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“N othing is wrong, my lord.”

“You are an exhausting woman. One minute I am Anthony and the next Lord Hamilton, or my lord.”

“This is exhausting,” she said. “I had thought it would be a simple matter of getting through the season, but it has turned out to be so much harder, and none of it was of my making.”

“As it is not of mine.”

“I know.” Her shoulders slumped. “If you must know, my sister and I are arguing.”

“What about?” He wandered to another artist and studied his work, and as she had her hand on his arm, she had to follow.

“I’m not sure why I should tell you.”

He handed her another barley sugar, which she took.

“Are you inundated with people you could speak with then, Evangeline? From what I have seen, you are friendless here in London.” He had to be honest with her, because it was the only way to get a reaction.

“I am hardly that.”

Anthony made a show of looking around him.

“They would not all be following me about like ducklings, now, would they?” She frowned in displeasure, and he wondered what it was about this woman that intrigued him. Perhaps it was that she did not flirt with him or drop silly inane comments into a conversation.

“Very well, perhaps you are correct, even if it was rude of you to point out my friendless state,” she said, and then crunched loudly on her barley sugar.

“I’m a rude person. I thought you already knew that.”

“There is that,” she said. “I don’t have friends here, but that is because this is my first season and I am too old to make any, and not worthy of anyone’s attempts to try. However, I have encountered several chaperones that appear nice.”

It angered him she had no friends because she was a far more interesting woman than most in society.

“What are you and your sister arguing over?” he asked.

“I refuse to tell you that, as it will simply give you more ammunition to fire at me.” Her words did not have their usual strength behind them, which told Anthony the argument had upset her.

“Let me guess,” he said. “You have been telling her what to do, and she doesn’t want you to treat her like a child anymore? Or you don’t like Landon, and have exceedingly high standards for Prudence’s future husband, and let her know that?”

He was merely guessing, but Anthony had a sister, and she loathed him attempting to control her.

“You cannot know that.” She shot him a look and their eyes met. It was Evie who pulled away first.

“I’m astute. Ask anyone.”

“Oh, please, everyone thinks you a rogue with no conscience or scruples,” she scoffed.

“But not you?” He wasn’t sure why he’d asked that question, but right then he needed to know the answer.

“I think a man who loves his aunts and did what he did for me last night, and has the respect of his two friends, is not a bad one. But I believe you have no wish for anyone to know that about you.”

“My reputation is justified, Evangeline,” Anthony got out around the lump in his throat. She had seen what others hadn’t.

“I know you want people to believe that, Lord Hamilton.”

His chest felt warm again, as if the cold inside him was thawing.

“There you are!”

Grateful for the distraction, Anthony watched his aunts hurrying toward them while he reminded himself that this was temporary. Evangeline would never be his wife.

“Oh, now look at you both. What a picture you make!” Aunt Petunia said taking Evie’s hands.

“Good day to you, Lord Hamilton.”

“And you, Prudence,” he said to her sister when she arrived with Landon. “A lovely day for a walk.”

Her face looked like Evie’s, sad and worried.

“Some of this artwork is quite stunning,” Landon said.

He was a good man. Fair and had money. But of course, there was the matter of no dowry that he possibly did not know about.

“All is well, my lord?” Prudence asked, as Landon moved on to inspect the paintings again. “Regarding the business with Miss Beasley, I mean?”

“All is well.”

Her eyes went to her sister, who was chatting with his aunts, but she did not speak again, just went to greet his relatives.

“We could not be happier,” Aunt Petunia said, her eyes teary, which made Anthony’s guilt climb. Calling off the engagement would devastate his aunts.

“You must take Evangeline to meet Harriet at once, Anthony,” Aunt Lavinia said suddenly. “It is only right you do so.”

“She lives four hours from London, Aunt. Perhaps another time?” Anthony said.

“The Hampton house party!” Aunt Aggie said suddenly. “Harriet lives nearby. You could introduce your fiancée to her then. It is only a few weeks away, from memory.”

“Oh, we are not attending,” Evie said quickly.

“Of course you are, and we shall see to it,” Aunt Petunia said. “You leave that to us. We will stay with Harriet, but of course will visit you there.”

“I don’t—”

“Don’t fight it,” Anthony whispered in her ear. “Besides, it will have Prudence and Mr. Landon spending time together daily; I will ensure he is invited. There will also be other eligible men there. Plus, it gets you out of London and away from Cavendish.”

