Never Entice an Earl by Lily Dalton

Author:Lily Dalton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2014-04-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

No, of course not.” Still, in that moment his head ached more intensely.

Had Daphne heard? It was all he could think, but why should he care if she had? Because he didn’t want her to think him a lout for kissing her when he knew full well he could never, ever marry her because of the land agreement with Sir Snaith. Still, he would have liked to have explained that to her himself. Inwardly, he battled with his conscience, knowing he ought to stay away from her.

But…Mr. Kincraig would be there, and he needed to investigate him further.

“The fact that you’re not in the market for a wife and that I can vouch for your honor—”

He held silent, not splitting hairs with Havering. No, he wasn’t formally betrothed, but he might as well be, because one day he would indeed marry the Snaith girl, and in doing so, complete his intended destiny. His loyalty must be to his family, and as part of that, he would have a closer look at Mr. Kincraig. This afternoon, in fact. He knew better than to condemn the man on the spot, but this was precisely the sort of information he’d hoped his efforts would provide. Was Kincraig a member of the Invisibilis? And had he ever visited the hunting lodge of the Duke of Rathcrispin? Those were the questions he had to answer before deciding his next course of action.

“Can you vouch for my honor?” With a groan, he rolled from the bed, taking the sheet with him, for modesty’s sake. The world tipped and swayed, but he held himself steady, and after everything righted itself, he padded across the carpet to the washbasin.

“I’ve got good instincts,” Fox assured, raising a fingertip. “I know you’d make a suitable and, most important, a formidable chaperone, to assist me in keeping the overeager bucks, fortune hunters, and scoundrels in line—and they are myriad, my fellow, converging at any given moment like hungry hounds. I can’t claim to understand the workings of a woman’s mind. By my observation they seem to lose all sensibility over the most black-hearted fellow, the one who will, in turn, break their heart. But these two angels—both of whom are far too trusting of the male gender—are my girls and I’ll do whatever necessary to protect them.”

Cormack glanced at his visitor in the mirror. “What makes you a suitable chaperone? Are you married or spoken for?”

“No, not yet.”

Cormack fixed the sheet at his waist. “Then why don’t you marry them? Or, er…one of them.”

He bent over the basin to splash water on his face.

“Heavens no, that would be like marrying a sister. A little bratty sister whom you adore to pieces, but…no. Not marriage.”

Cormack reached for the towel. “How did you come to be so tight with the family?”

“We grew up in the country together, as neighbors.” He chuckled. “Their older brother, Vinson, was my best friend.” His voice lowered as he said this.

“Was?” With a linen towel, he blotted the moisture from his face.

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