“I’m going to need a bit more,” he replied, striding back into the chamber.
“Why would your friends forgive me?” She swallowed the sob in her throat.
He frowned as though confused by her question. “Because I asked them to.”
Before she could turn away, he wrapped her in a tight embrace, his arms binding her in place.
“Both Roxburghe and Warwick support you.”
“They don’t know I stole from their friends.” Despite wriggling, she couldn’t loosen his embrace.
“True,” he said, a smirk appearing on his lips at her futile attempt. “However, they do know that you removed yourself from a dangerous situation without any assistance, and they called me foolish for denigrating your decision to hide your past.”
Her head popped up. “They did?”
The Duke of Lennox nodded. “Both of them, separately.”
“Eveline!” Ernest’s strained voice echoed from the parlor.
“Yes, Ernest!” she yelled, leaning over the Duke of Lennox’s arm.
A beat of silence passed.
“Thank you!” he replied.
She burst into giggles. “We should head downstairs before he resorts to crawling up the staircase.”
“He’s done that?” The Duke of Lennox glanced at the hallway.
“On more than one occasion.” Eveline grinned. “He afforded the poor men courting my sisters a terrible time.”
“They lacked the benefit of interfering friends.” The Duke of Lennox wiggled his eyebrows.
She gasped. “Was your presence at my house meant to distract Miss Fernsby-Webb?”
“Originally, yes.” Two little spots of red appeared on his cheeks. “Although it transformed from an obligation to an excuse to spend time in your company.”
“Is the Duke of Warwick?—”
“Fulfilling that very same duty?” The Duke of Lennox chuckled, released her, and bowed. “Whatever activity Warwick has chosen to occupy his time while he waits for me must have been interesting enough to keep your brother entertained as well. However, I don’t think we should tempt our good fortune.”
“Agreed.” Eveline took his hand, and they strolled through the doorway.
Ernest looked up from his cards when Eveline entered the parlor, his gaze sliding over their interlocked hands. The expression on his face warred between relief and frustration.
The Duke of Warwick tossed a coin into the center of the table and glanced over. “Have you sorted out your difficulties?”
“We have.” The Duke of Lennox kissed Eveline’s hand, led her to the chair beside her brother, and, as she sat, said, “However, we have a new issue that needs to be addressed.”
“I’m not unpacking her trunk,” Ernest grumbled, adding a coin to the growing pile.
“This is regarding Miss Drummond,” the Duke of Lennox replied, placing a hand on Eveline’s shoulder and gently squeezing it.
Setting down his cards, Ernest gave the Duke of Lennox his full attention.
“Eveline mentioned Miss Drummond’s demand for a monthly stipend as the reason for her departure. Is that the concern?”
“It’s a portion of it.” The Duke of Lennox released Eveline and rounded the table to the empty seat. “Are you aware of how long Miss Drummond has been extorting money from your sister?”
