“Oh.” She did not know how to respond to that. However, if he was telling her the truth, then she wanted to know more. “Lord Aubrey, I am hearing gossip that you had your eye on every heiress at the party. Are you here to hunt fortunes?”
He laughed. “No, my family is filthy rich. Most of the wealth has already been settled on me, since my grandfather seemed to think I showed promise and would make a better earl than my father, who was too intellectual for his liking. When my parents named me Trajan, that was it for my grandfather. He had hoped I would be named William after him. But no, whenhe threatened my father and told him the unentailed properties would be left to me unless he bent to my grandfather’s will, my father refused to bend. For the record, my full name is Trajan Hercules Ramses Aubrey.”
Eden laughed. “Ouch! But good for your father. Three cheers for standing his ground.”
“Do not tell him so—he’s already too stubborn by half.”
She nodded. “Your mother spoke kindly of me when she was arguing about me with your sister.”
“Yes, both my parents liked you very much.”
“I suppose they liked the other heiresses, too.”
He raked a hand though his hair again. “There were no other heiresses of interest to me. That is nonsense. Where did you hear that rumor?”
She shrugged. “Just floating around. So why did you bother with Miss Applegate just now?”
He released a sigh to mark his exasperation. “To see if I could settle for something other than love. Apparently, I cannot. It took me less than a minute to figure that out. So I will take myself off in the hope that someday, sometime in the near future, I will meet the right girl and find that ever-elusive, enduring love. I thought you were the one, but I do not think I ever had a chance with you. Lynton has always had your heart.”
She nodded. “Ever since I was two and fell into his fishpond.”
“Since you were two? He’s had that long a head start?” Aubrey gave a mirthless laugh. “I really never stood a chance then. Farewell, Eden. I wish you every happiness.”
“I wish the same for you, Lord Aubrey,” she said with all sincerity.
She watched him stride away, but felt no satisfaction in regaining her Helen of Troy moment. Perhaps his affections were genuine, but having a bevy of men interested in her was notwhat she’d ever wanted. There was pain in not being loved, and she did not wish this on Lord Aubrey or anyone else.
To her surprise, Connor stepped out from behind one of the pillars as soon as Lord Aubrey had disappeared back into the crowded parlor. “You saw him?” she asked, surprised Connor had not made his presence known sooner.
He nodded.
“And you did not rush at him like an angry bull?”
He shook his head. “I wanted to, but you would not have approved.”
“Did you hear what he said to me?”
He nodded again. “Every word.”
“I’m glad you did not stop him. He isn’t worth a fight. I’m sure it was all lies he was still spouting anyway.”
Connor frowned. “No, Eden. He was sincere and every word he said was true. I was wrong about him.”
“But your mother heard he was chasing every young lady at your party.”
He laughed lightly. “Yes, and she heard it fromyourmother. We all know what a reliable source she is.”
“Oh, that’s true.” She winced. “Then he was never chasing heiresses?”
“No, only you. And he was not interested in your fortune, since he is already a wealthy man. His interest in you is why I’ve had my eye on him from the moment he arrived here. Persephone may have viewed you as her competition, but I viewed her brother asmycompetition. I have been in complete and utter agony, and apishly jealous from the moment he walked up to you and introduced himself.”
She cast him a tender smile. “Why are you telling me this now, Connor? You could have let me continue to think ill of him.”
He rubbed a hand along the nape of his neck. “Yes, I could have done that. But I don’t want you to make your decision about marrying me based on the mistaken belief that Aubrey was a cad. Especially if you did have feelings for him.”
“I see.”
“I do not want us to enter into a betrothal upon a lie, Eden. Whatever the outcome, I want you to follow your heart and find your true happiness. I hope you will find it with me, a dense, arrogant clot whose only saving grace is that he loves you and will always regret not telling you sooner.”
