Page 25 of The Lady Was Lying (Greydon #3)

“Nothing at all. I simply wanted to speak with you.” She waited until he stopped in front of her to add, “The scandal sheets have it wrong, don’t they?”

“What scandal sheets?” There was so much gossip, it was difficult to keep up.

Not that he was trying particularly hard.

“When did you meet Lady Belinda?” she asked, ignoring his question.

He stiffened. “At her sister’s debut.”

“The same night you met Lady Greydon.”

“Indeed.” It wasn’t as if he could deny it.

“But you didn’t dance with Lady Belinda then.”

“I did not.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“For what?” he asked.

“I should have realized sooner.” She seemed softer, maybe even calmer, and significantly less fraught than she’d been since well before they’d arrived in London.

“I misunderstood your motivation for staying. I assumed you were being reckless and stubborn for no good reason.” The edges of her mouth turned up.

“In my defense, I didn’t realize you’d already met her. ”

“Her?”

“The woman you want to marry.”

Heat spread onto his cheeks. “You refer to Belinda.”

“Obviously.”

“But—”

She held up her hand. “I’m not blind. Do not suggest I didn’t understand what I saw this afternoon.”

“What did you see?” he asked nervously. Would the scandal sheets tomorrow show him leering at Belinda instead of Jane? Or would they completely ignore that she had been pressed against his side for the entire conversation with his mother?

“Your future wife,” she replied.

His heart stuttered. “You think?”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Am I wrong?”

“I couldn’t say.” He wished he could, but understanding Belinda was nearly impossible.

“You don’t like her?”

“It isn’t that.” He liked her very much.

“She seems different from other young ladies. I’m not sure exactly why, but Lady Elias does not like her. Told me she was loose.”

Was loose a proper descriptor? Or did Lady Elias only see what she wanted to see?

Lowering himself into the adjacent chair, he stared into the fireplace. “I cannot say whether she is loose, but Belinda has told me on more than one occasion that she is not interested in me.”

“And how many times has she told you that she is interested?”

“In marriage, never. In me…it’s complicated,” he admitted. “She wavers between reluctant and eager for my company. Sometimes she ignores me entirely, and other times she seeks me out. It’s difficult to tell whether she hates me or likes me or doesn’t care one way or another.”

“But you like her?”

“Maybe.” He straightened as soon as he spoke.

“I mean, yes. In spite of the fact that she confuses me and regularly tests my patience, she is the only woman I’ve met whom I cannot ignore and look forward to seeing.

” His fingers drummed a pattern on his knee.

“I cannot be sure, but at times it seems as if she is trying to match me with Jane. Others as if she wants to keep us apart.”

“Hmm. Maybe she believes the scandal sheets too. Or she isn’t sure of how she feels.” Her lips pursed and she tapped her finger against them. “Why isn’t Lady Belinda married already?”

“She isn’t interested.” He wished he knew why.

“Every woman wants to marry.”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

She held up one finger. “Let me amend. Every woman wants to marry once she has met the right person.”

“And you think I’m the right person?”

“Yes.”

Her answer sparked something in him. What would it mean to be right for Belinda? “You’ve only met her once and spoken to her briefly.”

“I know you ,” she replied. “Contrary to my recent behavior, your happiness is paramount to me, and I don’t need to know her better to recognize that she is the one you want. I could tell just by looking at you together.”

He couldn’t fathom what she’d seen. “Just because you think we are right for each other doesn’t mean I can have her. Life does not work that way.”

“You are a duke,” she stated, as if his title made any difference.

“I don’t think she cares that I’m a duke.”

“But don’t you see…that is how you know you can trust her.”

It made a strange amount of sense, but he wasn’t sure if it would be enough. After their inauspicious start, would Belinda ever allow herself to trust him? “What if I am not the one for her?”

“Then you convince her that you are,” she replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “She already knows about your father?”

“Yes. She believes that it would behoove me to marry sooner rather than later, just like you.”

“She told you that you should marry?”

“Indeed.”

“Without suggesting herself as an option?”

“The opposite actually.”

His mother’s eyes were in danger of popping out of her head. “You’ve already asked her to marry you?”

“Not at all. She told me she wouldn’t marry me before she told me I should marry sooner rather than later.”

“Hmm. You’ve had many conversations?”

“More than a few.” It was strange to realize he’d enjoyed them all, even the ones that had infuriated him.

“Well, that is encouraging. She wouldn’t talk to you if she weren’t interested, but since you haven’t managed to capture her heart yet, what is your plan to do so?”

He hated to admit it, but, “I don’t necessarily have a plan.”

She blinked once. And then again. “No plan?”

He winced at the judgment in her voice. “She doesn’t want to be courted. If I approach her directly, she will reject me.”

“Truly?”

He nodded.

“I will help you. Whatever you need.”

“What? No.” What did she think she could do?

“Yes. I have not been a good mother since your father’s death. Call it grief. Or fear. Or cowardice. I’ve fought with you and argued with you and blamed you for things entirely outside of your control. Let me help you convince Lady Belinda to be your wife.”

“I appreciate your support, and if there is anything you can do, I will certainly come to you. For now, I believe the wisest course of action is to keep my burgeoning feelings to myself and rely on frequent proximity to ease her into a courtship.”

His mother’s nose wrinkled. “What if she doesn’t recognize your interest?”

“She recognizes it.” He was nearly certain. “The trick is going to be getting her to accept it.”

“If anyone can manage it, you can.”

His mother’s faith in him was encouraging, even if it might be misplaced. He couldn’t help but feel as if, the more support he had, the better his chances of succeeding.