Seeing Danger (Sinclair and Raven #2)(31)

It was amazing really, that surrounded by so many people she could feel so alone.

She had dressed in dull gray with a black lace trim, which made her appear as if she were in mourning. Bee had reluctantly put a small stuffed bird in her hair, after pulling it back severely, which by the end of the evening would give her a headache.

“He will be a suitable husband for you, Lilliana. I want to hear no more on the matter.”

Lilly reluctantly returned her eyes to her brother. He looked pale, and she realized he had lost weight. Was he sick? It would serve him right if he was. It was probably all that alcohol he consumed pickling his liver.

“I will not marry him, Nicholas, no matter what you and he say.” Lilly kept her voice low, wishing no one to overhear them. “And I will not be sacrificed because you could not manage father's money and are now in debt.”

“I am not in debt!”

“I am no fool, brother. You have never cared if I married before, or for that matter anything about me. Why now?”

He evaded her eyes.

“You look hideous tonight. How can you hold your head high? For pity’s sake, Lilliana, you have a bird in your hair!”

“It is a robin, not just a bird.”

“Why, Lilliana?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you dress like that and talk as you do when we enter a ballroom or function?”

Lilly wondered why now people were suddenly aware of the facade she had worn for so long. What had changed in her, to make them notice?

“I have dressed and talked this way for years; you were just too self-absorbed to notice. I am shallow and silly, and I like my taste in clothing. If you do not, that is your problem, Nicholas.”

“That old crone should never had given you her money. I am sure that is why you have never wed. But I will see you do, and before your next birthday, sister.”

“Ah, so you admit you want my money, brother, as you have run through yours, or should I say the family's. And never again speak of my grandmother in that way, or you shall regret it!”

“Bitch!”

“Greedy reprobate!”

Nicholas's snarl turned to a smile as he looked over Lilly's shoulder.

“Lord Danderfield, how opportune. My sister and I were just discussing your flattering proposal, and of course she is so enchanted by the prospect of becoming your wife.”

Scrunching her eyes closed, Lilly took a deep breath and then turning, she opened them once more.

“Of course she is. For pity’s sake, I would be doing the girl a favor, Braithwaite. Why, she is positively on the shelf, and look at her. A shameful creature. But you may be sure I shall take her in hand.”

She turned back to her brother. “And you hate me this much you would make me wed this man?”

“Greet me, girl!”

Lilly turned back to Danderfield before her brother replied. She had never really seen Lord Danderfield up close. Old and craggy was her first thought. His skin hung in folds, his hands were long and bony, and gray hair clung stubbornly to the sides of his head while the top was bald. He smelled of tobacco, spirits, and body odor, all of which she could smell clearly from her position several feet away.

“My brother has misled you, Lord Danderfield. I have no wish to marry, and especially not you. I am unsure why you have decided I would be a suitable wife now, but let me assure you that I would not.” If she had thought her harsh words would horrify the man, she had been mistaken. Licking his lips, he looked her over, taking especially long over her breasts, which were hidden behind the thick material of her hideous dress. His lips pulled into a thin line that Lilly thought constituted a smile.

“Spirit, excellent, Braithwaite. My last two wives were meek and gave me no fun at all. This one, however, I hold high hopes for.”

“I will not marry you, my lord,” Lilly said calmly, even though her heart was pounding. “No matter what promises my brother has given to the contrary.”

“I'll have you, girl, because no one else will, and your brother has consented.”

With these ominous words, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Lilly complied, as she had no wish to create a scene. But she would when she got her brother alone again.



“I just watched Lilly having a conversation with her brother and Lord Danderfield,” Dev said to James when he appeared at his side.

They were at the Deighton soirée, which was to Cam's mind just a fancy name for a ball.

“It may not have appeared heated, yet there was no doubting the tension in her as the two men talked. Danderfield's now dancing with her.”

Dev watched James take a step forward and look over the crowds to where Lilly danced with the old leech. Her face was tight as she tried to mask her feelings, but Dev had noticed everything about her from the minute she entered the room with her brother.

“God, that is a hideous dress, Sinclair.”

“It is an act, James. I am certain of that, just not sure why as yet.”

“She has a bird in her hair.”

“A robin, one would infer from the color of the breast.”

James snorted. “I need to speak to Nicholas and find out what the hell is going on.”

“He may not speak with you.”

“He will, or I will beat what I need out of him.”