Page 61 of Unmasking the Earl

He lifted a brow at Cassie. After a moment, she dipped her hand into the cleft between her breasts and fished for the key.

Ye gods, how much he wanted to help her with that! But with his beloved, long-lost, and suffering sister standing right behind him, he knew he must summon up all his strength and curb his improper lusts.

Cassie knew exactly what she was doing, the little tease. Her eyes never left his as she felt about in her bodice, and the half-smile that sneaked onto her face informed him that she had learned her lessons in seduction well. She was quickly mastering how to gain the upper hand in the game of love.

He stifled a groan as she brought the key out and leaned past his shoulder to present it to Georgiana.

“If you promise not to upset your sister, I’ll go back to Portia’s now, so you two can discuss your family matters in private,” Cassie said. “Matthews can escort me, then return with your things, Ned, if you wish to stay here with Lady Georgiana.”

He hesitated, and became lost in the warm depths of those hazel eyes. He desperately wanted her to stay. But she was right. He hadn’t seen his sister in six months, and there was so much that needed to be said and planned for.

He shook off his need for Cassie, along with his craving for immediate revenge. “Very well, Wycherley escapes retribution. For now. However, I can’t say the same for you, Miss Blythe. We will talk later.”

Her smile told him she thought she’d won. Well, she would have to think again. Summoning up his very best manners, he raised her hand to his lips, swept her an elegant bow, then ushered her outside and into the care of Matthews.

He hurried back inside, and as soon as the door was closed, he enfolded Georgiana in his arms and held her there for a long time in silence, lost in the heady mix of love and relief swirling in his heart, and offering up silent prayers of thanks.

“Words can’t say how happy I am to have found you again,” he whispered.

“As am I, my darling brother.”

She glanced up, and he saw her eyes were moist. He couldn’t stand to see her cry. He never had been able to. He pulled her back and gave her another long embrace.

Eventually, she pulled back and gave him a warm smile. “You like Miss Blythe,” she said after a brief hesitation.

“The girl’s a menace,” he responded, not wanting to talk about Cassie at the moment.

“On the contrary,” Georgiana said knowingly. “I think she has a good heart. She’s thoughtful and kind.”

“And infuriating, and misguided, and headstrong.”

Georgiana laughed as they made their way back into the parlor. “Is she the one Francis told me about? With the lessons?”

Ned grimaced. “You see my point, then.”

“Francis saw no harm in them, just a little innocent tutoring in flirtation. With the prospect that, at the end of it, Miss Blythe would get the husband she wanted.”

Ned’s skin went cold. “She won’t get Mr. Carnforth,” he informed her. “He’s infatuated with the same Lady Lucy with whom your Captain Wycherley has been having an affair. Carnforth thinks of Cassie as a sister. I’m sorry to be blunt, but there it is.”

Georgiana stoked up the fire in the range and filled a kettle from the kitchen pump. “Poor Miss Blythe. But that is good for you, isn’t it?”

“Why would you say such a thing?” he asked. How did they get on this topic, anyway? He’d stayed to discuss Georgiana, not his love life.

“Because I’ve never seen you look at a woman like that before.”

“I don’t want to have this conversation,” he stated, crossing to the window and drumming his fingers on the sill.

Outside, a robin flitted from branch to branch of a plum tree, making the young green fruits quiver as it passed.

“She would make you an excellent wife,” Georgiana said, laying out tea things on the table. “You wouldn’t want someone who can’t stand up to you. Someone sweet but dull. You’d never be bored with Miss Blythe.”

She didn’t know the half of it, he thought as he gazed out at the lane which Cassie and Matthews had taken back to Aston.

“Is she of good family?” she asked softly, when he remained silent.

He turned from the window, and his sister looked so earnest, he gave in and said, “Quite. Not titled, but her family traces itself back to the Conqueror. Georgiana, why are you grinning at me like that?” he demanded irritably.

“Ladies don’t grin. They smile secretively.”