“And you do?” Connor tried to stifle his annoyance. Why was his mother meddling in Eden’s life? She ought to respect her privacy. After all, Eden was no child who needed to be led about by the hand. She was a vibrant and intelligent woman who was capable of making her own decisions.
Apparently, Eden’s first decision was to dance with Aubrey. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Connor did not like this at all. Wasn’t that bounder moving too fast? Connor was going to have a talk with him, make certain his intentions were honorable. He would pound Aubrey to dust if he meant to take advantage of Eden.
In truth, Connor would pound him to dust even if his intentions were honorable, although he did not want to consider the reason why. He was too old and set in his ways to be jealous.
Nor did he quite understand the sudden proprietary interest he had taken in Eden. Perhaps it was merely that he did not wish to see her hurt.
Yes, that was certainly the reason.
“You haven’t selected Lord Aubrey for her, have you?” He growled again at his mother. “You cannot push them together until we know more about him. Eden is…”
Gad, he was going to say that she washisto protect. Not Aubrey’s.
“What, Connor? You were going to say something about Eden.”
“Never mind.”
The dance came to an end, and he quickly escorted his mother to her circle of older friends. But he had no sooner unloaded her than the peahens began to flock around him again. “Oh, joy,” he muttered before cracking a smile and enduring their fake adulation.
As the evening wore on, Connor decided his head was going to burst if he had to listen to one more inane conversation or the endless giggles from these debutantes being thrust at him. Persephone in particular was giving him a blistering headache.
But she was not the only one. The heiress in pink, Margaret Wallingford, was going to do permanent damage to her eyeballs if she did not stop fluttering her lashes or sending him suggestive gazes behind her fan that she was constantly flipping open and shut.
Damien, the marquess’s son, was scowling at him because he had diverted the girl’s attention from him. The fool was drinking too heavily and also tossing him looks. Challenging looks, as though Connor was infringing upon his territory.
He was more than happy to shove Miss Wallingford at Damien. He could have Persephone, too. He could have all of them.
Just not Eden.
No, Eden was…
Gad, he had almost thought Eden washis, as though rescuing her from a fishpond when she was two years old had formed an irrevocable bond between them.
Perhaps it had. That was twenty-five years ago. Hadn’t he kept an eye on her ever since?
Finally, as midnight approached and the moon shone like a silver ball upon an ink-dark sky, he managed to slip onto the terrace for a breath of air.
Others were on the terrace as well. To avoid them, he strode down the steps and made his way toward one of the quieter corners of his garden, not far from the infamous fishpond where the young Eden had taken a dive. But when he got to the spot, he noticed a slender figure sitting upon a stone bench overlooking the rose beds.
He immediately recognized the young woman illuminated by moonlight. “Eden?”
He heard her soft gasp and then her release of breath. “Connor, I did not hear you approach. Thank goodness it’s you.” She slid over to allow him room beside her.
His shoulder grazed hers as he settled his large frame by her side. “Who did you think it would be?”
“Lord Aubrey, if you must know. He has been…relentlessly attentive to me all evening.”
“And you felt the need to escape him?”
She nodded. “I like him. He has been charming and not at all boorish, but it feels too much. Or perhaps it is me who is hopeless.”
He sighed. “I know what you mean. I felt the same need to escape. One can hardly breathe from all the attention. Aubrey does seem to be genuinely interested in you.”
She gave a light snort. “Interested in my funds, more likely.”
He took her hand, although he probably should not have done that. Still, he was not going to let her go just yet. Her hand felt soft and little in his. “No, Eden. Never say this is all he cares about. You are beautiful and smart. Not every man is after you for your wealth.”
