“Nothing!” To his surprise, the girl flung her door wide. “This household is perfectly tedious.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “I’d hardly call your sister’s attack last night tedious.”
“Oh, no, I don’t mean that. I’d never want anything to happen to Cesca.” The blond stepped into the hallway, tall and slim, one hand poised on her door handle. “I meant that there’s never any good gossip to overhear.”
“I see.” Something in the girl’s expression made him wary. She looked far too impetuous. Growing up, he’d rarely seen his older sister, Emily, as she’d mostly been away at school in France. Alex had been his lone companion throughout their youths, so Ethan had little experience dealing with chits still in the schoolroom. The ones just out were bad enough.
“I have a question,” the girl before him declared. She stood in front of her door, hands clasped behind her, head cocked to one side.
“What’s that?” He was still wary, though the serious expression on her face made him smile.
“Are you really planning to marry my sister?”
He was instantly suspicious. “Why?”
He wondered if, while playing at spying, she’d heard something to the contrary. For both Francesca’s and her sister’s sakes, this engagement had to be universally believed.
“I don’t believe it. That’s why.” The girl gave a succinct nod that reminded him of her father.
“Why not?” Ethan crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at her.
“Because I’ve heard about you, Lord Winterbourne.” She raised a hand. “And before you start to lecture me, I know I shouldn’t have been listening, but I couldn’thelpit! My life isso tedious. You have no idea.”
Ethan prayed for patience. “What have you heard? Exactly?” He could well imagine some of the stories circulating about him.
“You are a rogue,” she stated matter-of-factly. “And a rake.”
Ethan’s grinned. “Is that all?” He could relax. She had no idea the betrothal was contrived.
The girl tossed her blond curls, blue ribbons swirling. “I cannot repeat the rest.”
“I see. And your point?”
“My point, Lord Winterbourne, is that I can’t help but question your interest in my sister. She’s not exactly a diamond of the first water.”
“Maybe I’m not interested in diamonds of the first water.”
“ButFrancesca? I love my sister more than anyone—well, maybe anyone except my brother, John. Has Cesca mentioned him? He’s away at school. Eton.”
Ethan opened his mouth then paused, not certain which question to tackle first.
“Anyway,” she went on without waiting, “she’s not for you.”
“Who?”
She gave him an exasperated look. “Cesca, of course.”
“You don’t think she’s good enough for me?”
The girl laughed. “Hardly! She’s smart, beautiful, and kind. If anything, she’stoogood for you.”
And there it was again—that feeling of being undeserving of her. “Don’t hesitate to speak your mind,” Ethan grumbled.
“I never do. My mother says I’m too impulsive, and I’ll regret it one day.”
“Your mother’s probably right.”
She harrumphed. “Idon’t believe in regrets.”
