Chapter 25
Evan silently swore to himself to make sure his grandmother was buried next to his Great Uncle Harold, a man whom the dowager duchess found tedious and dull. Let her listen to his vapid chatter for an eternity for this trick.
He tried the door, but of course it was locked. “Bloody hell,” he muttered.
“What is happening?” There was a note of fear in Joanna’s voice that he despised. She probably thought it was he who trapped her here so he could take more liberties with her.
“My grandmother is up to mischief, it appears. I doubt she or Peter will let us out anytime soon.” He had to resist the urge to punch the door. “I suppose she thinks she is being helpful by giving us some privacy.”
“Does she mean to trap us in marriage?” Joanna took a step back, as if it was somehow less scandalous if she was on the other side of the room.
“She means to trap me. Not you. Don’t worry. She isn’t cruel. She would swear on a Bible that she was with us the entire time if it came to that.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Your reputation is safe. I promise.”
Joanna relaxed a little. “Well, that is good, then. I suppose we should find a way out.”
“There is no other way out. There is only one way in and out of the library.” No doubt Peter was involved in his scheme as well, even if his grandmother was the mastermind. Perhaps he could find a harmless garden snake and throw it at his brother while he slept.
Joanna sighed and sat down in one of the chairs. “How long will she be detaining us here, anyway?”
“I have no idea.”
“If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed home. You never mentioned in your agreement that we would regularly be alone together.”
His lip curled. “Believe me, it was not planned.”
“Oh, I am sure it wasn’t. Why would you plan to ruin me?”
“Are you being ironic? Do you truly think I am willing to ruin any young lady?” His temper rose despite himself as he glared at the young lady. “I thought you of all people might—”
“Might what?” She glared at him. “Why me, of all people? Truly, Your Grace, what makes me different from any other young lady in the ton aside from my father?”
“Because contrary to all people, I actually enjoy your company!” He shouted.
“I must tolerate most members of the ton so I can fulfill my duties to my family and my estate. But you..,” he scoffed.
“It hardly matters now. Perhaps you are not so different. You seem to think I am some sort of merciless monster like everyone else does.”
She stood up now, glaring at him. “I don’t appreciate you putting words in my mouth,” she said.
“I have never thought you were a monster. In fact, this past week, I have had to defend you to both my best friend and my sister, who both apparently think I am some sort of helpless damsel being forced into an arrangement against her will. Also, I was not being ironic! I know you would not ruin me. Even if you were a lecherous rogue, it is clear you do not want me. Honestly, I am probably safer with you than any other man in the ton,” she said bitterly.
There was a lot for Evan to process there.
He felt relieved that he was wrong. She wasn’t afraid of him after all.
He was dismayed that he put her in a situation where she had to defend him.
But there was something else that stood out to him in the conversation.
“You think I don’t want you?” He turned to look at her again, his brow furrowed.
She frowned in confusion. “It was clear you regretted the kiss in the sunroom. You even said it was a mistake. Maybe you were disappointed in me, or maybe you don’t want to kiss the daughter of the Viscount of Folly.
But either way, I never should have let it happen. It made your opinion of me very clear.”
Evan stepped closer to her without even realizing it.
“That’s truly what you think.” He gave a humorless laugh.
“You think I would do all of this—sponsor your Season, pay for your sister’s Season next year, and provide dowries for both of you—simply to keep my grandmother from nagging me into a million dates? ”
She frowned slightly. “I know that is your main motivation, you have said so yourself. And I am an easy mark because I need the help. Of course, I am grateful for the opportunity,” she said the last part quickly as he strode closer to her.
“I don’t need your gratitude.” He cupped her jaw and made her look at him. Her skin felt so soft in his hand, and she looked so vulnerable to him, even as she met his expression with a determined look. “I just need you.”
He looked down at her soft, pink lips. He burned to taste them again. He wanted to make her moan the way she did before, when they were in the sunroom.
Her lips parted, and her tongue darted out to moisten them. Perhaps one kiss would not hurt. No one would know, after all…
The library door creaked open, and Evan took a large step back, away from Joanna. He turned to glare at his brother, who looked quite amused.
