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Have a seat, Thomas.
It may as well have been his father speaking.
“Have your say, Lily.”
She frowned. “I daresay you know where I’m going with this, Thomas.”
“To be honest, Lily, I haven’t the faintest idea. But do get on with it.”
Lily cleared her throat. “Lady Tricia.”
For the love of God… Thomas raked his fingers through his disheveled hair, nudging the place where he’d hit his head on the desk. The pain sprang up again.
Lily knew. His sister knew.
“How in God’s holy hell?—”
Lily held up a hand. “That’s not important. What is important is what you plan to do about it.”
“I shan’t force her into marriage. As I recall, you weren’t the least bit thrilled when the duke tried to do the same to you.”
“I didn’t fancy myself in love with the duke.”
“Don’t be absurd. Tricia is no more in love with me than I am with her.”
But the words as he said them didn’t ring true. For Tricia… Or for himself.
“None of what you’re saying matters,” Lily went on. “Lady Tricia is not me.”
“She acts a lot like you sometimes.”
Lily wrinkled her nose. “Well, she’s not me. She does fancy herself in love with you, Thomas. And I am afraid you may have broken her heart as well as her body.”
“She didn’t have any complaints,” Thomas said dryly.
Lily turned away. “Spare me the details, please. If Mummy knew what you had done… Or God forbid, Cameron… Good Lord, even Daniel would force you to do the right thing.”
“Daniel doesn’t have a lot to say about what I’ve done after what he did to you.”
Lily turned back to Thomas and took a step toward his desk. “But he did the right thing, Thomas. Of course, I fought him. I didn’t want to marry him, but it turned out that…”
“What, Lily? You’ve never been one to hold back your thoughts and feelings.”
“This isn’t something I thought I’d ever discuss with my brother,” Lily said, “but I’m a married woman now, so I suppose there’s no harm. To be honest, looking back, I would have never allowed Daniel to do what he did if I hadn’t had feelings for him.”
“Don’t give me that poppycock,” Thomas said. “You barely knew the man.”
“True, but I felt something. His love of art, I suppose, is what drew me to him. The fact that he had a Vermeer in his bedroom, of all places. And?—”
Thomas held up his hand. “Stop right there. I’ve no need to know more detail, Lily. As it stands I’m about ready to lose my meal.”
“I don’t intend to offer any more of the lurid details,” she said. “But know only this. That young lady deserves happiness. Right now, she thinks she can find it with you.”
Thomas looked down at the collection of miscellaneous papers strewn about his desk. “I have too many other responsibilities. I shall take a wife and do my duty. But I’m not looking for a love match.”
“Have you forgotten that Mummy and Papa had a love match?”
“No, I’m not forgetting that at all. But…”
