Page 59 of Last Duke Standing

“I would never,” he said and put his hand on hers and gave it a bit of a squeeze. “I would be a fool to question your counsel of yourself.” He winked at her.

And Justine’s heart fluttered madly.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PRINCESSJUSTINERETURNEDto the hall looking a bit windblown. She’d left Lord Douglas on the drive, Lila noticed, looking a bit windblown himself as he waited for a footman to bring him his hat and riding cloak.

But Lila had other things to think about in that moment: the princesses were furious.

Princess Amelia declared herself a victim of Aggiani’s advances, her honor stained. She stubbornly refused to entertain Justine’s idea that perhaps she had helped to stain it. Princess Amelia was so adamant that she had done nothing wrong that she flounced from the room, loudly proclaiming that no one ever cared what she thought.

Princess Justine was just as displeased, but for very different reasons. The moment her sister left the room, she turned gold eyes dark as honey to Lila. “Why did you not dismiss him straightaway as I asked?”

“I beg your pardon, Your Royal Highness, but it took a bit of negotiation.”

“Negotiation! What possible negotiation would he be entitled to?”

“He was concerned what might be said to his father about the incident.”

The princess stared at Lila. But her gaze slid to Lady Bardaline, who was very close to them, her ears practically pointed at the princess like a shepherd’s dog. Lila could tell the princess didn’t want to speak in front of her lady’s maid, which she found curious, because she certainly had no qualms about speaking her mind all day long in front of Lord Douglas.

“Lady Bardaline...could you see after the supper arrangements?” Lila asked.

Lady Bardaline jerked her gaze to Lila. “Ah...” She obviously did not want to be dismissed, but appeared to weigh her options. She at last gave a curt nod. “Of course.” She quit the room, leaving Lila alone with Princess Justine.

But she did not close the door as she exited, so Lila did it for her. When she turned back, the princess was glaring at her. “Your Royal Highness—”

“Before you utter a word,” Princess Justine said, “you should know that what happened here today was a calamity of the highest order. It was wretched in everypossibleway.”

“It was indeed,” Lila agreed and bowed her head apologetically. “He was a true reprobate.”

The princess’s brows rose. “Then why did you invite him here?”

“Shall we sit?”

“No! Tell me why.”

“Very well.” Lila had to proceed carefully here. Of course she had no way of knowing that Aggiani would present himself to be an ass. She hadn’t expected the princess to care for him, but she hadn’t expected he would be caught with her sister, either, for heaven’s sake. Valentin would laugh when he heard this tale. But she needed to get the princess past Aggiani’s terrible mistake if she was to have any hope of making the match she had planned for the princess. “There is a method to proper matchmaking that may be difficult for the layperson to understand. But sometimes it’s helpful to have someone who might test compatibility with a subject in a variety of ways.”

The princess’s dark brows knitted.“What?”

“It’s the way I go about finding a perfect match for you, ma’am. I never expected you to think Principe di Aggiani was anything other than a gentleman with too many flowers. I didn’t believe he would suit you for more than a pleasant afternoon.”

The princess glared at her. “Are youtriflingwith me, Lady Aleksander?”

“I am not. I can confidently say now that I’ve seen a few things—”

“Whatthings?”

“Well, for example, I didn’t know for certain if infidelity was something that would concern you.”

As she expected, the princess gaped at her. “Are youmad?”

Lila clasped her hands tightly at her waist. “I certainly hope not.” The princess’s frown deepened. “Some people in your position care only for the strength of national alliances in a potential mate, and not conjugal compatibility. Particularly.”

Princess Justine’s eyes were wide with disbelief now. Lila hardly believed herself. “And I wasn’t certain if you...would you say you are one of those people?”

“No,I am not one of those people,” the princess said angrily. “Could you not simply have asked me thisthing? Compatibility in all its forms is very important to me. You said you would find someone compatible to me!”

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