Page 50 of A Rake's Redemption
That statement made Alex pause again. He hadn’t thought about Inis getting married. She certainly was of age. At nearly two-and-twenty, she was approaching spinsterhood according totonstandards. Not that he could see Inis caring what thetonthought. She was strong willed and independent minded, traits that didn’t sit well with Society…or with most men, for that matter. Alex would never want to see her spirit broken by some brute who felt the need to force her into submission.
“Alexander?”
He frowned at the sound of Caroline’s voice and refocused. “Yes?”
“You went off woolgathering,” Caroline said.
“I am sorry,” Alex replied as he opened the carriage door and pulled down the step. “I got lost in thought for a moment.”
Caroline slanted a look at him as she entered the carriage and took a seat. “Are you really going to send Inis to America once this drama has played out?”
Alex pushed the step up and closed the carriage door before he answered. America suddenly seemed half a world away. Hell. It was half a world away. In America, Inis wouldn’t be boxed into a rigid layer of Society like she was here. She would truly be free to decide who to marry.
“Alexander?”
He refocused again to find Caroline watching him curiously through the open window. “Pardon me. Did you say something?”
“You did not answer my question. Are you going to send Inis to the States?”
Alex took a deep breath. “I agreed to it. I will send her if that is what she wants.”
Caroline arched a brow and tapped the carriage roof with the tip of her umbrella. As the driver flicked the reins and the horses started moving, she called back, “But is it what you want, Alexander?”
…
Alex was still brooding over the question when he met Brice in a gaming hell late that night. He’d returned to the house after Caroline left with the idiotic idea of actually asking Inis if she really wanted to go to America, but he’d managed to keep silent. Of course she did. Even a half-wit could see that she had no wish to be a part of society. She practically quaked at the thought of attending a dinner or soiree, let alone the ball where the Prince Regent would be in attendance.
And, truth be told, even if Inis acquitted herself quite well at any or all society events they attended, once the truth of her lineage—or lack of it—was revealed, thetonwould not accept her anyway. The truth would come out. Wasn’t the point of this entire facade to pass Inis off as an aristocrat in order to rub his brother’s nose in royal muck by humiliating him at his own ball?
Alex was beginning to feel guilty over having brought Inis into this mess, but at least she was getting the opportunity to better herself. He heard that in America, educated women could hold real jobs that in England were only reserved for men. And, if Inis chose to stay, she would be qualified to be a governess at least.
“Did you lose all your money already?” Brice asked as he joined Alex at one of the non-gaming tables. “You are looking quite dour.”
Alex shook his head. “I have not even played a hand.”
A voluptuous-looking serving wench brought over two drinks, bending low as she served to give both men a nice view of full cleavage and lingering suggestively. Brice passed the girl a coin and then raised an eyebrow when Alex didn’t even look up as she left.
“Youarein the doldrums.” Brice took a sip of whiskey and studied him. “Having problems with one of your conquests?”
Alex frowned. “One of my conquests?”
“The Countess of Benton was out of sorts at Lady Caldwell’s soiree last week after you walked away from her. Caroline said Miranda snapped at anyone who spoke to her afterwards.”
“I had no choice but to walk away,” Alex replied with a grimace, “or I would have been dragged up the stairs to an empty bedchamber.”
Brice’s brow rose again. “When did you ever object to such a blatant invitation?”
“When it is being offered by someone I have already bedded,” Alex said. “I have no desire to becomeinvolvedwith any of those wives. That is why I send them the negligees.”
Brice grinned. “I think Miranda wants more than a negligee.”
“A negligee is all she is going to get. She has had her pleasure. I had mine.”
Brice took another sip of whiskey. “I hear she is quite accommodating.”
“You are welcome to find out for yourself,” Alex answered, taking a good swallow of his own drink. “I doubt she has ever turned a man down.”
“If we were not friends, I would take that as an insult.” Brice managed to look affronted. “I prefer to think women fall for my charms.”
