Page 30 of Undercover Duke

“You know very well whom I mean. Miss Pryde. Cora’s daughter.”

“She is hardlymyyoung lady.”

“Oh? She as much as told me you were courting.”

“Did she?” Why should that surprise him? It was exactly what they were supposed to be doing—pretending to court. “I suppose the cat is out of the bag now.”

“You were trying to keep it secret?” Mother asked in a deceptively neutral tone.

No wonder she hadn’t probed him about Thorn’s remark. She’d been saving her ammunition for this.

Then he wouldn’t disappoint her. “Secret from you? Absolutely. I know how you get when you’re trying to determine if someone is good enough for one of your children.”

She looked insulted. “And how is that?”

He hid a smile. “Nosy, intrusive, frighteningly direct.”

“For your information, I was none of those things.” She sniffed. “I merely wanted to make sure you weren’t taking advantage of her.”

Sheridan tensed. “Now why would I do such a thing?”

“So you can get close to her mother and find out what Cora knows about my first husband’s murder.”

Damn. His mother was far too intuitive. It was how she’d survived all the deaths—the murders, possibly—of her husbands. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“Isn’t it? You’re playing with the heart of a lovely young woman. I’d rather see none of you solve Maurice’s murder than have you harm an innocent like Miss Pryde.”

He drew himself up. “Do you really think me capable of that, Mother?”

“I think you capable of . . . doing what you must to get what you want.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he said sarcastically. “But Miss Pryde isn’t remotely interested in me.”

His mother cocked her head to one side. “No?”

“No. She has her heart set on Juncker. And I promised to help her get him by courting her so she could make him jealous.”

“Juncker? Theplaywright?”

“What other Juncker is there?” he said irritably.

Mother burst into laughter. “Oh! Oh, dear . . . that’s rich.”

“What’s so funny?”

She shook her head. “You poor deluded fools.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “To whom are you referring?”

“You and Miss Pryde, of course.” She patted his shoulder. “I withdraw my concern. Clearly the two of you have everything quite well in hand.” She walked away. “Juncker! What a lark.”

All he could do was stand there staring after her. It appeared that losing his father had unhinged his mother at last.

Vanessa couldn’t find her uncle anywhere. Where could he have gone? It was long past midnight, and after a play, several dances, and a supper, she was ready to go home.

She wandered down a hall and heard chatter coming from behind closed doors. When she peeked inside, she found not only her uncle and Mr. Juncker playing cards as partners but Sheridan cheering them on.

He had practically come to blows with Mr. Juncker earlier, and now they were jovially ribbing each other about the cards? Discussing the quality of the champagne they were drinking, and Lord knows what else?