Anyone But the Marquess by Ruth Ann Nordin

Author:Ruth Ann Nordin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: enemies to lovers, virgin hero, virgin heroine, steamy historical romance, regency steamy romance, plain hero, beautiful heroine, forced marriage
Publisher: Ruth Ann Nordin
Published: 2024-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Felix returned home two hours later. He was relieved. He didn’t know how much longer he could have spent reading the papers. He’d gotten so bored that he even resorted to reading the Tittletattle. If he’d had any foresight, he would have taken one of his books to Marco’s. Then he could have stayed there the entire afternoon without getting bored. But being gone for a full three hours had given Elizabeth plenty of time to search through his library, so he was confident they wouldn’t have to see each other until dinner. With any luck, it wouldn’t be as awkward between them this evening.

When he stepped through the entryway, the footman notified him that his sister was there. He wasn’t surprised. Lydia probably felt like she had to convince him to overlook all of Guy’s faults while Guy wasn’t obligated to do the same for him. He didn’t know if he was in the mood for this. Guy had really upset him this time by refusing to talk to him. They’d had their arguments in the past, but Guy had never resorted to not talking to him.

He had a mind to not talk to Lydia so she would know what it felt like. Then she might not be so quick to run to Guy’s defense. However, after a momentary debate, Felix relented and headed for the drawing room. To his surprise, Lydia and Elizabeth were talking, and they were both laughing. Felix halted just outside the room. Perhaps he ought to leave the two alone. He could talk to Lydia another time.

“That’s the way things were while we grew up,” Lydia told Elizabeth. “Felix always liked to plan out the day. He had a ledger where he kept track of when we would do our studies and when we would play games. He even specified which games we would play. If we changed our minds when the day came, we still had to play the game he wrote down. He would say, ‘It’s only proper to stick to your word. When you promise to do something, you do it.’ So Oscar and I had no choice but to stick to his schedule.”

Felix didn’t like this. If Lydia was revealing this about him to Elizabeth, then what was to stop her from telling Elizabeth about the time he ran through the townhouse in his undergarments because he’d been so drunk he thought he needed to chase a dragon? He’d never survive that humiliation.

He stepped into the room, an action which, thankfully, made Lydia stop talking. He offered both ladies a polite smile then directed his gaze to his sister. “Forgive me for interrupting, but the footman told me you wished to speak with me.”

“Oh, yes, I did.” Lydia set down her cup of tea, glanced at the clock, and then jumped to her feet. “I can’t believe how late it is. I arrived here two hours ago.”

Felix’s gut tightened in dread. Lydia had been here that long talking to

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