She glanced covertly at Nicholas but found him watching her. “Are you not dancing tonight, Miss Langley?”
When her parents were alive—when he spent more time at their home than his own—he often called her Helen. He had not done so since dashing tears from her cheeks at her mother’s funeral.
She feigned amusement. “I’m afraid the only gentlemen willing to scribble their names on my dance card are the rogues and rakes.”
But I would dance with you, she said silently.I would let you put your hands on my body, let you hold me dangerously close.
“We could persuade a few eligible men to dance with you,” Sebastian said, including Nicholas in this brotherly conversation. “Not that it matters. Soon, titled lords will swarm around you like bees to a honey pot, desperate to win your favour.”
Mina laughed. “I pray you speak in earnest, my lord. Then I may play chaperone and move out from beneath the fronds.”
Helen could not share in Mina’s mirth. Fear slithered through her body like a serpent of dread, hissing a warning that life was about to take a terrible turn for the worse. “Why? Do you know a spell to turn back time?”
Could he make a case for mistaken identity? Could he persuade another young woman to come forward and claim she had been mauled by that monster?
Her handsome brother brushed the blonde lock from his brow and winked. “No, I have doubled your dowry in the hope it will compensate for that ridiculous story in theScandal Sheet.”
Time seemed to stop for a moment.
“D-doubled my dowry?” She almost choked on the words.
“You’re three and twenty and should have married long ago.”
Nicholas cleared his throat and said with a measure of calm, “Should she not marry a man who loves her? The size of her dowry won’t alter that fact. It will only make her a target for fortune-hunters.”
Her soul sighed at his need to defend her position. But they sounded much like brothers discussing a family problem, and that thought roused her ire.
“I have two years until I am considered a spinster. You’re almost thirty, dear brother. Shouldyounot join the marriage mart?”
Sebastian scoffed. “The rules do not apply to men.” He gripped Nicholas by the shoulder. “Neither of us is suited to marriage. We made a blood pact. Both vowed to abstain until we reach the ripe old age of fifty. Then I’ll have no choice but to sire an heir, though St Clair is more fortunate and need never marry at all.”
Thank heavens!
She would rather die than watch Nicholas exchange vows with the Season’s diamond. Should she hear a hint of a betrothal, she would join the Sisters of Saint Agnes and dedicate her life to the Lord.
For now, she thought of a way to steer the subject away from husbands and dowries. “I’m certain Mina would prefer to speak about something that doesn’t remind her of the scandal.”
Sebastian realised his error and inclined his head in apology. “Forgive me, Miss Ferrington. Though I imagine you would rather discuss marriage than your wayward brother. I fear another scandal is looming. Sir Thomas has not left the card room all evening.”
Mina’s shoulders sagged from the weight of her burden. “Gaming has become an obsession. He barely eats or sleeps anymore. Most of the time, he wanders about the house in a mindless daydream.”
Helen felt a wave of sympathy for the man’s plight. She spent a ridiculous amount of time lost in wild fantasies. Still, her fixation would not leave her sibling ruined and destitute.
A sudden commotion drew everyone’s attention to the hallway.
Mr Masters, a notorious gentleman who excelled at most things, including hazard and piquet, dragged Sir Thomas by the scruff of his coat along the polished oak floor and deposited him in the ballroom.
“Accuse me of cheating again and I shall sever your tongue and feed it to the crows.” Despite the crowd’s shocked gasps, Mr Masters braced his hands on his lean hips and glared at the oaf squirming snake-like on the parquet. “You do not want to provoke me.”
“Can a man not ask if the dice are weighted?”
“If he values his life, he should keep his damn mouth shut.” And with that, the intimidating Mr Masters strode back to the card room.
Mina turned as pale as the night’s full moon. “Lord have mercy! I must get the fool to our carriage before he loses more than his racing curricle.”
“Let me be of assistance, Miss Ferrington,” Sebastian said. Solving other people’s problems helped him to forget his own. “One does not provoke a man like Masters. Your brother would be wise to remain indoors for a month.” He instructed Helen to wait by the ferns before whispering in Nicholas’ ear and leading Mina away.
She was alone with Nicholas St Clair.