“Eden,” he said with a soft growl that shot tingles through her, “stop referring to yourself as that. You are the prettiest girl here. Do you not realize it? Stop talking about yourself as though you have dried up. You are not a prune.”
“But this is exactly what I am…or will soon be. You needn’t offer to comfort me as I pity myself.”
“Is that what you are doing?” He straightened to his full height. “Every bachelor here would leap at the chance to meet you. Lothmere’s son, Lord Aubrey, seems to have grabbed the advantage, but others are eager to speak to you and get to know you better. Shall I introduce you around?”
“No, your mother has already seen to it. You needn’t worry about me.”
“But I do, Eden. You are under my care, and I am not going to allow anyone to hurt you. So, do not give me a scowl and accuse me of being highhanded and overly protective. Who is going to look out for you if not me? Your parents certainly don’t give a—” He groaned and stopped abruptly. “Sorry, but they make me angry.”
She gave a mirthless laugh. “I am angry with them too. Look at what they have done to me. They’ve left me unable to trust. I am so scared to give my heart to anyone. And yet I ache for it. What a mess I am.”
He looked as though he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her. But Eden knew better than to believe it meant anything beyond his protective instincts. “Eden,” he said with aching gentleness, “no decisions need to be made this week. Just enjoy yourself. Make new friends. If something more serious develops, then come to me and we will talk about it.”
“What about you?”
He stared down at her, his gaze hot and intense.
A Silver Duke’s gaze. Seductive and alluring, but never ready to commit to any woman.
She knew what his response would be before he ever spoke it.
“Why are you asking about my marriage prospects?” he said with a shake of his head. “I am not ever going to propose to any of those peahens. Nor am I in danger of falling in love with any of them. Have I not been clear about this? There is nothing to talk about with regard to me.”
Teatime was almost over, and most guests were now returning to their guest chambers to rest and prepare for tonight’s feast and entertainments. Eden decided to run upstairs and see how the children were faring.
Connor took her hand to hold her back a moment. “Let me escort you in to supper.”
She smiled at him. “My valiant protector. You cannot help yourself, can you? But you needn’t worry about me. Lord Aubrey has already claimed the honor.”
He seemed surprised—and not very happy. “He did? And you accepted?”
She nodded. “I saw no reason to refuse him.”
“Right. Of course. He is a decent fellow. Well, just let me know if ever you are in need of an escort or a dance partner…or a cards partner.”
Eden felt warmed by his concern. More than that, she liked that he was looking out for her. His manner wasn’t cloying or overbearing. It was just…nice. “Will you choose me for your team during our lawn sports?” she teased.
He cast her a disarmingly affectionate smile. “You’ll be the first one I select. Is there a doubt?”
They parted ways, and she hurried up to the children’s nursery. The boys were too big for her to refer to it as a nursery. Even Priscilla was getting too big for that. Eden needed to start referring to that large space around which their rooms were situated as their classroom or their wing of the house. She couldnot refer to it as a playroom, either. The boys would be offended and claim they were not babies.
Were the maids assigned to attend them still surviving?
To her surprise, no one was around when she entered their upper-floor quarters. She checked all the cupboards to make certain the poor maids had not been trussed and stuffed in them. She then checked all the bedrooms and peered under their beds. “Where did you go, you little heathens?”
She had just finished her search and was about to leave Priscilla’s room when one of the maids ran in.
“Oh, Lady Eden!” The poor girl’s eyes were wide, and she was obviously worried.
“What is it, Sarah? Have the children run off again?”
She nodded. “They tricked us. Oh, His Grace is going to sack us for certain.”
Eden took the girl’s hand. “No, he won’t. When did you last see them?”
“About twenty minutes ago. Millie,” Sarah said, referring to the other maid assigned to watch the children, “went downstairs to fetch them more milk and ginger cakes. Then—oh, I cannot believe I fell for it—Lady Priscilla began to cry and said she forgot her storybook in her father’s study, and that her father would be so angry if he knew she had left it on his desk. She described it to me in tearful detail. So I ran down to find it.”
Eden groaned. “There was no book, was there?”
