Daphne laughed before covering her mouth with her hand.
“Aunt Radley!” Charlotte scrambled off his lap and onto her aunt’s lap. “I’m so glad you’re here. You can meet Miss Drake! We shall all go back to see the elephant.”
Harry looked up at the ceiling, ignoring his sister’s prying stare. “Charlotte, we are not going back to the menagerie. We have already discussed this matter.”
“Then Aunt Radley can go to the park with us. Miss Drake loves to walk,” Charlotte added.
“Charlotte, return to the nursery while your father and I talk. I will come up in
a few minutes, and we will have tea together,” Daphne said, still staring at him.
Charlotte clapped her hands. “Thank you, Aunt Radley.”
As soon as the door shut, Daphne started in again. “Have you lost your bloody mind, Harry?”
“Many people believe so,” he said in a dry tone. “Charlotte met Louisa when she came out to Northwood Park around the new year. That is when the Gringhams arrived too. She only stayed for three nights, but she made a big impact on Charlotte. When we came to town, Miss Drake accompanied us to The Exchange.”
“And the park?”
“We have seen her there, too.”
“Of course.” She pressed her fingers to her temples. “I arrived just in time.”
“How so?”
“To save you from yourself. You do realize that Miss Drake is only chasing you for the title and fortune?”
Harry fisted his hands. “Have you ever met Louisa Drake?”
“Of course, I have. Why?”
“Then you would know that she is not the type of woman to trap a man into marriage. She doesn’t care about my title or the fortune that goes with it.”
Daphne released a long sigh. “Oh, Harry, you are so naïve. That is all she is after. Her eldest sister made a point to befriend our father to gain his trust and climb up into Polite Society. When she failed to land him as a husband, she married her way from baron to earl. Obviously, they left duchess to Louisa who could twist you around her little finger to get what she wants.”
“Enough!” He shot out of his chair and stared down at her. “Louisa Drake is not like her mother or her sister. She doesn’t care if she marries into a title or not. All she wants is a man who will love her.”
“She wants you,” Daphne whispered.
“She is going to marry Collingwood,” he stated, collapsing back into his chair.
“Collingwood? Why would he be interested in her?”
Sometimes his sister drove him mad. And this was one of those times. “Louisa Drake is a fascinating person. She is beautiful and intriguing. What man wouldn’t be interested in her?”
“That is not what I meant,” she muttered with a shake of her head. “Collingwood is low on funds. His father spent a fortune on horses but had a terrible eye for horseflesh. He lost huge amounts by buying overpriced horses, which couldn’t win a race. I heard Collingwood sold the estate in Suffolk to pay back what he could but wasn’t enough. Rumors are he is still in for at least ten thousand, and some say closer to twenty.”
“Collingwood needs funds?” He should have known that. But still, the viscount had danced with her twice and called on her once. Collingwood should know she didn’t have money, as everything her family lived on was from Tessa’s late husband or Lord Hammond’s kindest to his mistress.
Harry didn’t think Collingwood was the type of man who would go after Tessa’s money. Perhaps he was intrigued by Louisa. Harry’s stomach roiled with too much drink and a slow ache pressing into his heart.
He had to find her another man. A better man than Collingwood...or himself.
AFTER FOUR DAYS OF not seeing Harry, Louisa didn’t want to get up in the morning. She missed Harry dreadfully, but she’d been foregoing the few social events scheduled so she wouldn’t see him after what happened in his study. She didn’t know how she could ever face him again after what they had done that night.
How could she?
How could she see him without wanting him to do what they had done and more?