He was never comfortable with women who were so blunt, so he wasn’t certain how to reply. Charles could misbehave in a reckless manner. There was no one with the authority to tell him he couldn’t, but the neighbors and the servants might have quite a strident opinion about her illicit conduct. Had she considered that problem?
She was no fool, so she probably had, but she didn’t care. Such disregard for propriety was disturbing in too many ways to count.
He stammered, “Ah . . . I hope it works out as you’re expecting.”
“It will or it won’t. I’m tossing the dice to see what happens.”
“Are you a gambler, Fish?”
“Yes, and I usually win too.” She switched subjects. “Have you talked to Charles recently?”
“No.”
“Then you haven’t heard, but I don’t suppose he could bear to inform you. Your ego might not survive the news.”
“What news?”
With no preamble, she announced, “I’m sorry to be the one to notify you, but Penny has eloped with Simon.”
“Simon Falcon?” Luke was so stunned he was surprised his knees didn’t buckle.
“Yes, Simon Falcon. It’s mad, isn’t it? He’d been flirting with her, but we didn’t recognize the danger until it was too late.”
“Gad, Charles must be beside himself.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Have there been any messages from them?” he asked.
“No, but I figure they’ll show up shortly and beg to be welcomed home.”
“Will they be? Has Charles said?”
“He’ll welcome them. He’s always doted on Penny, and he won’t start off by bickering with her new husband.”
“But Simon Falcon!” Luke couldn’t rein in his disparagement. “You’re fond of him, so I apologize for being derogatory, but I’m very astonished. Not so much that I lost Penny over it, but that she’d agree to have Simon in the first place. I can’t imagine what she was thinking.”
“I am fond of him,” she said, “but I have no illusions. I know exactly what he’s like, but she’s young, and he’s dashing and gorgeous, so I grasp why she’d be smitten. He’s not all bad, so she might have some good years with him.”
“I shall pray you’re correct.”
He meant it sincerely. He had no quarrel with Penny, and in fact, he was feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He didn’t have to wed her! Whew!
At the same time, he was concerned for Charles, and he would have to jump in and support his friend as he waded through the morass Falcon had created. The boy was a charlatan, and Luke would warn Charles to always be wary.
Fish yanked him out of his miserable reverie. “You won’t receive Penny’s dowry.”
“It appears I won’t.”
“I’m guessing you’ll run to London and begin searching for another heiress.”
“I have no idea if I will. I’m flummoxed by what you just shared, and I have to recover from the shock of it.”
She snorted at that. “Libby is in London. Charles invited her to come to Roland with me, but she wouldn’t.”
Don’t ask! Don’t ask! He asked, “What’s she doing in London?”
“She’s performing again. With all that’s transpired, she’s being paid a bloody fortune too. She couldn’t resist.”
“Yes, I suppose the crowds are flocking to see her.”
“Men especially are swirling. Every dandy in town is trying to glom onto her, but Simon and I have abandoned her just when she needed us the most. She’s alone and fending them off by herself.”
The declaration set a spark to his rampant jealousy. He’d once thought he could have Libby for his own, but she hadn’t been interested in binding herself, and he was tired of nagging about it. If the London dandies were chasing her, what was it to him?
“She’s never been rich,” Fish said, “but she’s suddenly an earl’s daughter.”
Luke frowned. “Is Charles claiming her?”
“Yes. He hasn’t publicly confirmed it yet, but there’s no doubt she’s Little Henrietta.”
“My goodness,” he murmured. “I hadn’t heard.”
“He’ll be eager to make up for lost time, so I’m betting he’ll fund a dowry for her. He’ll probably give her some of Penny’s—as a punishment for Simon. If he seeks my opinion, it’s what I’ll suggest when he inquires.”
Again, he couldn’t deduce the appropriate response, so he said, “Why are you telling me all of this?”
She clucked her tongue as if she was talking to an imbecile. “Will you take some advice from someone who is older and wiser than you, Lord Barrett?”
“Charles says much the same to me. Are you older and wiser, Fish?”
“Yes, and here it is: You don’t have to wed for money. Who cares if your manor is a bit bedraggled? It’s not about to collapse. It’s merely deteriorated, so you could marry for love rather than money. If you attempted that peculiar stunt, you might wind up being happy forever.”
“Marry for . . . love?” It was the most bizarre notion ever.
“Yes, for love, you arrogant beast. It’s what Libby has always wanted—to wed for love. It would be a shame if the only man who could goad her into it was too proud and thick-headed to convince her.”
She downed her drink, put the glass on the tray, then marched out. He glowered at her, feeling like a dunce.
“You believe I should propose to Libby?” The question sent a wave of joy coursing through him.
She halted and glanced over her shoulder. “Far be it from me to butt into the middle of such a weighty topic, but it’s clear that you are awful at pursuing these kinds of decisions on your own. You can have Charles’s daughter—as you always planned. You can get her dowry—as you always planned. It will simply be a different daughter, but why not? What’s stopping you?”
She sauntered out, and he stood like a statue, listening to her go. Then he staggered over to a chair and sank down.
Marry Libby Carstairs? Shackle himself to the most stubborn, willful female in the kingdom? Why would he deliberately throw himself into such a quagmire? He’d be emasculated in two seconds flat.
But
