The corner of Will’s lips inched upward. He recalled that horrid creature. He couldn’t say he did not agree. His friend was rather straightforward in his requirements for happiness. Rather like a sloth, as Harriet called the thing, he was sure. It had been this way since their school days.
Calstone’s face blotched red. “Are you comparing me to an animal?”
“Don’t be too shocked, Duke. Aren’t all men animals?”
Will sighed.
This woman and her mouth—she possessed a truly exceptional weapon. Each jab hit the heart of its target. He wouldn’t compare himself to a sloth, but she did make him feel like a beast.
“Leeds, are you hearing this? Your woman is mocking me.”
“I’m not his woman yet, Duke.”
Yet . . .?
“And you!” She suddenly pointed a finger at Will. “Why are you grinning like a fool?”
Will’s lips lost their shape.
But she’d saidyet.
They inched upward again.
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Are you even a gentleman, sir?” she challenged.
Gentleman? He certainly carried the title of one. However, she obviously believed otherwise. Apparently when it came to marrying Harriet Hillstow, a gentleman he was not.
Will couldn’t hold out any longer.
His lips transformed into a brilliant smile.
Chapter Six
Harriet stared atthe bed so hard that the bedding, mattress, and frame might catch fire at any moment, such was the intensity of her gaze.
That smile . . .
They had secured a room at the first inn they had come across. It was also the only inn in this little town whose name she could not recall. How she wished she could be in her own room with her own bed!
A small sigh escaped her lips.
Smiles notwithstanding, this day had been horrible. What person had to face several of their deepest fears in the span of a few hours?Lord Almighty.
She rubbed her shoulders as a prickle of irritation poked her heart. She itched to pace back and forth, as she’d usually do when vexed, but she was all too aware of the men occupying the chamber with her.
The truth of the matter was—a truth she reluctantly admitted—she was more vexed that shenoticedLeeds than anything else. Even now, her body thrummed with awareness of his presence, the back of her neck tingling with his vigilance.
Since she couldn’t pace, she directed a glare at the two men hovering in her shadow. “Why are you both crowdingmyroom?”
Calstone looked to Leeds. “You tell her. I’d rather not lose any of my limbs.
Harriet’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t been there when they negotiated with the innkeeper. She’d been swept to a nearby settee with a warm cup of tea. She had welcomed the reprieve then. That probably hadn’t been the wisest choice.
“They only had one available chamber.” No emotion inflected Leeds’s voice, and his face resembled a marble statue.
“You mean to tell me we are sharing?” Her gaze darted from Leeds to Calstone and back to Leeds. “Allof us?”
Leeds nodded.
