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He took her hand and kissed it, a sense of relief coursing through him. “You are more than gracious, my lady.”

He rose and bowed, and she rose and curtsied. He turned toward the door and then back to say, “I do fervently hope you will find the felicity you deserve, my dear Isabella, for you are truly an extraordinary woman. Thank you for your understanding.”

She smiled then and said softly, “I hope that Lady Ava knows how very fortunate she is.”

He flushed at the mention of Ava’s name and said roughly, “I am the one who is fortunate. Good day to you.” He left then, his heart considerably lighter than it had been prior to his visit.

Jerome went to his club in search of a meal. He had been far too agitated to eat earlier. He made his way to the dining room and found Emrys, Viscount Ashford, eating beefsteak and reading the paper. The man hadn’t seen him yet, and he hesitated near the doorway, not sure if he wanted company and the questions that would inevitably come. But Ashford looked up at that moment and smiled at him and the die was cast.

Emrys waved him over, and he crossed the room to the table under the window and drew out a chair.

“What are you doing here? Thought you were ruralizing in that vast pile of yours?”

“I had to come back to town,” he said cryptically, as a waiter came over at the viscount’s signal.

“Want a glass?” asked Ashford, indicating the bottle of Chambertin on the table.

“Thank you, yes.” The waiter produced a glass and poured for him, topping up Ashford’s glass as well. Jerome gave the man his order and braced himself for questions.

“Have anything to do with the rumors?” Emrys asked, cutting into his bloody steak.

In the act of raising his glass, Jerome lowered it and said hollowly, “What rumors?”

“About Lannister and Ava.”

“What?” Jerome’s heart jerked and skittered.

“I’d have said it was all nonsense if Rob hadn’t hared off last week, but both he and Sarah left town in a hell of a rush a week ago, and Ava hasn’t been seen since the night before that. Silverly’s in a right state about it. And when it came out that Lannister was missing, too, people started speculating.” Ashford caught the look on Jerome’s face and put down his fork. “You know something? What is it?”

Jerome closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it. In a lowered voice he said, “I don’t know anything about Lannister, but I do know where Ava is. I know I can trust you with this. In fact, I’m surprised Rob hasn’t written to tell you already, but perhaps there hasn’t been time.”

Ashford nodded, picking up his glass and sipping it. The deep ruby liquid caught the light and glowed.

Jerome felt his face flushing as he said, “Ava got wind of my offer for the countess and—” He swallowed a mouthful of wine. It was a heavy burgundy, woody and fragrant on the palate. “She turned up at Ravenshaw in the middle of a thunderstorm. Rob and Sarah followed mere hours after. The long and the short of it is, we are to be married from The Castle in three weeks.” His heart beat rapidly as he waited for his friend’s reaction.

Emrys snorted. “Thank God! You finally saw sense.”

“Ah—what?”

Emrys resumed eating. “Well, you might have hoodwinked everyone else, but you didn’t fool me! I saw the look in your eyes when Rob announced he’d secured the match for Ava with Haldane. You were devastated. Not that I hadn’t seen you looking at her like a man starving to death before that. Although,” he added, “I have to admit it was Annis that twigged me to it. A very observant woman, my wife.” He said this with a smug, affectionate smile. “And she knows Ava better than anyone.” Being Ava’s former governess, that was understandable.

Jerome’s meal appeared just then, which gave him time to gather his thoughts a little. When the waiter had withdrawn, he leaned forward and said, “If you knew all this, why didn’t you say anything?”

Emrys shrugged a shoulder. “Not my place to interfere. Besides, I appreciated your scruples. We all knew Ava had an inclination for you when she was younger, but lately, it was harder to tell if that were still the case. And I knew Rob wouldn’t like it. He favored Haldane, which on the face of it would be an excellent match for Ava. We all thought so, you included.” He paused, took a sip of wine, and added, “Everyone except Ava, apparently.”

Jerome smiled wryly. “Yes. Rob seems reconciled now, though.”

“Good, I’d hate to be asked to act for him to put a bullet through you.”

“I suppose I’d have to ask Deo to be my second?” Jerome smiled wryly, knowing this was a joke to lighten the mood.

“Yes, sorry old chap, but Robert has a prior claim on me.”

Jerome nodded. He knew the bond between Rob and Ashford was a deep one. He cut into his beef pie and chewed thoughtfully.

“The countess turned you down in the end?” asked Ashford.

Jerome contemplated telling him the truth and decided the less anyone knew about that little complication, the better, and nodded.