And you, Miss Burton, what are your plans?
She snorted.
He was a challenge Izzy couldn’t resist. She was neither quiet nor humble, and she had not the slightest intention of currying favor with a man who looked down his long, aristocratic nose at her.
Lord Salcott would learn, if not to respect her, then at least not to underestimate her.
“There you are, Izzy,” Clarissa exclaimed behind her. “Oh my goodness. A Spong!”
Izzy jumped backward, brushing her dress down and looking around. “What? Where?”
“Right in front of you, silly.”
Izzy couldn’t see anything that looked like a spong, whatever that was. “Where?”
“There.” Clarissa pointed at the rose bush Izzy had been staring at without really noticing.
She peered closer. The flowers were small and pink. “I can’t see any spongs. What do they look like?”
Clarissa gave a gurgle of laughter. “It’s the name of that rose. I haven’t seen one until now, but I’ve read about them, and they’re small, but the fragrance is supposed to be...” She buried her nose in the rose and inhaled blissfully. “Oh, Izzy you have to smell this. It’s glorious.” She bent to smell it again.
Izzy didn’t move. “Spong? Someone named this pretty little rose aSpong? Why would anyone do such a thing. It’s practically an act of vandalism.”
Clarissa laughed again. “I don’t care. I’m just thrilled to find one growing here. Whoever designed this garden did a wonderful job. They have the most marvelous collection of roses, and each with a delicious fragrance. I’ve been smelling them all. There are several kinds of moss rosesincluding a stunning Pink Moss, an Old Blush China that smells divine, a Marie Louise, a Celestial, a—”
“How delightful,” Izzy interrupted her. Clarissa could go on forever about roses. To Izzy a rose was just a rose, but to her sister they were a whole world.
“I wonder who I’d have to ask to see if I can harvest them—” Clarissa began.
“Miss Studley,” a grim voice grated through the shrubbery. And then a few seconds later, and a little bit louder: “MissStudley! Are you there?”
Izzy giggled. “I’m guessing the Grumpy Guardian is getting sick of waiting.”
Dismayed, Clarissa clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh dear, I forgot all about him.”
“The perfect way to handle him,” Izzy said.
“No, it was dreadfully uncivil. He was taking us to meet his aunt. Come, Izzy, hurry.” Clarissa hastened down a pathway toward the deep impatient voice.
***
Leo tapped his foot, waiting for the girls to reappear. Miss Burton had stormed off, magnificent—and infuriating—in her anger, hips swaying enticingly. Which he refused to notice.
Her reaction had surprised him. He’d been sure she would jump at the offer. It was generous—far more generous than she might have expected.Grubby little bribeindeed. It was more than her father had done for her.
So why the devil should she be angry? It was a perfectly respectable—and handsome—offer. Her ire would be more understandable if he’d made an offer of a less reputable kind. He frowned. Was that what she’d been expecting? A dishonorable proposition?
He thought about the accusations her father had made in his letter.
But even if she did plan to be a courtesan, why would his offer make her angry? He hadn’t put any conditions on it, except to stay away from her half sister. She could live in the house he provided and still be a courtesan.
No, it was the requirement that she not see her sister that had made her angry.
Keep your grubby little bribe... I’ll keep my sister.
Was it loyalty or opportunism? Loyalty he could respect, though it was blasted inconvenient. But she could equally have meant that his offer was too small to interest her.
Damned if he could work her out.
