Page 13 of One Night for Seduction
“I have a brother,” the young lady replied, destroying that hope. “The worst sort of guardian to have. Especially when he’s a duke.”
Diana narrowed her eyes. “Colehaven?”
“Colehaven,” the young lady agreed with a long-suffering sigh.
Diana ground her teeth. No need to open a journal to discover this woman’s name. This was Lady Felicity, younger sister—and sole sibling—to the Duke of Colehaven. Who was proving more vexing by the second.
Her fingers curled into fists. “Did your brother send you over here?”
“Yes,” Lady Felicity replied without prevarication.
“For what purpose?” Diana demanded. “He cannot desire a formal introduction.”
“Not with him,” Lady Felicity agreed. “I’m to introduce you to everyone else, particularly the gentlemen.”
Diana gaped at her.“Why?”
“He didn’t say.” Lady Felicity lifted a shoulder. “But it appears he intends to matchmake you. Or have me do it, rather.”
Over Diana’s dead body. The back of her neck flushed with heat. She was not some pitiful project for an arrogant duke to take under his wing, and she definitely wasn’t going to allow him to upset her perfectly controlled “wallflower” guise.
Her hackles rose. To the devil with the duke, and he could take his sister with him. Diana had no use for anyone who believed he could march all over someone else’s life, and she certainly wasn’t going to submit to—
“From here, I can see at least half a dozen eligible bachelors I could introduce you to.” Lady Felicity’s brown eyes brightened. “Or we could go to the library instead.”
A snort of startled laughter escaped before Diana could contain it.
“You don’t intend to heed your brother’s bidding?”
“My life’s work primarily consists of thwarting him at every turn,” Lady Felicity replied with an impish grin. “I suppose I could introduce you to all the mostineligible bachelors, and count how many minutes he lasts before storming over to demand what the deuce I think I’m doing.”
Diana grinned. Such an image was almost tempting. Lady Felicity wasn’t what she’d expected after all. If Diana could afford to risk having friends, someone like Lady Felicity wouldn’t be a bad start.
Unfortunately, Diana had to nip this nonsense in the bud before her ability to move unnoticed in this crowd was ruined forever.
“The library,” she said decisively. It should be vacant enough for a quick conversation to go unremarked. “Can you bring your brother to me?”
“Oh, pooh.” Lady Felicity’s shoulders sank. “I was hoping we could hunt for the latest Radcliffe instead.”
“You hunt for the Radcliffe,” Diana suggested. “I’m going to let your brother know exactly what I think of his meddling.”
“On second thought,” Lady Felicity said, “I’d rather watchthat.” She dipped into a perfect curtsy. “Lady Felicity Sutton, unexpectedly pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Miss Diana Middleton.” With a grin, Diana dipped a curtsy of her own. “Likewise.”
If she wondered how Lady Felicity intended to lure her brother to the library, the mystery did not last for long. The moment the two young ladies quit the wainscoting in favor of the ballroom exit, rather than the dance floor, Colehaven immediately abandoned his champagne in pursuit.
Diana and Lady Felicity had only just found the library when Colehaven burst in right behind them.
“Why aren’t you in the ballroom?” he demanded.
“Why are you in my business at all?” Diana countered, hands on her hips.
Lady Felicity disappeared among the stacks of books, but Diana rather suspected she was peeking from behind the credenzas.
“What’s so hard about meeting other people?”
“I didn’t enjoy meetingyou,” Diana snapped, her heart racing. She hadn’t noticed how long his eyelashes were before. She couldn’t look away from those magnetic hazel eyes.
