He needn’t worry. Rebecca doubted she ever could.
She had only realized her mistake after the kiss. She could never look at Wicke as her brother again. The image had been shattered. Destroyed. Stomped into the ground like dust beneath her boot. Like it never existed.
They had never been, and never would be, brother and sister. Not in her mind. Not in her heart. Not in her eyes. The illusion had been lifted. She looked at Wicke through a lens she had not before. Clearer. That of a woman gazing at a man and taking notice.
Saints Above!
Rebecca could not be taking notice of Wicke in such a way. She absolutely could not. What would that even mean for her? She had a plan. A plan that had involved a first kiss, not a second, not a third and certainly not a husband.
She inhaled a shaky breath.
There could never be a possibility of them as man and wife. They had shared a kiss or two. They could share no more. What had she been thinking returning his kiss?
It must be the weather, Rebecca reflected. She preferred summer. Winter must have finally robbed her of all her senses.
“You must leave,” Rebecca announced. “Accompany Langley to Willoughby Castle.”
“Not until—”
The rattle of chains brought their attention to the carriage hacking down the driveway. Rebecca let out a small breath of relief.
Mason.
She rejoiced at her brother’s timing.
“Finally, an ally.”
Rebecca whipped her face to Wicke. He smiled that infuriatingly male smile of his. Rebecca would have dearly liked to remove that smug expression from his face.
But wait . . . Did that mean Mason had known about Wicke’s interest? Wicke had mentioned that Mason had asked him to call on them. Rebecca’s face flushed with instant warmth. She had a feeling she was about to commit two crimes as she narrowed her gaze at her brother’s arrival.
Chapter 7
Rebecca breezed intoMason and Caroline’s chamber, interrupting the couple in a passionate embrace. “Tell me you did not know of Wicke’s sudden desire to marry me?”
At the whip of her voice, Mason shot up from the bed. The flash of guilt at her intrusion evaporated when her brother’s eyes fell on her. Hehadknown.
