She rolled the dice and asked, “Is it my father? Or is it Lord Barrett? Which one of them has vexed you?” Libby’s eyes widened imperceptibly, and Penny said, “Was it both of them? If so, I will wring their stupid necks.”
Libby chuckled, but glumly. “Your father suggested I depart, and I agreed that I would. He decided it would be for the best if I left.”
“The best for whom? My opinion wasn’t sought, and I don’t want you to go.”
“I shouldn’t have attended in the first place. In light of my profession, I’m not suitable company for you and your friends.”
Penny’s jaw dropped in astonishment. “Did Father say that to you?”
“Not in so many words, but I understand his reservations.”
“I’m stunned that he’d insult you that way. How dare he!”
Libby sighed. “You’re a nice girl, Penny, but you don’t have to defend me, and I would hate for my presence to cause a rift between you and your father.”
“The rift has already been created, but it wasn’t your fault.”
“I like your father, and I don’t like to have the two of you quarreling.”
“Can I tell you something, Libby? Will you listen?”
“I’m not sure I should be your confidante. There are many issues with us that shouldn’t ever be addressed.”
“I know what some of them are.”
Libby smirked. “I doubt that very much.”
“How about this? I know Lord Barrett is in love with you.”
Libby blanched. “No, he’s not.”
“How about if I describe his sentiment as inordinately devoted. Is that better?”
“No.”
“I wish you wouldn’t deny your relationship with him. Your cousin, Mr. Falcon, told me all about it.”
Libby sniffed with offense. “If that’s even remotely true, then Simon needs to shut up.”
“I’m glad he revealed it. People in this accursed manor treat me like a baby. If I continue to obey my father, I’ll be marching to the altar with Lord Barrett before I can blink.”
“It’s probably a good plan for you,” Libby tepidly said.
“No, it’s not! Not if he’s in love with you instead. Would you put me out of my misery and honestly admit that he’s besotted?”
“You constantly mention Lord Barrett to me, but you and I shouldn’t discuss him.”
“We have to, don’t you think?” The question hung in the air, then Penny stepped in and clasped Libby’s hand. “Father is determined that I wed him, but I won’t. It wouldn’t be fair to you—or me. Why would I pick a husband who’s in love with someone else? If that’s where I’d stand right at the beginning of my marriage, what kind of life would I have?”
“There are expectations for you,” Libby said, “and the rules are different. You don’t get to marry for love, and Lord Barrett would be an excellent husband.”
“I suppose—if you don’t count his being obsessed with you! You can’t mean I should be content with a philandering spouse. You can’t believe that.”
“No, I don’t believe it.”
“I told Father—and Lord Barrett too—that I won’t marry him so long as he’s infatuated with you.”
“You didn’t!”
“I did, so I’m fighting with them. They’re so annoyingly arrogant.”
“I won’t argue the point,” Libby furiously said.
“They assume they can command me, but I won’t let them. I can’t figure out why, but I’m so desperately fond of you. I could never hurt you, and if I wed Lord Barrett, I’m certain you’d be crushed.”
“Maybe,” Libby murmured, unwilling to dive in any farther than that.
“Since that’s the case, I won’t marry him. My father can rant until he’s blue in the face, but he won’t change my mind.”
“I’m very impressed by your bold attitude.”
“I have to watch out for my best interests. Father has proved that he won’t. If I’m not careful, there’s no predicting who I’ll wind up shackled to.”
Libby sank down on the bed, her hips balanced on the edge of the mattress, her feet on the floor. She gazed at Penny with her magnificent blue eyes, and she looked weary and very sad. Penny was still holding her hand, and she linked their fingers and squeezed tight, eager to shift some of her own vigor into the troubled woman.
“I’m going to tell you two things I shouldn’t,” Libby said. “It will stir even more discord with your father, but in the future, there may be wild rumors circulating about me, and I want you to hear the truth.”
“I’m delighted you feel that way. I can see that you’re distressed. Please unburden yourself.”
“First, you’re correct about Lord Barrett and me. I can’t speak to his level of attachment, but as for myself, I’m madly in love with him.”
“I knew it!” Penny staunchly declared.
“When I came to Roland, I had no idea about your connection to him. I swear it! Nor was I aware he’d be a guest too or that he was about to betroth himself. I especially wasn’t aware of that. He didn’t bother to apprise me.”
“Of course he didn’t!” Penny suffered a wave of indignation on her behalf. “Isn’t that just like a man to trick you over it?”
“I had actually traveled to the country to escape him. Our amour bubbled up so swiftly that it scared me. I couldn’t deduce how to tamp it down so I thought—if I disappeared from London— he’d grow tired of the chase. But then, I arrived here, and he was here too. It’s an impossible situation.”
“You can put your mind at ease about it. I won’t wed him! I promise you. If you part with him later on and can assure me it’s over, I might consider him as a husband, but not until then.”
Libby smiled. “If I didn’t already like you so much, I would cherish you for that comment alone.”
At learning of Libby’s heightened regard, Penny beamed with pride. If she could have picked an older sister for herself, she’d have picked Libby Carstairs. Who wouldn’t want such a
