Lily froze for a moment, feeling betrayed. By Rose? By Rand? Then she told herself not to be silly—Rose probably just wanted to show him something. Perhaps she was working on some flower displays in the summerhouse. And Rand certainly had no obligation to avoid Rose—not after Lily had repeatedly refused his suit.
Then Rose turned to say something to Rand, and Lily saw her face. Animated. Too animated for languid Rose.
“She’s up to something,” Judith said beside her.
Exactly what Lily had been thinking.
“Come along.” Judith took her by the arm. Firmly. “We’re going to investigate.”
“Investigate?” Lily stared at her friend. “You mean spy on my sister?”
“She would spy on you in a heartbeat.” When Lily didn’t budge, Judith turned her to face the window. “Look. They’re both gone. She’s taken him into the summerhouse.” She pulled on Lily’s arm. “Come along. You cannot tell me you don’t want to see what Rose is doing in there.”
Since Lily couldn’t honestly tell her that, she went. She felt like a sorry excuse for a sister, spying on Rose, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
By the time they made it outside, they were both running. When they stopped before one of the round summerhouse’s four doors and Lily reached for the latch, Judith closed a hand over her fingers. “Wait,” she whispered. “Listen.”
“Judith!” Lily protested, her voice hushed but fierce. “There’s spying, and then there is spying. I refuse to—”
And then she was spying despite herself—riveted in place by the conversation that drifted from inside.
TWENTY-FOUR
“I’M FLATTERED, my lady,” Rand’s wry voice came through the door. “But as it happens, I’ve set my sights elsewhere.” He sneezed. “Pardon me. I seem to be coming down with something. Where are those flowers you wanted to show me?”
“Gemini! They seem to have disappeared.” Lily heard Rose’s practiced laugh, a tinkling, feminine sound. “Perhaps a kiss might compensate for the loss?”
On the other side of the door, Lily was so aghast she could find no words to express her feelings. “Poor Rand has caught my illness,” she whispered irrelevantly.
“How is that?” Judith whispered back. As Lily blushed, her friend’s pale blue eyes widened. “Oh, my word! He kissed you, didn’t he?”
“Why should you think so? I caught your illness without kissing you.”
“I can see it in your face,” Judith declared. “You—”
“Hush. I cannot hear.” Lily wondered if Rand and Rose were kissing.
No. Rose was talking. “I wonder,” she mused in a speculative tone, “if the lady you’ve set your sights on has ten thousand pounds to bring to a marriage. It seems to me a mere professor could use that sort of money. A windfall like that would allow you to live the gentlemanly life you were born to.”
Judith’s mouth dropped open. “She must be desperate,” she said over whatever Rand replied. “I cannot imagine—”
“Hush!”
“And I wonder…” When Rose paused, Lily imagined her trailing a fingertip down Rand’s arm, as she’d seen her sister do with other young men. She was relieved when Rose continued talking. “I wonder what my father, who is out in his gardens as always, would do if he found the two of us alone in here, hmm?”
Lily gasped. “That’s so unfair to Rand, threatening to trap him like that! She’s the one who lured him in there!”
“Unfair to him?” Judith’s whisper came through gritted teeth. “How about you, Lily? Is Rose not being unfair to you?”
“Rose would never hurt me on purpose! I’m certain she has no idea how I feel about Rand.”
“Well, then, it’s about time she found out,” Judith said, and with that, she flung open the door.
Since Rand was opening it at the same time, Judith fell into his arms, landing with a thud against his chest. He took the time to steady her before stepping away. “Pardon me, my lady. I was just leaving.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Judith said dreamily.
Rand had that effect on women, Lily thought wryly, and followed her friend into the summerhouse. She cleared her sore throat. ”Lord Randal Nesbitt, may I present my dear friend, Lady Judith Carrington?”
“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance,” Judith said in a breathless tone that Lily found vexing.
“The pleasure is mine,” Rand replied politely. “But I’m afraid I must take my leave.”
“No.” Apparently regaining her wits, Judith cast a glance to where Rose stood in the shadows. “It’s Rose who’s leaving.” She marched over and took Rose by the arm. “Come along, Rose.”
Rose planted her feet. “I’m not finished talking to Lord Randal.”
Slender Rose was no match for Judith’s solid build. “Oh, yes, you are.” Undeterred, Judith hauled her out the door.
“You’re supposed to be my friend,” Rose protested loudly as she found herself dragged through the gardens.
“I am your friend.” Judith’s voice was growing fainter. “And as your friend, I insist on saving you from further embarrassing yourself.”
Rose’s reply was inaudible. Lily and Rand were alone. An expectant silence filled the cool, shaded summerhouse.
Rand sneezed.
“I’m sorry,” they both said together.
He cracked a smile. “What are you sorry for?”
“I’m sorry you had to put up with my sister’s nonsense.”
“I’m sorry you had to overhear it.”
“I’m sorry I made you ill.”
His smile widened. “Ah, but I’m not sorry I kissed you.”
“I’m sorry you’re not kissing me now.”
“I’m sor—what?”
He blinked and took a step closer, and Lily took a step closer, and they met in the middle.
Everything that had been holding her back had suddenly vanished, like the moon on a cloudy night. Something inside her had shifted. Never in her life had she been so angry with another person, much less with one of her own flesh and blood. She was too furious to think straight. How could Rose—it was so completely shocking—she must be the most selfish, underhanded—and to call him a mere professor—!
There was nothing mere about Rand. Not one thing. His form was towering and solid in her arms. His lips moved with devastating deftness over hers. He had the silkiest hair, the manliest
