Eden was hardly surprised when he did not acknowledge her or attempt to approach her. Connor had warned the viscount to keep away and would go after him like a rampaging bull if he dared disobey.
“What about him?” Eden asked, curious to know why the dowager was scowling at Aubrey and appeared to dislike him as much as Connor did.
“He is trouble.”
“How so?” She hoped he would not be so brazen as to cause a scene. Some women might not have minded having two handsome men fight over her, but Eden was not of that mind. She had been raised in a household of constant fighting andknew how hurtful it was not only to the combatants but to those who witnessed it.
These men were too evenly matched, and both would be bloodied if fists flew. Connor’s daughter especially would be undone if she saw her father bruised and sporting a black eye.
Eden breathed a sigh of relief when Lord Aubrey noticed Connor chatting with her father and turned to walk in the opposite direction. He approached a young lady and bowed rakishly over her hand. The girl, the wealthy Miss Olivia Applegate, tittered and blushed as the handsome lord turned on the charm.
Eden breathed a sigh of relief and continued her conversation with Duchess Evelyn. “Why do you say he is trouble?”
“It is only gossip, but is there not always a bit of truth in every rumor? Your mother told me that he was quietly pursuing several heiresses at this party and intended to purposely compromise one of them to force a marriage.”
“Pursuing several?”
“Oh, yes. I noticed the way he circled you. Margaret Wallingford and Olivia Applegate appear to be his current prey. Perhaps he has been eyeing others, too.”
“And he meant to compromise one of us?” Had he intended her to be the one compromised, but then realized Connor was onto him and would protect her? Well, so much for her Helen of Troy “conquering the hearts of kings” moment. She was nothing but a coin purse for Aubrey to steal, after all. Only one among other pretty coin purses. “Evelyn, will you excuse me a moment?”
“Yes, of course. Is everything all right?”
“Quite perfect. I will only be a moment.”
She stepped out onto the terrace and took in a refreshing breath.
Thank goodness Connor loved her.
Thank goodness she loved him with a deep and abiding conviction—something she ought to have made clear earlier, but she hadn’t, and needed to give him more than a delayed acceptance of his proposal and the tameI love youshe had given him seemingly as an afterthought.
She had loved him for so long that when the moment was upon her, she froze.
But her love had never wavered. Of this she was certain. Even when Lord Aubrey had shocked her by proposing, there had not been a moment when she was tempted to marry him instead of Connor.
And a good thing that was. She would have lost everything had she fallen prey to his charms. Lost her beloved Chestnut Hill, her funds, and everything else she owned. Most of all, she would have lost Connor forever.
“Eden, I need a moment of your time,” the very fiend himself said, stepping onto the terrace after her. “I won’t approach you, I promise. I’ll step no closer than this. But there is something I must say to you.”
“Haven’t you said enough already?”
He sighed. “I just tried flirting with Miss Applegate, but could not endure more than a minute in her company. She laughs like a goat.”
“That is a cruel thing to say.”
“Perhaps, but is it not important that one not cringe when speaking to a potential wife?” He held up his hands in a gesture meant to forestall the next remark she was about to toss at him. “Eden, to my dying day I shall regret not being honest with you from the start. Losing your trust is quite a severe punishment for what I thought was a harmless deception in giving my sister a few minutes with Lynton. But in doing so, I have lost all chance with you.”
She said nothing, intending to walk away before he could spout more lies.
“Don’t go. Please,” he said when she took a step toward the parlor. “Just one more moment of your time. I’ll be leaving tomorrow because it is best for all. My family will be staying on. You’ll be pleased to know that Persephone has given up on the duke and will now set her cap for the Marquess of Rathburne’s son.”
“Damien?”
“He’s a bit of an idiot,” Lord Aubrey said with a wry smile, “but he’s a better match for her than Lynton. She’ll rule that roost, and Rathburne’s son will be all the better for her firm guidance. Lynton is not a man she could ever tame.”
“Is this what you came out here to tell me?”
“No, although I do not know why you would ever believe me. Perhaps one day you will. Here’s what I wish to tell you.” He raked a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “I know a treasure when I see it, and I do not mean your house or your trust funds. I meanyou. Not that you need my assurance that you are beautiful and wonderful. But you need to know that my affections were not false. They were never false. That is all I am going to say. It was a pleasure spending the day with you. I shall never forget a moment of our time together.”
