Still, now that he saw Judith before him, he realized that the task ahead might be a little different than he had anticipated. How did one find a husband for a young lady one did not know well?
Indeed, when Oliver had told him that his sister was still unwed at the age of four and twenty, Aaron had imagined her to be rather unattractive. Perhaps with buck teeth, crossed eyes, andpigeon-toes. He was sure there had to be a reason why a lady of her standing, the daughter of a marquess, hadn’t married yet. However, now that he saw her before him, he realized that his assumptions had been entirely wrong.
For Lady Judith was a beauty. Her hair, the color of wheat in the sunshine, was pinned at the back of her head with sparkling gemstones, and her eyes, almond-shaped and bright green, sparkled as she looked at him. Her lips, plump and pink, were pressed together, but he could imagine that she had a beautiful smile. Her nose and chin completed her heart-shaped face.
She was stunning. That was nothing to say of her elegant, graceful figure.
Why was she not married?
“Your Grace,” she greeted, bobbing a half-hearted curtsy before rising and looking at him again. “It has been some time.”
Her voice was melodic but had an edge to it. She was clearly not pleased to see him. Indeed, the way she looked at him through narrowed eyes, highlighted by her knitted eyebrows, made it clear that she did not want to be in his presence.
So, Oliver had already told her about his proposition. Good. At least he did not have to.
Still…
“It has,” he replied. “But I understand your brother has already told you that we will be seeing a lot more of one another.”
“Yes, indeed. Not that I was consulted,” she said in a surly tone that made his shoulders tense up.
It must be her salty personality that has kept her from finding a husband yet.
He sighed and looked at his friend. Why had he ever agreed to any of this?
A knock interrupted his thoughts, and the butler, whom he recognized from past visits, entered. “Excuse me, My Lord, but the solicitor is here with the documents.”
Oliver sighed but nodded. He placed one hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “I will return as soon as I can.” Then, he slipped out of the room, leaving him alone with his sister, who now blinked at him with a mix of curiosity and judgment.
“Well, it seems we will be spending rather a bit of time together these next few months.”
Her eyebrows rose as he said this, and she crossed her arms.
“I will have you know, Your Grace, that I am more than capable of looking after myself. I am not a child who needs a governess,” she declared, and he had to suppress a chuckle because she reminded him of the forward child she had been.
“Then it is a good thing I am not a governess.”
“It sounds as though you are, given how my brother described the reason for your visit. That or a matchmaker. Pray, will you be staying here? For I am almost certain our old governess’ quarters are empty—a little dusty perhaps, but suitable,” she drawled.
She was feisty, and he could see now why she did not yet have a husband.
“Lady Judith, I do appreciate your kind offer. However, I shall decline. We will meet in a more organized manner that does not require my staying here. However, if I dare say so, if you wish to successfully leap off the shelf you have been placed upon, then controlling your tongue might be a first step,” he advised as he crossed his arms.
Her eyes went wide, and her chest rose as she inhaled sharply. “I did not ask for your advice,” she hissed.
He shrugged. “But you shall receive it anyhow because your brother has tasked me with helping you find a husband and keeping you safe during this endeavor. And I am true to my word—that I can assure you of.”
She pursed her lips and looked toward the empty seat her brother had vacated earlier. “Have you nothing better to do than to tend to a grown woman who has no need for you?”
The venom directed at Aaron was both surprising and worrying. He hadn’t wanted to help her, to begin with, but he had agreed out of duty to his friend. Yet, her behavior was rather vexing.
“I will have you know that I have many more enjoyable things to do than spend time with an uncouth young woman without manners,” he fired back.
“I beg your pardon? I am by no means uncouth. I only object to being treated as though I were a mere child, rather than a woman of four and twenty. I can make my own decisions, and I do not need help from anyone.”
“Oliver believes you do,” he pointed out, and she sneered.
“Oliver has hardly been here to know what anyone in this family might need.”
