Page 20 of Lords, Ladies and Love

Whatever the family situation was with the Templetons, he could no longer convince himself that Angel was capable of cheating his aunt.

And that was yet another reason for him to leave.

He sighed to himself. Another week. Just one more. Then he could be assured all was well, and he could spend more time with… No, that was not a suitable reason for wishing to remain here. No matter what he thought of Lady Angel Templeton, he had not come here to…to flirt. Not that he even knew how. His experience with women was not atrocious nor had he been particularly interested in gaining the opposite sex’s attention. His work and younger sisters kept him far too busy.

Until now.

Tightening his grip on the cup until the delicate china shook in his hand, he dropped it quickly on the table before he made a show of himself. He caught himself pinching the bridge of his nose again. This entire situation was untenable. He should remove himself from it as soon as possible.

“Your nephew really is a handsome fellow,” one of the ladies declared as though he was not even there. He glanced at the frizzy-haired lady who scanned his person as though he were some meat hanging in the butchers. Now he understood howAngel felt when Cartwright had insisted on doing the same to her. He fidgeted in his seat, and his gaze caught on Angel’s lips as they quirked in an attempt to keep her amusement at bay.

“Is he not the most handsome man in Berkshire?” Aunt Jean said with a wide grin. “Many a lady has hoped for him to ask for their hand, but he has yet to settle. Too much time spent escorting his sisters around.” His aunt gave a dramatic sigh. “I had so longed for children in the family before I passed.”

Reuben frowned to himself. His oldest sister had two children—though with her husband in the military none of them saw them as much as they liked. He somehow doubted his aunt was forgetting that, though.

Or at least not without purpose.

“Aunt, you know—”

“I have several granddaughters who are quite accomplished and have wonderful figures,” commented another of the ladies. Reuben had given up keeping track of who was who approximately five minutes into this affair.

“They would be lucky to have him,” Aunt Jean said proudly.

“Oh they would indeed.” One of the ladies lifted her glasses in front of her and peered at him through them. This made her eyes bug out of her head through the glass from his viewpoint, and he hardly knew where to look.

Not at Angel, whose eyes were beginning to sparkle with mirth.

Aunt Jean took a casual sip of tea. “I have yet to see a man with such bearing anywhere else. Do you not think, Angel?”

Angel blinked and straightened in her seat. She gave him a long, slow perusal, forcing him to tug on his cravat. Who thought it would be a good idea to entertain in this parlor room? The sunlight streaking in had turned it as hot as hell.

Her gaze locked onto his for what may have been mere seconds, but it felt an eternity. He glanced down to her lipswhere they curved at the edges. Lips that, were they not surrounded by old ladies, he might well have risen from his seat and tried to taste. He gripped the arms of his chair with both hands.

“Well?” his aunt prompted.

Angel nodded slowly. “Yes, you are right, Mrs. Stone. He has a bearing quite unlike any other.”

Reuben scowled. Now what did she mean by that?

“And he really is handsome indeed. He should find a wife before he gets too old and provide you with lots of children, Mrs. Stone.” Amusement crinkled the corner of her eyes while his aunt’s friends nodded rapidly. “We should host some of your granddaughters,” she suggested to the ladies. “They are sure to fall for him with such good looks and regal bearing.”

He tightened his grip on the chair and narrowed his gaze at her.

Aunt Jean clapped her hands together. “Oh that is—”

“Of course,” Angel continued. “You would risk a fight between all the ladies so perhaps we should not inviteallof them.” She peered at the coffee table in the center of the chairs and rose. “Oh dear, we are all out of biscuits. I shall go down to the kitchen and see if there are more.”

“Just pull the bell, dear,” his aunt said.

“I won’t be a moment.” She snatched up the almost empty plate as one of the ladies reached for the last biscuit, hardly giving up a second to grab it before it was taken away. “Will you help me, Mr. Hunter? I would not wish to drop any.”

“I—” He took a second to gather himself and not become lost in those wide, innocent eyes. He coughed and stood. “Yes, of course. I would hate for those, um, biscuits to fall foul of an accident.”

He dipped his head to his aunt’s friends and hastened after Angel. She set down the plate on the side table in the hallway and blew out an audible breath.

“Oh goodness.”

“And here I thought you were having fun,” he said dryly. “At my expense.”

---