Page 6 of The Study of Seduction

He sobered, his gaze turning oddly intense even for him. “Do you? I’m not so sure.”

The words hung in the air a moment in frozen silence before that was shattered by her cousin’s approach.

“I found another book you might enjoy, old boy,” Warren said as he bent to kiss first his aunt, then Clarissa. “It’s about automatons.”

She rolled her eyes as Warren handed it to Edwin. Of course, keen interest leapt in Edwin’s face the moment he scanned the cover. The earl did love his automatons, to the point where he even made his own, though Clarissa had never been deemed worthy enough to actually see one.

“Looks intriguing, thanks. I’ll get it back to you as soon as I’m done.”

“No hurry.” Warren shot her a veiled glance. “As you well know, I won’t need it anytime soon.”

Whatever was that about?

Before she could ponder it, Warren offered Mama his arm. “Come, Aunt, let’s get you off your feet while we have our wine before dinner. Don’t want to tax your hip overmuch.”

“Thank you, my lad,” she cooed, and let him lead her to the breakfast room. “That is ever so thoughtful of you! But then, you always were a dear. Why, I remember when . . .”

As Mama prattled on, Edwin was left to come behind with Clarissa. “So,” he murmured, “exactly what were you refusing to save for me?”

It took her a moment to remember that he’d overheard her earlier. “The biggest slice of cake.”

“I don’t like cake.”

“I know. That’s why I’m not wasting it on you. You won’t appreciate it, and you’d probably eat it just to be polite.”

He slanted a serious glance at her. “Perhaps I’d give it to you, instead.”

“I doubt that, but we’ll never know, shall we?” she said lightly. “I’m saving it for myself, regardless.”

“So I heard.”

“Because you were eavesdropping.” Mischief seized her. “How rude of you.”

As they passed into the breakfast room, he shrugged. “If you don’t want people hearing your pronouncements, you shouldn’t talk at the volume of a dockworker.”

Mama paused while settling onto the settee. “A dockworker! For shame, Edwin—what a thing to say to a lady! Have you no pretty compliments to offer?”

When he stood blatantly unrepentant, Clarissa said, “If Edwin knew how to compliment ladies, Mama, he would be too popular in society to settle for having dinner with the mere likes ofus.”

“There’s no settling involved, I assure you,” he said irritably.

She was congratulating herself on getting beneath his cool reserve again when Warren stepped in. “Play nice now, cousin. We need him.”

“For what?” Clarissa asked.

Instead of answering, Warren gestured to the settee. “You’d better sit down. I’ve got something to tell you and your mother.”

Two

A short while later, Edwin watched as Clarissa demanded answers of her cousin. “And this letter from Niall requesting your help was just sitting here waiting for you? How long?”

“Only a few days,” Warren said.

“They should have sent it on!”

“We would have missed it, then. We were already on our way here.”

“And why did he send it to you, not us?”