Three pairs of surprised eyes jumped to the library entrance, then beyond, as Leeds appeared behind the servant. Phaedra’s immediate thought jumped tosomething must be wrong.
“My Lord,” Phaedra greeted as she slowly rose to her feet, sending a curious glance to the girls.
“Lady Phaedra, my apologies for interrupting your visit,” his eyes darted to Harriet, who pursed her lips. “May I join you?”
“By all means.”
Harriet gave them a sheepish glance before shooting a much more heated one at her husband. “Did I mention my husband keeps showing up during all of my excursions?”
“Since your excursions always take you away from me, can you blame me?” he countered.
Selena rolled her eyes.
Harriet harrumphed. “I have a life, you know.”
“I have one too—you.”
Phaedra blinked. And this wasnota love match?
Selena groaned. “Can the two of you please stop? I do not know how much more of this I can take. Does Eton not teach that it’s unfashionable to show affection to your wife?”
Leeds settled comfortably next to Harriet. “Since you’ve decided to cause a scandal and my wife is friends with you, I’ll do what’s necessary to keep her safe.”
“Of course, we all need protecting from the fire and pitchforks marching upon us.”
“That your brother has not locked you in your chamber and tossed away the key astounds me.”
“He can’t.” She pulled a key from her sleeve. “When he is locked away himself.”
Phaedra laughed. By Selena’s grin, she couldn’t tell if the woman was serious or not, but for some reason, she believed something—or someone—had been locked in a chamber or basement somewhere.
Something else filled her heart.
Envy.
The way Leeds looked at Harriet—Phaedra wanted a man to look at her with that much care and devotion. She had a man who looked at her like that.
Too bad he was a scoundrel.
*
“You look likehell.”
“Thank you,” Deerhurst said as Avondale joined him. He felt like hell too. He hadn’t slept a night through in almost a week, longer perhaps. But recently, it was Mortimer’s warning that had been keeping him up at night, so he spent his evenings at the club, which, apparently, hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time in White’s.”
“It’s where all the gossip lives.” This was about all he could do. Keep an eye out for news and ulterior motives.
“Ah, this is about Mortimer.”
Deerhurst glanced at his friend. “He paid you a visit, did he?”
“Ophelia,” Avondale said, lips turning down. “Then he got a visit from me.”
So, Mortimer was making the rounds. Deerhurst suddenly felt uneasy. Had the duke called on Phaedra? He did not like the idea one bit. Not that he didn’t think she could hold her own, but Deerhurst became restless over any man who was not him who could spend time with Phaedra. However, his footmen hadn’t reported anything back to him, so he didn’t think Mortimer had paid Phaedra a visit yet.
“Does he suspect who is in possession of the book?” Deerhurst asked.