“There you are,” his brother said, fighting back a smile. “We thought the two of you were right behind us when we left the library. Are you all right, Miss Thorne?”
Joanna looked flushed, but she gave Peter a shaky smile. “I… It’s a most impressive library,” she managed to say.
Evan could not help but hit Peter’s shoulder with his own as he left the library. His grandmother was in the hallway with an innocent look on her face. “Did you have a nice time in the library, dear?”
He glowered at her. “How would you like to be buried next to Uncle Harold when you die?”
She tsked and waved a hand to dismiss his words. “Oh, there is no need to be cruel, my dear.”
After Joanna and her maid left to go home, his grandmother retired for the evening.
“Don’t think we are done discussing that little stunt you pulled today,” he said.
“I have no idea what you are talking about, my dear,” she said, unconcerned.
“I was with both of you the entire time, and I can assure that no impropriety took place.” She gave him a sweet smile.
“Perhaps we can all go to Hyde Park together for an invigorating walk. That would be lovely, yes? Peter and I can act as a chaperone for you and Miss Thorne, so her maid can have a day off.”
“Grandmother, no more of your schemes. Please.”
“A walk is hardly a scheme, my dear. Now, I beg of you, I must go to bed. Even an old lady like me needs her beauty sleep, after all. Goodnight.”
She left to go upstairs. Meanwhile, Evan was not tired in the least, so he joined his brother in the drawing room, where he was enjoying a glass of brandy. Peter saw him and immediately poured a second glass.
“I cannot believe you went along with her madness,” Evan said.
“I didn’t know what was happening until she was pulling me out of the library,” he replied. “But I suppose if you and Joanna are going to spend some time alone together, it is best to do it here and not in a place where the two of you could be seen.”
Evan growled softly, but took a sip of the offered brandy. It was refreshing after that night. “What did you think of her?” he could not help but ask his brother. He didn’t know why it mattered when the courtship was just a charade, but he wanted Peter to like her.
“Miss Thorne is charming and beautiful,” he said. “She is a good match for you.” He grimaced slightly as he sipped his drink. “However, her father is a problem.”
Evan frowned. “It is not her fault that her father has a love of gambling tables and you should know better than to hold that against her.”
“Believe me, I know. I don’t fault her for it in the slightest. I am merely concerned.”
“About what? It’s no concern of mine.”
“It should be,” Peter said, sharply, setting down his cup with a little more force than necessary. “She isn’t getting enough to eat, Evan.”
The duke froze and looked at Peter. “How do you know?”
“Because I remember what it is like to be hungry and presented with a feast, and I saw how she ate at dinner. Perhaps she ate with more decorum than I did as a child, but the urgency was there all the same.”
Evan suddenly remembered their first date in the tea shop, where she ravenously grabbed the scones, only to become embarrassed about it for a moment.
He had known even then that her enjoyment of the baked goods wasn’t part of her performance.
And when he had shown up for tea, her father stalled him while the housekeeper rushed out to get cakes from the baker.
Joanna was on the thin side, but he had never paid much attention to that until now. He knew his brother was right. How could he not have seen it sooner?
“I know you like her,” Peter said. “But all the pretty dresses in the world will not help her if her family is starving. I suggest you marry her as quickly as possible. You can at least save her and her mother from the viscount’s folly.”
Evan knew his brother was right. Joanna was probably starving. “I will make sure she doesn’t suffer,” he said. “Even if I don’t marry her, I’ll find her a proper husband. And her sister will have a dowry and a proper Season next year.”
Peter arched an eyebrow. “So you don’t think you’re going to marry her, then. Despite courting her?”
Evan didn’t know how to reply without revealing that the courtship was a sham. “I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.” It was the only thing he could say.
Peter sighed. “I’m sure you will,” he said. “But despite your reluctance to marry, I hope you and Miss Thorne will be married by the end of the Season.”
But he could not marry her. The most he could do was help her and her sister through dowries so they could find proper husbands to take care of them.
Despite his convictions on the matter, the thought of Joanna marrying another man left a bitter taste in his mouth. He feared part of him would not be satisfied until she belonged to him in every possible way.