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“I do,” the earl snapped. “No doubt, as has proven to be the case with my own son, I shall outlive many men far younger than me.”
The duke’s brow lowered to a scowl. “Indeed?”
“I—”
“Oh, what a beautiful piano,” Elizabeth admired lightly as she deliberately cut into the increasingly tense conversation between the two men. The earl’s last comment even seemed to have been bordering on a threat of some kind. “Do you play, Your Grace?”
He turned toward her. “Unfortunately not, but I have made a point of installing a piano in each of my homes, as well as ensuring they are always tuned. I have a cousin, Gwen, whom I have only became acquainted with in recent years, but who very much enjoys playing whenever she and her husband visit me.”
Elizabeth felt curious as to why Bristol had only recently met his cousin.
But the earl spoke before she was able to voice that curiosity. “Would that be the cousin who is married to a parson?” Whitlow made no effort to hide his scorn.
Bristol’s gaze turned glacial. “To my knowledge, I have only the one cousin.”
Elizabeth winced as the conversation once again deteriorated, and rapidly, into one of challenge, if not outright insults. Indeed, she wondered at Bristol having invited them to dine with him at all when he obviously had no liking for the earl.
She refused to believe such a haughtily toplofty gentleman as the Duke of Bristol was genuinely interested in her. No doubt he was only using that pretense of interest as another way to enjoy baiting the older man.
A supposition which must surely bring Bristol’s honor into question, when his reputation said he valued honor above all else?
He certainly seemed to harbor a genuine affection for his cousin Gwen, despite her marriage rendering her as being of far lower social status than he was.
Elizabeth had also heard that the friendship between the Ruthless Dukes was of such a steadfast nature, they had withdrawn even more from Society after one of them had been killed during the battle at Waterloo the previous year.
Two things that surely confirmed Bristol valued friendship and family.
Then why did it seem, at times, as if he might be flirting with her?
A gentleman who was normally socially cold and remote and known for never flirting with any woman.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sterling knew within seconds of looking at Elizabeth again that all of his earlier self-chastisement had been a waste of his time. She really was, without a single doubt, the most beautiful and desirable woman he had ever set eyes upon.
And it was damned inconvenient that he felt that way when he was here to ascertain if Thomas Whitlow had murdered Plymouth, not to seduce and fuck the man’s widow!
But his aroused cock didn’t care about any of that. That, it seemed, only wanted what it wanted.
Andhe, Sterling reminded himself forcefully,was in control of his own body, including his cock.
Wasn’t he?
Sterling was instantly irritated by the fact that even that little voice of doubt had dared to enter his thoughts. But how could it be any other when his cock had engorged the moment Elizabeth walked into the room?
Surely, the reason he felt this raging lust for Elizabeth Marshall had to be because it had been some months since he last found sexual relief in the willing body of a lady of the demimonde? That he was simply in need of a good fuck?
He decided to ignore the fact that he could not recall ever feeling araginglust for any woman before now.
Because no matter the intensity of his desire for her, Sterling needed to be sure of the innocence or guilt of Elizabeth’s husband before he acted upon that emotion. If Marshall should prove guilty, then Sterling also wished to know what Elizabeth’s role had been, if any, in that despicable deed.
But for this evening, at least, his lungs and his senses were filled with the scent and sight of her. Her unique feminine perfume. The exquisite luster to her skin. The beauty of those violet eyes. The fullness of her sensual and moist lips—
Rogers’s appearance in the doorway drew Sterling’s attention, putting an end to the torment of his inner thoughts.
The other man gave a slight nod as indication dinner was ready to be served.
Sterling had thought it best to instruct Rogers they would be eating in the formal dining room this evening rather than the smaller, more intimate room reserved for family. He wouldn’t want to give Whitlow the wrong idea.