She looked like she wanted to argue.

“Wouldn’t you enjoy that, dear?” Aunt Petunia said to Prudence.

“Oh yes, very much so,” she said, which sealed Evie’s fate.

“Excellent,” Aunt Aggie said. “We shall be off then, as we have much to do.”

They always had “much to do.”

“I shall find my way home,” Anthony said.

They left as they had arrived, chattering like a nest of chicks, and Anthony started walking with Evie’s hand on his arm again. He liked the feel of her close, which should worry him a lot more than it did right then.

“My mother was like your Aunt Petunia,” she said as the silence stretched between them.

“What was she like?”

“Strong, determined, and beautiful. We always knew she loved us even when she was cross.”

“You take after her, then?”

She looked at him, brow raised. “Perhaps in the strong and determined part.”

“I’m sure your family know you still love them when you are cross with them, like now,” he added, looking at Prudence, who stood a few feet away with Landon, shooting her sister looks. Neither of them mentioned he thought her beautiful, which she was. Not a classic beauty, but all her own.

“Go and talk to your sister. You are blood. It is important that you always make up after an argument. One never knows what will occur to ensure you don’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“Aunt Aggie lost her husband the day he left the house in a rage. They were arguing over something that she doesn’t even remember, and he fell off his horse and broke his neck.”

“Oh no, that must have been devastating.”

“I don’t think she’s ever recovered,” Anthony said and wondered why he was sharing something so personal with this woman. It was odd how she didn’t ask him questions, and yet he wanted to tell her things. Especially him, a man who never shared anything about himself.

“Then I’m glad she has her sisters and you in her life,” Evie said.

“For better or worse,” he added. Anthony wasn’t sure why he was suddenly doubting the way he’d chosen to live, but it had to stop, and likely would at the end of the season.

“I’m not sure we should attend that house party, Anthony.”

“Why? You will enjoy it, and I’m sure some people attending will be nice. Not all of society are sharks, like me.”

She didn’t laugh at his poor attempt at humor. Instead, she was frowning.

He felt like there was more to her words, but he couldn’t work out what.

“Why don’t you want to go?”

“I don’t like society,” she said, and it sounded lame to both their ears as she was currently entering it most evenings.

Silence was a powerful tool, so he used it then to his benefit as they strolled on.

“As you know, we are here for only a single season, my lord,” she said.

“And we’ve circled back to my lord.”

“As I was saying, a single season,” she said with a bite now to her words. She then paused, clearly unsure how to proceed.

“Just say the words, Evangeline. I already know you are living with two identities and an inch from social ruin.”

As he was looking at her, Anthony saw her head turn to the left and then the right before she spoke.

“How did you realize Mr. Renee was me? No one else did.”

He weighed his answer carefully, not wishing her to think he’d been watching her.

“That day I found you wandering around looking at Lord Bailey’s exotic plants. Your head was bent, exposing the back of your neck. I saw the marks you have there. I then saw them on Mr. Renee the night I realized who you were.”

Her eyes were on her sister’s back, but he knew her thoughts were on what she would say next. Conversing with Evangeline Spencer was entertaining because he never knew what would come out of that lovely mouth.

“Surely others have such marks.”

“You have the foot standing thing also,” Anthony said as he nodded to Mr. Jacobs. The man was so startled he tripped and stumbled several steps but managed to stay upright.

“Foot thing?”

“You put all your weight on the right leg and the left foot rests on top of it, Evangeline. I have seen no one but you do that.”

Anthony was suddenly uncomfortable with how much he knew about this woman.

“I like to observe people, and because I dislike meaningless conversation just for the sake of hearing my own voice, I spend a lot of time doing that.”

“Are you suggesting I like meaningless conversation?” She looked indignant now.

“Where in my statement did you gather that?”

“Nowhere,” she muttered. “Sorry.”

“You must spend a lot of your life apologizing if you are quick to assume everyone is judging you,” Anthony said.

“You have no idea,” she added. “But I am not important or wealthy, so judgment is always a conversation away.”

“How cynical you are, Miss Spencer, but back to why you have no wish to attend the house party.”

Her sigh was loud. “We don’t have enough dresses,” she hissed. “There, are you happy I am completely humiliated?”

“Ecstatic. I woke up this morning thinking how happy I—”

“And you say I am annoying,” she interrupted him.