,” Richard replied mechanically. Then, he shook his head. “Sorry, I meant to say, I saw him about a quarter of an hour ago. He was just heading outside, and I promised to follow right after him.”
“Splendid,” Aunt Amelia chirped a little too brightly. “Your mother will be so pleased to see you join the festivities.” The implication in Aunt Amelia’s words was not very well concealed. She was clearly letting Richard, and Leticia for that matter, know that their absence had been noted.
“Yes, well,” Richard said, beaming a charming smile at Aunt Amelia. “I can’t wait to join you all.”
