“Will you leave if I tell you?”
She grinned at him. “Of course.”
He let out a long-suffering breath. “If I don’t marry by thirty, calamity will befall me.”
Selena nodded her head slowly, digesting this newfound information of the Warrick family. As curses went, it was rather sensible. Marry or you shall be punished. Quite like it was for women, only their curse was called spinsterhood.
“You do realize you could marry and the curse would be broken.”
“Would you surrender to a curse?”
Fair point. “Well, I would hardly call your recent bad luck a calamity,” she tried to soothe. “This bad luck might be good luck in disguise.”
“That’s a theory I cannot support.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “How is all this good luck?”
“Well, individually, each incident these past weeks might seem like bad luck, but if you consider the bigger picture, it might be a good thing they happened.”
“And what is this bigger picture?”
She lifted her hands into the air. “How should I know? That’s for you to discover, just like searching for meaning beyond my name and title is mine.”
“There is nothing wrong with your name or title.”
“I know there is not, and yet there is still meaning beyond them, don’t you agree?”
“You win. I can’t debate with you this early in the morning. Not while my head is threatening to split open. Just remember, some titles you can never rid yourself of no matter how much you try. As unfortunate as it may seem, you will forever be Saville’s sister.”
“I am aware,” Selena said. “The significance of that title I both loathe and love at the same time.”
“A lady’s search for meaning.” His lips inched upward. “You should write a book.”
“Lord no, that sounds exhausting, and my penmanship is atrocious. EvenIstruggle to read what I’ve written after I’ve written it. You write one—an earl’s search to break a curse. I’m sure it shall be a smashing success amongst the women of theton.”
Warrick rose from the bed and went to ring the servants’ bell, and all thoughts of meaning fled from her brain.
Dear Lord, Lord, Lord.
The man’s back was just as solid as his front.
She gave a small cough into her hand. “Anyhow, I shall take my leave and wait for you downstairs.”
If she didn’t leave soon, not even the cavalry would be able to pry her eyes from the earl’s bare back. The man had a body that would have any woman salivating. He also seemed to possess noself-awareness. Wouldn’t a normal gentleman have covered up by now?
She marched to the door.
“Selena.” His strong voice stopped her escape just as her fingers folded over the doorknob.
She glanced over her shoulder and almost gasped at the heat dancing in his eyes.
“Don’t ever enter my chamber alone again.”
*
He must becrazy.
Why else would he agree to call on a stranger about a family curse he didn’t fully believe in but couldn’t deny because of all the peculiar incidents happening to him?
This morning was a prime example.
