“All duties, my lord? Even those pertaining only to your own future happiness?” she queried, turning on her perch on the settle to face him, her gaze piercing in its directness.
Another loud and heavy sigh blanketed the room. “Just so,” he acquiesced with a sense of foreboding and doom.
The twitch of her lips was slight, and the flash of triumph in her eyes was but brief, but Roman thanked his heavenly Maker that he saw them both, else he would have fallen irrevocably and irretrievably into her trap. His mother was a wily one, he thought derisively. It had been nearly a month since their last confrontation and the lack of practice had made him vulnerable, but he was back on the mark now. So that was how she meant to play it this time: draw him into a marriage contract under the guise of helping everyone else in the family, thus taking the focus off the noose around his neck and placing it on the others for whom he had responsibility. Clever woman. He cast a calculating look her direction. She responded with a look of total innocence as she straightened in her seat, arranging her skirts and picking an imaginary piece of lint from her sleeve.
He rose from his seat and walked again to the window, watching as the world went about its normal day. His mind raced quickly through possible scenarios of distraction when a carriage with a familiar ducal seal stopped in front of the house. He smiled slightly when he saw Her Grace, Juliet Leighton, alight from the equipage. Jonas had done very well for himself. The new duchess was both beautiful and brilliant, and the love between the two was unfashionably apparent. Lady Miranda alighted next, eyes sparkling and curls bouncing as she moved with her new sister toward his door. His smiled again as he thought about the handful that was Jonas' sister. Her shenanigans had inadvertently led to the most-talked about match of the Season. He silently thanked his Maker that his sisters were not so high-spirited or bold when sudden inspiration ran through his mind.
Lady Miranda's family wanted her to marry and settle herself down, just as his own mother wanted for him. Lady Miranda wanted to continue to live life to the fullest, just as he wanted for himself. Could they somehow join forces, giving their families the impression they were doing what each family desired? There was no doubt in Stafford's mind that the lady would do most anything to avoid marriage, and would be especially game to pursue subterfuge. At the very least, they could avoid any real entanglements for the duration of the Season. It was so crazy a scheme it just might work.
He turned to glance again at his mother, who now made no pretense at hiding her satisfaction at his supposed capitulation. Oh, yes. He would play her game to the fullest, and his partner in crime, although she was yet unaware of her new status, had just been announced to the room.
~~~~~
Lord Love a Duke Page 31
