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“Where are they?”
“I’ve no idea,” Harry answered. He was standing near the windows that faced the garden, and he frowned. “I was so sure Letty would be in here.”
“Right,” Richard said, nodding stoutly. “Shall we away? Perhaps we can find her down by the river, or maybe she’s out in the stables with Helena.” A gloating smile floated onto his face then as he realized that all his worries had been for naught. Leticia wasn’t courting other fellows. She was just going about her own business somewhere around the Manor.
“Wait,” Harry commanded, holding up his hand to emphasize the statement. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
Richard’s smile slackened. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’ve known you my whole life,” Harry began. Then, he shook his head. “Forget about you…I’ve known Letty since the day she was born. She’s never spent so much time away from us as she has these last few days. Why, years ago, we practically had to scrape her off like she was one of those barnacles stuck to the bottom of a fishing boat.”
“I don’t think she would appreciate hearing you refer to her in such a manner,” Richard said, mixing the mild rebuke with a bit of levity.
But Harry did not absorb the joke. Instead, his grimace turned into a scowl. “Fine. Forget about Letty, and let’s talk about you. What have you done to her?”
Richard held up his hands. “What could I have possibly done?”
“Oh,” Harry ground his back teeth. “You pretend as though you are so rigid, and you only stick to the strictest moral code, but you forget how well I know you, Richard. When you want something, you put all your effort into obtaining it. And I know it…I can see it…you want Letty.”
Richard opened his mouth to try and defend himself, but as there were no sensible words that might aid him in concocting this lie, he floundered. “I…well…I mean—”
“No,” Harry gasped. “It’s not that youwantLetty. It’s that you’ve alreadyhadher.” A look of fury stole onto his friend’s face then, and Richard took several steps away from him.
“I didn’t…” Richard said hastily, “I haven’t—” The lies and the truth were so muddled now, he was having trouble keeping them straight. But Harry, who was so positively outraged, stomped toward Richard and raised his fist.
“You said there was nothing between you. When I asked you, weeks ago, you told me this was all a charade. You promised that you did not love her,” he hissed, each word full of indignation.
“I never lied to you,” Richard replied, holding up his hands to keep his friend at bay. “And I won’t lie to you now. I spent the night with Leticia last night, but it was only because we both were displaced out of our chambers.”
“You’ve ruined her,” Harry wailed as he took a threatening step forward.
“No,” Richard snapped back. “Never. I would never do something that would jeopardize her future. You know, I don’t intend to marry her, and I could not live with myself if I let things go too far between us.”
Harry’s temper cooled considerably. He lowered his balled-up fists but left them clenched at his sides. “You do not wish to marry her?”
“Of course not,” Richard replied. “We have an arrangement. Once this scandal has run its course, our arrangement will have reached its natural conclusion.”
“I don’t like this,” Harry mumbled. “On the one hand, I don’t want you to hurt Letty, but on the other, I’m worried she might be leading you astray.”
Richard snorted. “Don’t worry about me…or Leticia for that matter. She can take care of herself.”
Harry hung his head. “I want to hear you and believe what you’re telling me, but your actions are all to the contrary. If you have feelings for Letty, why don’t you just make this courtship real and eventually marry her?”
Richard’s hand flew to his pocket. In his haste to dress quickly, he’d forgotten to tuck his list there, but as he knew it by heart, it didn’t much matter. “I love Leticia. You know I think of her fondly. But she will never be the woman I want to marry.” He chuckled. “Can you imagine? I need to wed a proper lady who will sit at tea and eagerly entertain the ladies of theton. And look around.” He swept his hand around the drawing room. “It’s the middle of the Season, and is Leticia in here, speaking in soft tones with other high-society ladies? Of course not.” He sighed and shook his head. “Leticia will never be my Duchess because she’s just not fit for the role.”
Harry nodded. “I’m glad you see it that way. I didn’t want to have to explain it to you myself.”
“Thank you for looking out for my best interests.”
“Of course,” Harry said and for the first time that day, his boyish grin lit up his face. “Now that we’ve got this whole situation sorted, what do you say we find Letty? You were probably right before when you said—”
But once again, Richard decided to tune out his friend. For even though he’d spoken the words against Leticia in earnest, he wasn’t quite sure that he meant them.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
“Thou subtle, perjured, false, disloyal man!” Leticia spat the words, and she watched as Eliza’s pretty face turned a sickly pale color.
“I know you are upset, dear friend, but try to hold your tongue.”
