Page 74 of Under the Seductive Ladys Charm
Graham chuckled. “It is probably Miss Browne’s. She got caught out in the rain while looking for me. I helped her get back to the house.”
“If that is the story we are going with,” Victor said with a wink.
Graham waved off the man’s foolishness. “I would not take advantage of Miss Browne.”
“Oh, I know,” Victor said. “I heard that Lord Stanhope was here?”
Graham nodded as Victor went in search of a new outfit. “He came by to propose marriage to Miss Browne.”
“Tell me she did not say yes to that blowhard,” Victor said with vehemence.
Graham laughed at his words. Graham had not been quite that generous to the man in his own thoughts. Victor laid out a shirt and some trousers. “That’s what she was coming to tell me. She has decided against marrying Lord Stanhope.”
“Thank the lord,” Victor said.
Graham allowed Victor to delegate the outfit without interference. He had come to trust his fashion sense and thus far it had proven a wise decision. Once the clothes were on hand, Victor helped him to dress.
Graham sighed. “That feels better.” He stretched and waved off the cravat that Victor held out to him. “I am expecting no visitors and I do not wish to be choked.”
“Sure as you say that someone is going to drop in,” Victor said.
Graham begrudgingly waved for the man to go ahead and put the cravat on. As soon as Victor had him suitably dressed, Graham took his leave. He wanted to see if he could talk to Charlotte before his sister had a chance to.
He headed down the hall with a clear purpose but hesitated when he stopped outside her door. How would it look if he just showed up at her room? He certainly could not talk to her in there, and it really was not a discussion for the hallway.
He turned away, but as he did so he heard the door open. “Lord Easterly,” Charlotte’s voice said behind him.
Graham turned back to the door. He smiled at the woman, who wore a white muslin dress that brought out her complexion. Her blonde hair was plaited in a braid that hung over her shoulder.
“Were you coming to see me?” She looked around the hallway as if checking to see if they might be overheard.
Graham started to lie and tell her he had been going to the kitchen. However, when he looked into her brown eyes, he remembered her words about honesty. He sighed. “I was, but I thought better of it.”
“You may have to explain that,” Charlotte said as she clasped her hands in front of her.
Graham thought for a moment then he cleared his throat. “I just thought perhaps the conversation would be best in private. This is not exactly a place that is without the risk of interruption.”
“True,” Charlotte agreed. Graham could tell she was curious about what his intended topic could have been. “Perhaps we could walk to the library?”
Graham nodded. “That sounds fine.” He offered her his arm and she accepted the intimate gesture without hesitation.
He guided them to the stairs as the library was on the ground floor. As soon as they started down the stairs Amanda appeared in the foyer. She looked up at them and gave them a wave. “Are you going to the kitchen?”
“You seem in a good mood,” Graham noted.
Amanda shrugged. “I have nothing to be sad about. I might end up a spinster, but if I do I can just annoy you until you die.”
Charlotte covered a laugh behind her free hand. Graham was in no mood to argue with his sister. “Sounds lovely,” he said, as he and Charlotte made it to the last step. “We are not, however, heading to the kitchen.”
“Oh? Where are you going then?” Amanda folded her arms and looked like she was digging in her heels to not be moved.
Charlotte answered before Graham could form his sarcastic remark. “We are going to the library. I wanted to show Lord Easterly a book on history that could put an end to a disagreement we were having.”
Graham cut his eyes to Charlotte. Amanda frowned. “What disagreement could you have over history? It’s history.”
“Rome, actually. We cannot agree on when it was founded.” Charlotte said and Graham felt a nudge of her elbow in his side.
Graham agreed, “That is right. She is completely wrong, and I intend to prove it.”
