Page 70 of A Virgin for the Rakish Marquess

Diana was amused. She either insulted James before his father and grandmother or defended him.

“You seem too sure that he is the one who set the trap, Euphemia.”

The old lady bowed at Diana’s wit with a knowing smile. But as she sipped her tea, Diana did not miss the look Euphemia gave Solomon. It was brief, fleeting, but sharp. A scolding, without a word spoken.

And thus Diana understood. Solomon had called her here in secret. James would not have known. If Diana knew him a little, she was sure that this would make him livid.

With her mind clouded by everything that had just transpired, she barely noticed the carriage ride home. A thousand thoughts warred in her mind, but one rose above the rest. If she could help this family heal, she would do it.

CHAPTER 19

Rose Petals

The moment James stepped into his carriage, no amount of self-reproach could change that simple, irrefutable fact. He was impatient to see her.

Sure, this was another chance to feel the thrill of another lesson, the excitement of finding a way to keep her away from prying eyes. To have her all to himself, her lips, her body, her sighs. Yes, the pleasure was exquisite, even though he had yet to reap anything for himself. But he would be lying.

He also longed and craved for the sharpness of her mind, the fire in her eyes when she snapped at him, the breathless laugh she barely let escape when he pushed her too far.

He arrived at Westall Estate and was shown to the drawing room. He could barely hold back from brushing past the butler to get in and finally see her, bathed in the sun. He wasconsidering a thousand things he could say to greet her, to vex and tease her only for her to whip him back with some clever retort.

He entered the drawing room with a mischievous smile on his lips.

“Welcome, Lord Crawford.”

He was greeted not by Diana, but by her eldest brother.

Stephen Wilkins was waiting for him with the ease of a brilliant strategist setting a trap. Only, James was not some innocent prey.

“So nice of you to personally welcome me in your house, Your Grace.”

“I figured that since you’ll soon stop coming around, I should at least welcome you once.” Stephen smiled coldly.

The Duke wasn’t even trying to be subtle—after the fifth promenade, James would no longer be welcome in Westall Estate.

Stephen stood by the fireplace, his stance deceptively relaxed. But James wasn’t fooled. Everything about him was controlled, measured. The kind of man who never needed to raise his voice to remind you who had the power.

“How ominous, Your Grace.” James smirked. “You can’t possibly mean that after the fifth promenade, the doors of Westall Estate will be forever closed to me.”

Stephen smiled a hard smile. “Not at all. I merely figured that there would not be any more reason for you to visit. I am sure your schedule is quite busy.”

You will shift your attention to another prey,James translated.

“That is totally up to Lady Diana.”

“Ah, then my decision to greet you was right.” Stephen’s voice turned cold. “I am sure my sister will be glad that this silly prank Selina set up will soon be over.”

There was a pang in James’s heart. That was the deal. Five promenades and nothing more. They had two more promenades. After that…

“We shall see, won’t we?” James said in that smug way that was sure to make the whole of ton want to smack him. “I trust that Lady Diana is more than capable of making the right decision for herself.”

Stephen narrowed his eyes at him.

Twice now in a matter of minutes, James had given Diana the one thing that all the ladies of the ton craved—choice. Both men looked at each other and forfeited. No matter their silly manlygames, Diana would do exactly what she wanted. And they both respected her for that.

“My sister will, in fact, make the best decision for herself and see that this unpleasant situation should be nothing but a prank to laugh about.”

James was furious to hear him reduce what he and Diana shared to aprank. He would very much like to throw in Stephen’s face the way his little sister came undone by his mouth. Instead, he exhaled sharply through his nose, shaking his head with something dangerously close to amusement.

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