Theodosia’s eyes widened. “Truly?”
Selena nodded. They weren’t affectionate that way. “I send him the bills of my purchases and he sends me grumbles, birthday or not.”
Theodosia shook her head. “He and my eldest brother would get along famously.”
“I’m surprised your brothers haven’t returned to London,” Leonora murmured. “They are depriving London of their handsome faces.”
“Oh stop,” Theodosia muttered. “The longer they stay away, the better for me. My parents have been keeping news under wraps, but it’s only a matter of time before they descend upon London anyway. Shall we go see what the men want, or shall we ignore them until the party is done?”
Leonora nodded to one of the drawing rooms that faced the garden. “That would be them, I expect.”
Selena squinted in the direction of the house. Sure enough, two, no, three silhouettes could be seen shadowing the windows.
“Is that Leeds?” Selena asked.
Harriet groaned. “He must have grasped the opportunity and latched onto your suitors.”
“They are not our suitors,” Selena and Theodosia blurted at the same time.
Leonora laughed.
“This is ridiculous,” Selena exclaimed, as she marched to the house. “I’ll go chase them off.”
These men... could they not give them even half a day’s reprieve? And just when she’d been having a very interesting conversation with Leonora. Clearly, there was no need for theirprotection at an all-women’s tea party. Yet they still dared to encroach? Honestly, if Warrick could send a footman to deliver an important note, Saville could have sent a footman to deliver his gift. Or he could deliver it andleave. Then again, having lived with her brother’s shamelessness all her life, his behavior ought not come as surprise.
Warrick, on the other hand, had no reason to be here.
And Leeds... well, that was Leeds. Ever the opportunist.
By the time she entered the drawing room, flanked by Theodosia and Harriet, the men were calmly seated, as though they had no care whatsoever that they were supposed to be anywhere else but here.
Theodosia’s cold gaze swept over the men. “Men are not allowed at this party.”
Saville nodded. “We are not at your party; we are in the drawing room.”
Utterly Shameless.
Selena’s gaze fell on Warrick. Their gazes met fleetingly before he glanced away. Selena blinked. Was heignoringher?
“If you haven’t noticed,” Theodosia crossed her arms, “all the men in the house, servants and family, have been dismissed for the party. You’re the only ones here.”
Warrick rose to his feet. “I’ll wait in the carriage,” he directed at Saville before nodding at the ladies and striding from the room.
Selena’s gaze tracked his back in astonishment. Not once, but for that brief instant, did he even look at her. Selena had never been so blatantly ignored in all her life. This man... this man had just given her the cut direct! Was hethatmad?
By Jove!
She would not be so glaringly disregarded! Her feet stormed after him even before her brain finished the thought. Shegrabbed him by the elbow, pulling him to a stop. “Why are you ignoring me?”
He refused to look at her.
“Are you not even going to look at me?” Her eyes narrowed on him. “Are you never going to look at me again? Are you certain you can manage that?”
He remained stubbornly silent.
“I suppose we can mime our words with our hands,” Selena said gratingly. “Or we can communicate with the written word.”
His jaw was tight, his composure forced, and his hands fisted into tight balls. Selena let go of his elbow, her arms falling back to her sides. “I never took you for a man who would ignore a person in such a blatant fashion.”
