To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

Author:Martha Waters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2021-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Diana retired to her bedroom soon after dinner, pleading exhaustion, but sleep did not come easily to her that evening. Jeremy had given her an inquisitive look as she’d taken her leave of the group, but she’d merely shaken her head at him and given him a smile that did nothing to erase the worried crease between his eyebrows. She’d passed a solitary evening in her room, reading and sketching by the fire, but found herself unable to focus much on either book or sketch pad, so occupied was her mind with its worries.

Or, rather, a single worry: the undeniable fact that she was growing dangerously attached to the Marquess of Willingham.

Later, as she lay in bed, she could not stop her mind returning to him—she had known the man for a decade, and yet somehow he had become endlessly novel and fascinating in the past few days. It was not just that she found herself drawn to him physically—that had been the case for years, loath though she’d always been to admit it. It was something much more alarming: the fact that each time they had a lengthy, serious conversation about themselves, she was left eager for more. He had become fascinating to her, and that was the undeniable signal that this had gone too far.

Not that she intended to give up their affair, of course; it hadn’t even properly gotten started, and she was still eager to gain some practical experience that might serve her well in the future. But her decision to encourage his grandmother’s matchmaking, which she’d initially done in the interest of winning her wager with Willingham and nothing more, had suddenly become of the utmost importance. If Willingham was courting someone else, then Diana never need worry that things between them would progress beyond the physical. Which was, of course, the only sort of relationship she wanted.

But therein lay her dilemma: her conversation with Lady Helen the day before had confirmed that the lady was, unfortunately, just as odious as she appeared upon initial conversation. Jeremy was a trifle foolish, but he wasn’t a complete imbecile, and Diana knew he could never be persuaded to marry someone so dreadful. But then, who remained? This house party was hardly overflowing with eligible ladies, and it was deeply unfortunate that the one currently flinging herself at Willingham was more likely to send him fleeing into someone else’s arms than into her own.

But wait.

That was it, she realized all of a sudden. That was the solution. Lady Helen must behave so dreadfully that any other eligible lady looked appealing by comparison. But who? Not Diana, obviously—that was rather the entire point. Not Emily, either—she seemed to be more than occupied with Belfry at the moment. Not Sophie, of course—she’d only recently finished her liaison with Jeremy, and hardly seemed to be collapsing in despair at this outcome.

But then, why not Sophie? The affair had clearly ended amicably, if her presence at this house party was any indication.

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