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“You’ll not be rid of me that easily, sweeting,” he murmured and squeezed her hand.
Her mouth went dry. She dearly wished she had the fortitude to walk away from him entirely. But three days without him had weakened her just a little.
They’d almost reached the supper room when Griff and Rosalind accosted them.
“Hello, Templemore.” Griff’s rigid stance and curt tone belied the seeming cordiality of his greeting. “What brings you to London?”
Sebastian glanced down at her with unmistakable affection. “A certain young lady.”
Juliet groaned. He might as well have written “MINE” in ink across her forehead. “Actually, Lord Templemore is in town to find out more about his missing brother. He’s never given up hope of finding him, though I fear he’s doomed to disappointment. In that, as in other things.”
“Ah, Lady Juliet, such a pessimist you are,” Sebastian rumbled. “But as you know, I’m a determined sort, and I don’t brook disappointment.”
“I for one am very glad to see you, Lord Templemore,” Rosalind burst out, as if she couldn’t contain herself any longer. “I know you’ll be interested in what Lady Brumley was just telling me before Griff found me.”
Beaming at Juliet, Rosalind lowered her voice. “Apparently, there’s a new rumor sweeping the ballroom—that Lord Montfort took it upon himself earlier today to check into the claims about you. He’s now pronouncing to everyone his discovery that they were utterly false.”
Griff looked perplexed. “That’s an abrupt reversal from an hour ago, isn’t it?”
“It certainly is,” Juliet said, musing over this strange new twist of events.
Rosalind winked at Sebastian. “You wouldn’t happen to know what brought it about, would you, my lord? There are some young gentlemen who claim you were looking for the duke earlier.”
Juliet glanced to Sebastian in surprise. “Is this true? Did you have a part in this? And if so, why didn’t you tell me?”
Sebastian shrugged. “I couldn’t be sure that Montfort would respond to my…er…suggestions. But yes, I spoke to him. I didn’t think it fair that you be maligned for what my brother did.”
“I spoke to him, too,” Griff said gruffly, “but Montfort was determined to ruin her, and I couldn’t sway him. However did you convince him to relent?”
“As I told you before,” Sebastian said smoothly, “I knew Montfort when we were younger. I merely appealed to his sense of decency.”
Griff’s eyes narrowed. “Montfort has no sense of decency.”
Sebastian stared him down. “Then let’s just say that my arguments left him no room for refusal.” He glanced over to where the duke stood with a gaggle of his gossipy friends, and his jaw went taut. “He won’t trouble Lady Juliet again, I swear.”
His hard tone made fear leap in Juliet’s belly. “Oh, please say you didn’t challenge him!” she cried.
His gaze swung back to her, soft and faintly amused. “Would you care?”
“Of course I would care!”
A smile blazed across his face. “I didn’t challenge him. I merely pointed out to him the advantages of reversing his story.”
“Oh, Lord Templemore,” Rosalind gushed, “we owe you such a debt of gratitude!”
“Then again,” Griff grumbled, “your brother was the one to cause all this in the first place. The least you could do was set matters to rights.”
“Griff, really!” Rosalind protested. “You shouldn’t be so ungracious!”
Griff’s suspicious gaze fixed on Sebastian. “I was merely stating facts.”
“It’s all right, Lady Rosalind,” Sebastian put in quickly. “He does have a point.”
“Perhaps so,” Rosalind retorted, “but pay his rudeness no mind. He’s been grousing and mumping about ever since we left Shropshire.”
“Mumping!” Griff looked offended. “I haven’t done any such thing.”
“Yes, you have.” Rosalind leaned toward Sebastian confidentially. “He’s been very worried about this situation with Juliet, you see. And no matter what he says, I assure you we’re all very grateful for your help.”
