An Unlikely Plan: A Regency Romance (Gentlemen of London Book 2) by Laura Beers

Author:Laura Beers [Beers, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“What in the blazes were you thinking?” Aaron growled as he reached for the coach door, slamming it closed.

Lydia sat across from him with her arms crossed over her chest. “I think it was fairly obvious what I was doing.”

“Do you have any regard for your reputation?”

“I did, hence the mask,” she replied slowly, pointing to it.

Aaron removed his own mask and tossed it onto the floor. “What if you were discovered?”

“There was no chance of that until you showed up.”

As the coach jerked forward, merging into traffic, Aaron said, “You should have never left our townhouse.”

“Why?”

“Because you are in mourning!”

Lydia tossed her hands up in the air. “Why should I mourn a man who scarcely acknowledged me?”

“He was still your father.”

“That may be true, but he was a stranger to me.”

Aaron heaved a heavy sigh. “I know Father could be absent, but—”

Lydia laughed. “Not to you.”

“Pardon?”

“Father adored you,” she spat out. “You were his favorite child, the precious heir. I was just an afterthought, and instead of a spare, he got me.”

“I assure you that I did not have it easy with Father.”

“No?” Lydia asked. “Because I would frequently see you two in the study together or touring the grounds.”

“That’s because I was learning how to manage the estate.”

“Yes, because you’re the heir,” she muttered.

“Regardless of your feelings towards Father, you still should have never gone to the masquerade ball this evening,” Aaron said firmly.

“Why should it matter to you?”

“Because I am your brother, and I am worried about you.”

“If I had to guess, you only came because Mother sent you,” she stated with a knowing look.

“I came because I was worried about your reputation if you were discovered,” he remarked.

Lydia leaned forward in her seat. “You had no reason to fear. I knew what I was doing.”

“Is that so?” he asked. “If you may recall, I saw you kissing Dunmore in the gardens.”

A smile came to her lips. “Precisely.”

Aaron wasn’t reassured. “Do you know what Dunmore’s intentions are towards you?”

Lydia shrugged. “With any luck, he intends to marry me.”

“Is that what you desire?”

“I could do far worse,” she replied. “After all, he will one day be a marquess.”

Aaron sat back in his seat, stunned by her callousness. “Do you even care for him?”

“I do,” she asserted. “He is kind to me.”

“Could you grow to love him?”

Lydia shook her head. “I am much too practical to attempt for a love match.”

“I want you to have more than just a marriage of convenience,” he attempted. “You deserve a chance at happiness.”

Lydia balked. “Like Mother did?”

“Mother and Father were happy,” Aaron said. “She told me as much.”

“How could Mother be happy when Father was parading his mistresses all over Town?”

“He was not parading them.”

Surprise, then disbelief, crossed her features. “You knew,” she asked, “the entire time?”

“I didn’t know for certain, but I heard rumors at the club.”

“Yet you never confronted Father about his philandering ways?”

Aaron pushed back the curtains and opened the window, letting in the cool night air. “What would I have even said?” he asked.

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