Page 77 of To Resist a Scandalous Rogue
“And so this is how you’ll make your stand?”
“I suppose so.” She bussed the other woman’s cheek and pulled back to look into her eyes. “But then Finlay is worth it.”
…
Finlay had spent the night wondering how he’d misread Charlotte. How had he misinterpreted her reluctant smiles? Had the hitch in her breath right before his lips met hers been a sign of disgust? Had she welcomed him into her home…and later into her bed, because she knew he would be susceptible to her charms?
The endless barrage of questions had left him with a debilitating headache, and he’d sent word to his sister and Darington that he would be unable to attend their dinner party the following night. It was bad enough he had to attend the musicale Townsend had arranged to raise funds for his campaign, but he was not going to subject himself to an evening under the perceptive gaze of his twin.
He should have known his absence would not go unchallenged.
Not thirty minutes after he’d dispatched a footman with his apologies, his sister arrived at Rockhaven House. She didn’t wait for Norris to alert him to her arrival but merely led his beleaguered valet right into his chambers.
“Lud, Fin, you must really be feeling under the weather if you’re in bed on a Friday afternoon.”
He rolled over and glared at her from his cocoon of blankets. “You’ve been abroad for a year. Do you really think I would miss any time I have to spend with you?”
She shrugged. “The Fin I remember might have. Especially if there was some entertaining lark to be had.”
“I’m not that Fin anymore.”
“I know.” She sank onto the bed. “Which is why I am here.”
“Thank you,” he mumbled, touched by her faith in him.
“I’m assuming this megrim has been spawned by thelocket.”
He grunted. “Partly.”
He sensed, more so than saw, his twin go still. After an uncomfortable pause, she said, “Partly?”
Finlay dropped his head to the pillow instead of answering.
Said pillow was promptly snatched away from him, his head hitting the mattress with athump. “What do you mean by partly? Did you find it or not?”
He growled as he snatched the pillow back from her, punching it into shape. “I did. I just don’t have it yet.”
“And why not?”
“Because…”—he pulled himself into a sitting position—“because it’s complicated.”
“Well, tell me why it’s complicated, and I will help you…uncomplicate it.”
He told her of his relationship with Charlotte and how the unassuming, mild-mannered, quick-witted teacher had toppled his defenses and left him vulnerable. He told her about returning to Charlotte’s flat, certain the locket had been left there, only to discover the treacherous woman would not release it.
“Apparently, I cannot read people as well as I thought I could,” he admitted, closing his eyes in disgust.
“If your relationship with Mrs. Taylor was as close as you claim, why would she settle?”
“Because she’s an opportunist.”
“Perhaps. But…”
“But what?” Finlay opened his eyes and glared at Alethea.
“Did you give her any reason to believe you wanted a relationship with her?”
“Not in words, no.” He knotted the bedclothes in his hand. “But, as I could barely stay away from her, I do not see how she could miss that conclusion.”
