What the hell was happening right now?
Chapter Seventeen
Timing was everything.
Or so Shakespeare had claimed. Selena had always found it to be a matter of fate. Was it fate that finally gave her the one thing she’d been searching for weeks only to douse her joy with that one single condition? Was it fate that made that one single condition confess love to her that very same night?
A day had passed without as much as a word from either Warrick or her brother. It was like the two of them had vanished from her world. Perhaps they were both giving her space. Which could be expected of Warrick, but her brother...? Then again, it also wasn’t unlike him to douse his anger at White’s, or wherever young men went to douse their anger.
Their absence, however, was not what Selena was worried about.
A whole day had passed, and she still had no idea what she would do about the conditions or the confession. Since the very minute she’d first heard of the secret women’s club, she wanted to find this it in the hope of carving an identity for herself that moved beyond heiress, the sister of the Earl of Saville, and lady. She hadn’t known what she would find, but there had been a renewed sense of purpose in her heart even in the searching.
Now... the timing of everything seemed a bit off.
For one, she didn’t have the book anymore. Theodosia had it. She knew if she were to ask for it back, her friend would hand itover in a heartbeat, but it was not her book to give to the club. All the heiresses had a say.
Selena paused to consider her progress. “Something seems to be missing,” she murmured to herself.
“Did you say something, my lady?”
Selena glanced at the maid below her and shook her head. “No, I was merely talking to my brother.”
“The earl . . .”
Selena smiled. In one hand she held a palette filled with colors, and in the other a paintbrush. She pointed her brush at the portrait of Saville that decorated a large portion of the wall in the blue drawing room. “I like this version of my brother better. He is silent and does not retort back with whiplash comments. Quite pleasing to hold a conversation with him in this form. I should have done so much sooner.”
“My lady, be careful on the stool.”
“Oh, do not worry. I won’t fall. But tell me, how does my brother look with this mustache?” She thought it rather fine.
“Very good, my lady.”
She tapped her chin with the wooden end of her brush. “I think I shall give him a pair of devil’s horns as well.”
The maid retreated with a small bow. “Then I shall take my leave.”
“Oh, Lucy,” Selena called out. “Do retrieve all my brother’s waistcoats from his closet and bring them here.”
“My lady?”
“Along with a pair of scissors.”
A hesitant pause. “As you wish, my lady.”
Selena grinned at the painting before her. “It’s so delightful to vent, do you not think so, brother?” She dipped her brush in a spot of red and proceeded to paint a small horn on his head. “What do you think about the conditions the club set? Shall I accept or not?”
Hand over the book.
Cut ties with Warrick.
One was manageable. All she had to do was calling a meeting of heiress and ask their permission. If they refused, the matter would be out of her hands. But the other condition... that was not so manageable. That was near impossible. Because he had confessed to her. He said he loved her.
Loved.Her.
Her infatuated heart couldn’t be more overjoyed. However, the mere memory of that woman in the warehouse still left a sour taste in Selena’s mouth. She had claimed they were lovers, dousing her joy every time she recalled it.
“I suppose I can’t allow one woman to ruin this moment for me. Warrick’s lover? What utter nonsense.” She added more color onto her horns. “What do you think, brother? If she were Warrick’s lover then she wouldn’t be so desperate for me to cut ties with him, would she?” Selena paused. “It’s an obvious test.”
