Page 73 of To Pleasure a Prince

“You must swear it on your honor,” Marcus demanded.

Foxmoor’s eyes gleamed with anger. “I swear it on my honor. There, is that good enough for you?”

“I’m satisfied,” Marcus retorted.

“Thank you, Simon,” Regina said.

And that’s when it hit Marcus. He was getting everything he wanted—marriage to ReginaandFoxmoor out of Louisa’s life.

A smile broke over his face. “This calls for a celebration,” he said, feeling suddenly magnanimous. He held out one arm to Regina and one to Louisa. “Come, ladies, we might as well return to the assembly room and dispel any nasty rumors that might have begun. We have a wedding to announce.”

Hours later on the ride home with Simon and Cicely, Regina stared out the window, her mind in turmoil.

Part of her was ridiculously delighted to be marrying Marcus. The other part couldn’t stop thinking about the unsavory discussion that had led to it. When Marcus had made ending his sister’s courtship a condition for their own marriage, Regina had wanted to strangle him. How could he humiliate her like that?

Then she’d seen Simon’s face, and an awful suspicion had begun to plague her. It would not go away. She didn’t dare voice it until they were alone, however, because she could be wrong. She prayed she was wrong.

As soon as they arrived at the town house Cicely went off to bed, and Regina and Simon went to her sitting room. She chose her words carefully to avoid putting him on his guard. She needed honesty from him, if such a thing existed.

“I want to thank you for your sacrifice, Simon. I’m sorry you have to postpone your marriage plans because I acted foolishly. I feel so guilty for putting you in that position—”

“Nonsense, dear girl, you’ve done me a favor.”

“I don’t see how.” Unable to look at him, she walked to her writing desk—her useless, ornamental writing desk—and pretended to search for notepaper. “Now you have to wait two years to court Louisa.”

“Do you really think I shall stop courting the girl because your idiot betrothed makes me swear not to?”

No, she didn’t. Unfortunately. “So you plan to see her behind his back?”

“It’s perfect. After your marriage, you’ll go off on your honeymoon—”

“Honeymoon?” she squeaked, temporarily distracted from her questions.

“Of course you’ll have a honeymoon trip. Why shouldn’t you?”

Oh, Lord, a trip alone with Marcus. Without Cicely to help her.

She shook off her panic. She would talk Marcus out of it somehow. And even if she couldn’t, how much reading could she possibly be expected to do on her honeymoon? Honeymoons were for—

She blushed. Perhaps she could manage it without Cicely, after all.

“As I was saying,” he went on, “while you’re on your honeymoon, I can easily arrange to see Louisa and convince her to go against her brother’s wishes.”

His words brought her forcibly back to her suspicions. Her awful suspicions.

“If I have her compliance,” Simon continued, “it won’t even matter when you return, since you’ll keep Draker happily distracted at Castlemaine while I—”

“Arrange secret meetings between His Highness and Louisa.”

A shocked silence was her answer.

She turned to face him. “Thatisyour plan, isn’t it?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Her temper exploded. “Don’t lie to me! Because of you, I involved myself with Lord Draker, so I think I deserve the truth.”

He shot her a defensive glance. “His Highness merely wants one damned meeting with his own daughter—”