“It doesn’t matter any longer. I think I found him the perfect woman.” A woman who met his every desire. A woman who was nothing like herself.
“Well then,” he drawled, “that should make you very happy.”
Jennette nodded and lifted the brandy snifter to her lips. She swallowed down too much and coughed. After taking another smaller sip, she answered him.
“I’m very happy for him. I just hope her parents will agree to a marriage.”
“Liar,” he whispered harshly. “It’s eating you up inside to see him with another woman.”
Jennette refused to take the bait. Nicholas could infuriate her as quickly as Banning. After spending most summers and holidays with her family when Nick was young, they grew up like brother and sister. A very annoying brother.
“Admit it, Jen.”
“No. I do not want him.” She paused, staring out into the dark garden. “I cannot want him,” she whispered.
“Why?” he insisted softly.
“I just cannot.”
Jennette finished her brandy and poured herself more. How she wished the brandy would go to her head so she could blame this conversation on intoxication.
“You know he didn’t kill John on purpose. So why can’t you want him?” Nick questioned again.
“What would people think?”
“Why do you care? People will talk whether someone is in the right or not.”
“I can’t damage my family’s reputation. Banning did enough harm with his courtship of Avis and the duel that ensued.”
Nicholas laughed. “It’s been over two months since that happened and no one seems to care.”
“I care. My mother cares.”
“Why?”
Jennette drained her second glass of brandy. “Because I promised my father I would never do anything to hurt my family’s name. Or marry a gambler or a fortune hunter.”
He blew out a long sigh then pulled her close. “So you made this promise at his deathbed?”
She nodded as tears welled in her eyes. “Nick, it was only a month after the accident with John. My father begged me to be more careful. He didn’t want my mother’s name ruined because of something I did. He didn’t want me to make a mistake with another man.”
“Your father would have only wanted your happiness,” he whispered.
Jennette blinked, trying to keep from crying. “How can you know what my father would have wanted?”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Your father was a great man, Jennette. He raised me more than my own father did. And you forget that I have a daughter. I would only want her to be happy. Scandal be damned as long as I knew Emma would find contentment with a good man.”
“Thank you.”
But Jennette knew that she couldn’t stop Matthew and Mary. They were both good people, even if Mary might be a little young. She would mature. They would make a lovely couple and have beautiful children. And Jennette would do as she had promised herself—leave him in peace.
“More brandy?” he asked.
“One more, I’m finally getting warm.”
“I’ve always admired your ability to drink, Jen. Not many women could manage three glasses of brandy.”
The slight buzzing in her mind told her that she probably should have refused the third snifter. But tonight she didn’t care. She had no plans to return to the party so no one would know if she was a bit tipsy.