The Wallflower Duchess. Liz Tyner

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СКАЧАТЬ tap at the stone, study it, look for divots caused by weather or age, and see how the shape had been formed.

      The thought flitted through her mind that if she didn’t speak, he wouldn’t. The ability to outlast another person had been bred into him, perhaps from some warrior grandfather of his.

      But she could tell this wasn’t a contest to see who could outlast the other. He merely waited for her.

      ‘You have to discourage Fox from my sister,’ she spoke quietly. ‘Now she’s enlisted Father in her plans for marriage.’

      ‘He should take part in his daughters’ futures.’

      ‘He never did particularly before. But now it’s as if he’s thought of it as business and he’s taking it as seriously as if it’s something on a ledger sheet.’

      ‘Has my name been put into the accounting?’ he asked.

      ‘Of course. But now he knows you’re not interested in Abigail.’

      ‘What did he say about your prospects?’

      ‘That,’ she said, ‘is immaterial, as I do not have a list for such a thing.’

      His breathing tightened. ‘It’s nature to want a person in your life who thinks you above all others and you think above all others. Selfish, perhaps. But nature.’

      She ground her teeth against each other and the moment was so silent she could hear the sound from inside her head. ‘If people followed their nature—’

      ‘Most people do.’

      This time she didn’t mind the long silence. His words remained in her thoughts. ‘Do you?’

      He could have given a soliloquy in the space before he answered, ‘My nature is precise. Planned.’

      ‘Methodical?’

      The silence fluttered around them again.

      ‘Your Grace.’ She spoke more softly, taking the bite out of her words.

      ‘Miss Lily.’ His voice, little more than a whisper, rumbled into the night and had no sting in the words. ‘Speak as you wish. You always have. To me.’

      She stood. ‘I don’t particularly care what your cousin does. But I do care if my sister is hurt.’ She moved closer—which would have been improperly close in the daylight, but she needed to see his eyes.

      She raised her arm, keeping it close to her body so she wouldn’t nudge him and clicked a fingernail against her incisor. ‘Did you notice he has white teeth?’ The wind fluttered her bonnet and she grasped the untied ribbons with her other hand, holding both in one grasp.

      ‘Teeth?’ He narrowed his eyes, questioning. ‘I don’t care about Foxworthy’s teeth and that isn’t a concern of mine at all.’

      ‘My sister noticed. She thinks he has the loveliest mouth she has ever seen.’

      ‘His teeth are just teeth. He’s lucky someone hasn’t removed them for him.’

      ‘That would devastate my sister.’ She sighed. ‘She notes every little detail about him.’

      ‘Fox encourages such nonsense.’

      Her brows rose and her chin tilted down, and her lips turned up the merest amount. ‘I asked her about you.’ Again she watched for the divot or a clue to show inside the immovable stone.

      He leaned his head forward, but she sensed only a mild curiosity about her sister’s opinions. In fact, Lily felt he studied her report of her sister’s talk to judge her view of it, not to form an opinion of Abigail. ‘She thought you have nice teeth, too, but she wasn’t certain.’

      Brows flicked the words away. ‘Nice enough.’

      She could sense he found the moment humorous, but she couldn’t see a smile.

      ‘And I asked her about your hair since she noticed Foxworthy’s hair turns up in darling little curls when it gets wet.’ The words tumbled over each other. ‘She said she once saw him come in from the rain.’

      ‘So he comes in from the rain. That shows he is more intelligent than I thought.’

      ‘You can’t let him near my sister.’

      ‘They would make a good match.’

      This time she heard decision. She gasped. ‘No.’

      ‘I believe Foxworthy is ready to settle in to marriage. Your sister could keep his attention.’

      ‘No one is that enchanting.’

      ‘Marriage will settle him.’

      ‘You’re willing to ruin my sister’s future.’ She wanted her words to jar him, yet he didn’t move.

      ‘Underneath it all, Fox is a good sort.’

      Edge would just dig those boot heels tighter into the ground if she kept mentioning his cousin’s flaws. But she couldn’t stop. ‘I don’t believe that. Underneath his heart, lungs and liver, there’s a part lower down that is not virtuous. He’s a scoundrel. But I suppose if you are talking about his knees and his toes, he has quite an amount of quality. Those are not the parts which cause trouble.’ She grimaced. ‘I must correct myself. They are the parts which lead him to trouble as he dances from one woman to the next.’

      ‘He is maturing.’

      ‘And in twenty years he’ll surely make some woman the best of husbands. But I’m worried about tomorrow. Before she left to visit my aunt, Abigail said Father has asked you and Fox to our house to discuss an investment. It is a thinly disguised attempt at matchmaking.’

      His eyes widened. ‘I am so shocked.’

      ‘Sarcasm? Your Grace?’

      ‘I sent my man of affairs over to ask your father if he knew of any business ventures Fox or I might invest in. A simple query.’

      ‘Oh, my.’ She put a hand to her cheek. ‘You cannot get his hopes up like that. To have a duke and the son of an earl at his home to discuss business.’

      ‘He is very knowledgeable about investments.’

      ‘Yes. And he will be considering a very long-term one for his daughters.’

      ‘What is so wrong with that?’

      ‘It’s Abigail I’m concerned about. She’s the one interested in marriage.’ She levelled a gaze at him. ‘And Foxworthy is interested in an entirely different arrangement.’

      His face became bland again. He stepped aside, putting a foot on the bench, adding more distance between them, yet not. He leaned her way, one arm on his propped leg and his fingers clasped. Almost subservient. Except, not. A lion taking a step away, yawning, pretending not to see the prey, letting it get closer and closer. ‘So tell me. What exactly would it take for you to risk a long-term СКАЧАТЬ