Page 9 of To Pleasure a Prince

Scowling, he bent his head until he was nose to nose with the impudent chit. “They say that you’re a haughty bitch of a beauty who thinks the sun rises and sets for her because she’s daughter to a duke.”

When her glittering gaze met his, he thought he saw hurt in it. But that was absurd. Women like her did not hurt.

“They say you eat small children for breakfast,” she countered. “With jam.”

The deliberate absurdity of that last one startled him. And he didn’t like being startled. He glared down at her. “They call you ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci.’ ”

She thrust her face so close to his that her ostrich feather brushed his forehead. “They callyou‘the Dragon Viscount.’ But that’s because society entertains itself by attaching titillating names to those they fear, envy, or admire. It says nothing about either of our characters, as you, of all people, should know.”

That astute assessment of society gossip gave him pause. Drawing back from her, he said sullenly, “You left out the worst of the gossip about me. That I bullied my mother and forced her to rely on the kindness of friends—your parents, for example. That I refused to honor the terms of my father’s will. That I even used to beat her. Or had you not heard that, too?”

“I heard.”

“Then why didn’t you mention it? Unless—You believe it, don’t you?”

She thrust out her chin. “Should I? Is it true?”

That took him aback. No one had ever bothered to ask him. “You’ll think what you want to, so it hardly matters what I say.”

“It matters to me.”

She said the words so sincerely he almost believed her. And that infuriated him. “Think what you wish then,” he growled. “It makes no difference.”

“Very well, I’ll do that.”

When she said nothing more, he cursed her for not indicating what she’d chosen to believe. Not that he cared what she thought. He didn’t care in the least. Even if shewasthe most attractive female ever to enter his library.

Then she had the audacity to cast him a sultry smile that sent his pulse pounding. “But I don’t know how we got so far off the subject,” she said. “This isn’t about you or me. It’s about Louisa.”

Louisa, right. Damn her, Lady Regina was driving him mad, with her crazy assertions about her brother’s happiness. She was such a little hypocrite. A dangerously seductive, thoroughly enticing hypocrite with a body made for—

He gritted his teeth. This reaction was exactly what Foxmoor had probably hoped for when the man had sent her here, damn it. “Yes,” he said tightly. “We were discussing how you and your brother have corrupted my sister. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even think of going against my wishes. She can be headstrong, but she isn’t a fool.”

She arched one delicate brow. “Clearly you’ve never been in love, or you would understand that two people in love aren’t liable to behave rationally.”

“In love, hah. After a couple of dances at her come-out?” A sudden chill seized him. Circling around her, he headed for the fireplace. “They can’t have seen each other beyond that.”

“Girls do wander onto balconies at parties, you know.” She watched as he reached for the poker. “And gentlemen enamored of them do follow them into gardens. Attraction can blossom into love after only a few encounters.”

He stabbed the poker into the fire. “My sister might fancy herself in love, but that brother of yours has no such noble motives.”

“If you think my brother would attempt to steal your sister’s virtue—”

“No, that would certainly not be to his advantage.” Not if this courtship had anything to do with Prinny, as Marcus suspected.

She blinked. “You can’t possibly think he wants her fortune. He has one of his own.”

“Good.” Thrusting the poker aside, he faced her. “Because if she does marry him, I’ll cut her off. He won’t get a penny from me.”

When Lady Regina eyed him as if he were a slug, he considered taking back the blatant lie. He’d only said it so she would think twice about helping the couple.

“Such a threat is unlikely to keep my brother from courting your sister,” she said quietly. “It will merely encourage them to sneak around behind your back. And make me more than happy to help them.”

“What? And risk a scandal?” He sneered at her. “You would never do that.”

She assessed him coldly. “If they’re willing to risk scandal to be happy, then I’m certainly willing to help.”

He bit back an oath. Perhaps it was time Lady Regina learned Foxmoor’s true character. Because if she actually believed all that rot about love, she might not approve of his machinations.