“I do, I do. Please, Sinclair.”
Well, in his present gloomy state of mind he found it impossible to deny her. So he paid Terry Belmont the money and his sister thanked him in a shaky little voice.
But there was something about the whole incident that made him suspicious and later that night, sitting up over a decanter of brandy, he stared into the firelight and replayed it over to himself. What was the catch? The scene almost felt as if it had been cleverly contrived. And yet he couldn’t find a reason, other than the typical Belmont scheme designed to do him out of more of his blunt.
He shrugged.
What did it matter? He had plenty, and at least Annabelle was happy for the moment. Their mother had written, reminding her daughter to have her trunks and boxes packed, ready for when she came to collect her and take her to London. Then would begin the whirlwind of final arrangements for the wedding and Annabelle’s new life as a married woman in the society she had been brought up to inhabit.
With surprise Sinclair realized that when she was gone he’d be alone here at Somerton. Despite the difficulties he’d had with his sister he knew he’d miss her. It was such a large house and he was but one man.
Perhaps his mother was right. Perhaps it was time for him to marry. He should begin to look about, find someone suitable. Someone obedient and willing to set aside her own wishes and feelings to be the Duchess of Somerton. Certainly no one with curly hair with a hint of red to it, or green eyes, or a blunt way of saying exactly what she thought. No, a person like that would never do.
Sinclair sipped his brandy and sighed.
Chapter 20
Eugenie found herself slipping back into her life as it used to be. At night she might dream of Sinclair’s kisses, with his body warm on hers, but she refused to remember him during the day. Once she woke with a start, thinking she heard the scatter of gravel against her window pane, but when she rose to look outside there was no one there.
The household and the twins took up most of her time, and her mother seemed grateful to leave most matters to her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she took to saying. One morning Mrs. Belmont informed her with a beaming smile that as a special treat she had accepted an invitation to a supper party on her behalf.
Eugenie didn’t want to go. She found she no longer trusted herself in social situations.
“I really think I should stay home with the twins, Mother. You and Father go to Major Banks’s supper party. No one will miss me.”
“The twins are perfectly well, and the major asked for you particularly, Eugenie. You know how he admires you. If you are not there we will never hear the end of it.”
Eugenie was well aware that the major had a tender for her, but the fact that her admirer was fat and forty and happily married meant it was most unlikely anything romantic would come of it, even had she wanted it to.
“Your father is hoping to sell him a horse,” her mother added the clincher.
“And he wants me to butter him up first?” Eugenie said wryly.
“Well, a few words from you might help.” Her mother fixed her with a sharp look. “Are you well, Eugenie? You have been so unlike yourself lately I am beginning to wonder if you are lovelorn.”
“And who would I be lovelorn with, Mother?”
“Well, there has been talk in the village about one of the Duke of Somerton’s grooms. Of course I dismissed it immediately. I would hope you could do a lot better than a groom.”
She eyed her daughter, awaiting confirmation that the whole thing was nonsense. Eugenie did her best to supply it. “There is no one I am lovelorn about, Mother. Maybe I’m out of practice when it comes to supper parties.”
“All the more reason to go.”
Satisfied she’d made her point, Mrs. Belmont went to peruse her limited wardrobe in search of something to wear to Major Banks’s supper party. Eugenie, with a growing sense of trepidation, did the same.
In the end she chose her pink taffeta, which was old-fashioned and rather too short and had faded over the years to a dusty color. But then it was only the major, she reassured herself, and he wouldn’t notice.
It wasn’t until they arrived that she found there were a lot more guests than she’d expected from her mother’s blithe description. The major had outdone himself this time, and there were a large number of well-to-do families as well as businessmen and merchants from Torrisham. Eugenie, regretting now she hadn’t made more of an effort with her appearance, accepted the major’s effusive greeting.
To her surprise she found herself enjoying the company. Her experience with Sinclair had dinted her confidence but she soon regained it, chatting with the guests. As long as she kept a tight rein on her unruly tongue she could manage very well, and she’d learned her lesson there. Never again, Eugenie vowed to herself, would she do something so reckless.
After a time she wandered into Major Banks’s library. She knew the major was an enthusiastic collector of travel memoirs, and that she’d find plenty of fascinating tales about jungles and deserts and snowy mountains to peruse. Eugenie had opened the door and was heading toward the tall bookshelves before she heard footsteps behind her and realized that someone else had followed her in.
Turning with a smile she began to make some comment to the tall, broad-shouldered gentleman in evening dress silhouetted against the brighter lights outside the door. And then he came farther into the room and with a paralyzing shock she recognized him.
/> “What are you doing here?” she burst out rudely.
“Miss Belmont,” he said in a cold, clipped voice. “As charming as ever.”