Page 4 of The Seduction of Lord Sin
She pressed off Sin’s chest and he held back a groan at her touch. Her voice sounded like a bird in song. “You should be on a white charger, Lord Devlin, to come to my rescue. Just teasing. Thank you, but I am in safe hands.”
Devlin flashed a look at Sin and scowled. “I’m not sure about that. I suspect His Grace is lost.”
She looked at Sin. Her stunning eyes sparkled with humor. “He could have woken me to learn how to reach Ivy Close. I wonder if he is not enjoying this ride a little too much.”
He relished her flirtation. There was no ‘wonder’ about it, and she could feel the evidence of that. He couldn’t help the smile that broke over his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Devlin shake his head. “Well, let’s get you home and have you looked at properly.”
“I would like that. And a hot bath. Lead on Lord Devlin.” With that, she promptly settled back against his chest and closed her eyes again.
Sin glanced up and noted Devlin’s frown. He merely shrugged and silently mouthed, ‘you invited me, remember?’
It wasn’t until they were walking up the treelined drive of what must be Ivy Close that Sin thought about Devlin’s frown and obvious silent disapproval of his flirtation with their hostess. Realization made Sin want to hit himself in the face.
He glanced across at his best friend, and his heart sank at the look of desolate resolution on his face. Sin had to keep reminding himself that the house party they were heading to was a lark for him. Another amusement to chase away his ghosts. His cravat seemed to tighten around his throat as the painful memories engulfed him.
However, for Warrick Sneddon, Marquis of Devlin, thiswasdoing his duty. He was heading to a wealthy widow’s house party hoping to meet a wealthy lady to be the savior of his family’s crumbling, bankrupt estate. No wonder he wanted Sin along for support.
He was a terrible friend. Here he was flirting with one woman who could save Devlin’s family and estates. She was a widow and wealthy, to boot. Perhaps Devlin didn’t care about the other ladies who would be present. Lady Charlotte would fit his needs.
The late Lord Clayton must have loved Lady Charlotte very much to leave her with such a wealthy bequeath. Marriage to Lady Charlotte would be the answer to Devlin’s prayers.
The idea of a dalliance with his lovely hostess withered along with his erection. Devlin needed this woman more than he did.
There would be other lovely ladies in attendance to dally with. He let disappointment flood him. The woman in his arms fired his blood.
He wanted her. That should have been enough to make him wary. He’d not lose his heart again to any woman. He needed a wife, but not one that stirred him.
Why had he accepted Devlin’s invitation? Should he stay?
Warm curves stirred in his arms, and she looked up at him through half closed eyelashes and smiled. Any thought of leaving took flight, along with his concern for his friend.
And he hated that.
ChapterTwo
The men were pretty much left to themselves for dinner, as Lady Charlotte and Lady Flora Battling, her friend staying for the house party, attended to Charlotte’s wounds from her fall. Sin missed her company but understood Charlotte would feel her injuries and be sore for a few days.
The other guests would arrive over the next day and Sin decided to use the time until their arrival to find out Devlin’s plans for this house party. The two men were sitting by the fire in the billiard room. They’d already played a few games and were now content to drink brandy and reminisce.
“When are you going to tell me the real reason for attending this social function? You seemed most displeased at my flirtation with Lady Charlotte. She’s not a young debutante whose reputation I must protect. She’s a widow who looks to be nearer our age.”
Devlin rested his head on the back of the leather chair and sighed. “Why do you think I needed you here? You are here to turn her head so she will avoid me. Alternatively, I need someone to make me do what we both know I have to do—offer her my hand in marriage.”
“You could do a lot worse than marriage to her.”
The thirty-year-old Marquis of Devlin, the Devil to his friends, grimaced. “She is a gracious lady. I’ve known the family for years. Her stepson, Tobin, is one of my closest friends. As you well know, our estate is on the Devon-Cornwall border near Plymouth, only twenty-five miles north of here. I was in this house a lot as a young man as it was the Earl’s hunting and fishing lodge. I can remember her wedding to Tobin’s father. She was a year younger than I was and I thought at the time that it was an odd match. But then she was a baron’s daughter and Clayton was an earl in need of a spare. I believe her father was desirous of such a match.”
Tobin, the current Earl of Clayton, and Charlotte’s stepson, had been at school with Devlin—they were the same age, whereas Sin was a year older.
“Tobin’s sister, Dharma, loves her too. She can’t stop singing Charlotte’s praises. Lottie invited me to her house party, and I’m both hoping and dreading that she is contemplating a match.”
“Have you been corresponding?”
Devlin shook his head. “I have not seen her since she became a widow over eighteen months ago because I missed her husband’s funeral. She isn’t a classic beauty, but she is—interesting—perhaps striking is a better word. She’s very tall, almost my height.”
For a man who was looking at the perfect solution to solve all his family’s problems, his demeanor was more like a man facing the gallows.
“What is holding you back?”
