Page 9 of A Rogue for Christmas
He chuckled in reply, for all the world seeming as though she’d genuinely amused him. It was clear he was far more skilled at pretense than she.
“I’ll win you over yet, Miss Rowland.”
He’d tire of this game soon enough, but for now she was willing to accept his attention. It wasn’t as though anyone else was trying to capture her interest. Wentworth was the only single gentleman under the age of fifty in attendance.
Now that Iris wasn’t intent on ignoring the man while simultaneously trying to overhear what he was saying to his other dinner companion, the rest of the meal passed far more pleasantly. She was included in his conversation with the widow, and the situation baffled her. It seemed that the woman was already engaged to another. Iris looked for clues to any hidden meaning behind their words but she couldn’t detect a hint of romance between the two.
After the meal was over, the men remained in the dining room to enjoy their port and to smoke. She imagined that she could feel Wentworth’s eyes on her as she left with the rest of the women. She couldn’t resist turning back to look at him when she was in the doorway and was shocked to discover it hadn’t been her imagination.
The men were all standing, of course, but he was the only one who hadn’t already turned to engage in conversation with another. His head tilted to one side, and she could tell he’d been waiting for her to look back at him.
She shrugged in reply. She was a novice at whatever game he was playing, so of course he would have the upper hand.
When they reached the ballroom, which had been turned into a salon for the house party, she was surrounded yet again by her older sister and her cousin. They drew her a little way down the hall and waited for the other women to enter the ballroom before turning to face her.
Celia’s brows were drawn together. “I was very careful with the seating plan to ensure that you weren’t seated next to Lord Wentworth.”
A small zing went through her at that piece of information. He hadn’t been lying about that after all. She’d wanted to believe him but wasn’t sure it was prudent to take anything he said at face value.
Lily didn’t bother to hide her amusement. “Clearly he had someone switch the place cards.”
Iris smiled. “Is that why you had them this year? Thornton’s mother usually allowed people to sit where they wanted when she was hosting the parties.”
Celia let out a soft sigh. “They were a last-minute addition. I was trying to avoid this very thing, but it appears I shouldn’t have bothered.”
Lily bumped shoulders with Celia. “I’m sure it will be fine. There was no harm done.”
“Says the woman who married a reformed rake.” Celia turned to Iris. “You might not be so fortunate, Iris. I don’t know why he seems to be fixated on you, but you should be careful.”
Her cousin’s warning had the exact opposite effect on her. Iris would need to be careful lest she betray the fact that she was actually enjoying the man’s attention.
She tried to keep her tone light lest she betray that fact. “He seems well-liked, even among the men. Surely he isn’t such a blackguard.”
“That’s the way of it with men,” Lily said. “I’ve seen it often enough with my own husband. Every man wants to be their friend, and every woman wants to bed them.”
Iris stared at her sister in shock. “Still? Even though he’s clearly devoted to you?” A horrible thought occurred to her. “Surely he doesn’tentertainthese other women.”
“Oh no,” Lily said. “I have no fears in that department. But it can be unsettling watching another woman try to lure him from my side. Many aren’t even subtle about it.”
Celia let out a soft laugh. “But it’s very amusing to watch their annoyance when our husbands turn them away.”
“So how can you be sure that a man’s interest is genuine?”
Celia and Lily shared a look before her cousin spoke. “You can’t, not really. You just have to listen to your heartandyour head. Many a young woman has allowed herself to be carried away by thoughts of fairy-tale endings. But they ignore the warning signs.”
Iris nodded, taking in the wisdom of those words even while she longed to give in to the romance of having a charismatic man pursue her. “So I need to watch how he behaves with the other women.” She turned to Celia. “Was everyone present at dinner?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering if perhaps his paramour was here. But since he was sitting next to me, she might not have come down for dinner.”
Celia shook her head. “Everyone was here. Perhaps that’s why he’s fixed his attention on you. He might see you as a likely target, someone who is easy to manipulate.”
Iris wanted to leap to Wentworth’s defense, but she couldn’t allow her cousin to know that she was thinking about entertaining his pursuit to see where it ended.
Instead, she shared the small piece of information she’d been keeping to herself. “We met in London. Near the end of the season.”
Lily’s hand flew to her mouth, and Celia became unnaturally still. It was hard not to squirm under their twin stares.
