Now he wanted to strangle her.
Was he jealous? Could he possibly love Rachael back? He'd thought what he felt for her was just lust, but mere lust shouldn't incite jealousy. It was easy enough to find someone to satisfy lust, after all. Women did tend to throw themselves at him.
And if this was what jealousy felt like, he didn't care for the emotion one bit.
By the time Rachael curtsied to the rake who'd touched her luscious derrière, Griffin was standing next to her. "You must have misunderstood me yesterday, Rachael."
She turned to him. "How is that?"
"It isn't that I don't want to marry you. I just don't want to marry you now. I'm not ready to take on a wife. At the moment, I've too many other responsibilities. I'm quite concerned about Corinna. Before I even think about settling down myself, I need to concentrate on getting her married. To a man she loves."
"I'll tell you what you need to concentrate on, Griffin, and that's growing up. You're thirty years old. For God's sake, Noah's growing up, and he's only twenty-two. If I wait until you're ready, I'll be waiting forever."
"I'm not asking for forever, Rachael. Just until Corinna's married."
"Corinna won't be married for another year at least. The season's more than half over, and she hasn't shown interest in any man yet. In fact, your sister seems rather wed to her art career, which means she may not ever marry. Have you considered that?"
He hadn't, and the thought struck terror in his heart.
And Rachael wasn't finished. "If I agree to wait until she's married, I could end up a shriveled old lady, and you'll still be asking for time." She shook her beautiful head. "Thank you for the offer, but no."
"But I love you."
He couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth, but even more than that, he couldn't believe her response.
"I know that, Griffin. But I want children. I'm going to find someone who's willing to marry me while I can still bear them." She rose to her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you at Lincolnshire's solicitor's office on Monday."
FIFTY-SIX
WHEN SEAN arrived in Queen Street on Monday at noon, he found it clogged with traffic and pedestrians. Having never seen any street in Cheapside so busy, he considered himself lucky to find a place to leave his curricle in a mews only two blocks away.
Walking back, he mentally rehearsed what he might say in the meeting. At the bottom of the three steps that led to the solicitor's office, he stopped to check the plaque mounted by the building's door to make sure he was in the right place.
88 QUEEN STREET
PEABODY & LAWLESS
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
Mr. Peregrine Peabody being the solicitor he was supposed to meet, he nodded to himself and started up.
Then stopped again, ignoring a steady stream of people pushing past him up the steps.
Peabody and Lawless?
Lincolnshire's solicitor?
His first thought was to slink away. A summons issued by Lincolnshire's solicitor was potentially much worse than being summoned to discuss supposedly nefarious business dealings. He knew all his business dealings were on the up-and-up, after all. No matter who accused him of what, he ought to be able to prove his innocence, even if doing so might prove a grand piece of work. When he'd told Deirdre he might be busy getting arrested today, he hadn't really meant it.
But had impersonating Lincolnshire been an actual crime?
Had he been summoned here to be arrested?
"Sean!" Coming up the steps, Deirdre looked astonished to see him. "What are you doing here?"
"I wish I knew." He gestured toward the plaque. "These are Peregrine Peabody's offices, too."
Another woman mounting the steps did a double take, then turned to face him. "Mr. Delaney, isn't it? You have quite the nerve showing up here. Hmmph," she added, pushing through the door, no doubt to spread the news that he'd arrived.
There was nothing for it. There would be no slinking away. "Come along," he muttered, taking Deirdre's arm and steeling himself to face the fire.
But instead he came face-to-face with Corinna.
AT FIRST, Corinna thought Sean was a figment of her imagination. She wasn't ever supposed to see him again, and he especially didn't belong here. But then their gazes met and held, convincing her he was real, and something disturbing shuddered through her.
A mixture of love and anguish and regret.
Seeing him made her happy and sad and excited and apprehensive, all in a single instant. Her hand went up to touch the necklace he'd given her, but it wasn't there, of course. She could wear it only in her room at night, where no one would see it and ask questions.
She started toward him.
"You need to come inside now, Corinna." Griffin appeared, giving her no choice as he took her arm and began weaving her through the crowded corridor. "Mr. Lawless is about to begin, and you've been commanded to sit in the front."
She looked back, but Sean was already lost in the crowd. She could only hope he was following.
When Griffin had told her that everyone they knew had been asked to attend the reading, she'd figured he'd been exaggerating. She'd had no concept of just how many people would show up. They crammed the large chamber where the reading was to be held and spilled out into the corridor, filling the building all the way back to the front door. With all the bodies in the way, she and Griffin barely managed to squeeze into the room.
Mr. Lawless was a very tall, very serious-looking man. Over a sea of chattering heads, Corinna could see him from where she was stuck in the back. "Ladies and gentlemen," he called. "I beg your attention! Will the following individuals please make their way to the front row. John Hamilton, the ninth Earl of Lincolnshire. His wife, Deirdre, the ninth Countess of Lincolnshire. Lady Corinna Chase. And Mr. Sean Delaney."
The crowd
