Page 17 of A Rogue for Christmas
Thornton and Seaford looked at one another, and Wentworth all but growled. “Spare me your platitudes about my hypocrisy. I know very well the irony of what I was saying, which is why I felt it best to warn her about all the blackguards who walk among us. Men who would have no qualms taking things further than a foolish young woman searching for love would expect.”
Silence descended for several seconds, and he realized he’d all but yelled that last statement. He who could find amusement in almost every situation and who never raised his voice. But just thinking about the harm that might have befallen Iris out in that garden had him wanting to tear out his hair.
It also begged a bigger question he hadn’t wanted to consider: why did he care so much?
Seaford leaned forward. “I won’t ask you what exactly happened out in that garden, but only because it’s clear to everyone that Iris doesn’t fear you. But tell me, what happened when Iris returned to the ball?”
Wentworth frowned. “This was right at the end of the season, so nothing happened.”
Thornton crossed his arms over his chest and watched him in silence. It was deuced uncomfortable.
Seaford continued. “With your other paramours, why are you even here, Wentworth? I’m sure you have a mistress, and London is filled with widows right now who are trying to avoid their families.”
Wentworth dropped into an armchair. “I dismissed her.”
Thornton’s eyes widened. “Your mistress? And what about the other women?”
He shook his head. “There haven’t been any other women.”
Seaford smirked. “I see the problem now. You’re obsessed with thoughts of Iris.”
Wentworth sprang to his feet again and began to pace. “I don’t understand it. She’s a mere chit of a girl. Why can’t I stop thinking about her?”
Seaford’s tone was serious now. “Tell me, did you keep your assignation that evening out in the gardens?”
Wentworth grimaced. “No. I sent her away.”
“Why?” Seaford prodded.
“Because I couldn’t stand it when she touched me. I allowed it at first, expecting she’d be able to erase all thoughts of Iris, but in the end I had to push her away.”
Thornton settled into the chair Wentworth had abandoned. “And after that evening?”
Wentworth faced them. “It’s a pattern that’s been repeated with every other woman. After the first few, I stopped trying.”
“But things are different with Iris,” Seaford said.
Wentworth frowned. “Yes.”
A hint of a smile touched Thornton’s lips. “She’s very beautiful.”
“And intelligent,” Seaford added.
“And witty, bewitching, damn bewildering…” Wentworth realized what he was saying. Where his thoughts were headed.
Seaford and Thornton shared another significant look. It was Seaford who spoke. “You love her.”
Wentworth shook his head. “I can’t. I’m incapable of such sentimentality.”
Thornton leaned back in the chair and grinned at him. “You’re looking at two confirmed bachelors who didn’t believe in love.”
Wentworth leaned back against the billiard table and frowned. “I know I’ll have to marry eventually, of course. Secure the line and all that.”
Seaford laughed. “That’s exactly what we thought as well. But then we found ourselves bewitched by the women who are now our wives.”
Wentworth folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes as he considered their words. His thoughts had been dancing perilously close to this conclusion, but every time he considered that he mightwantto marry Iris, he pushed the idea away as quickly as it came. But the thought of another man marrying her, touching her, and bedding her…
He swore aloud.
