As the Devil Dares (Capturing the Carlisles #3)(18)

“But leave you completely out of it?” she interjected dryly.

He grinned and popped the tiny tart into his mouth.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

“Your Grace.” The butler nodded politely to the duchess, then to Robert. “Sir. Miss Winslow has arrived.”

And so it begins.

Robert rose to his feet. “Show her in, Saunders.”

The man nodded and disappeared back into the hallway. A few moments later, he reappeared to formally announce, “Miss Mariah Winslow.”

She swept into the room with the intensity of a summer storm. For a moment, Robert was taken aback and could only stare. Good Lord, she was lovely.

She’d had presence yesterday, but now self-assuredness practically dripped from her. Which was even more surprising given her choice of attire—a pale pink muslin dress with dark pink trim and matching pelisse, kid gloves embroidered with roses, and that ebony hair of hers upswept in a demure chignon. She looked for all the world like any young miss out for her season in pastels and ribbons, all primped and innocently perfect, with no trace of the true minx she was showing through the carefully constructed fa?ade.

“Lord Robert.” She kept her gaze lowered as she dropped into a curtsy. “How lovely to see you again. Thank you ever so much for the invitation to tea.”

He paused. She was being…nice. His eyes narrowed. What game was she playing? “Thank you for accepting.” Then he smiled as he came forward to formally greet her. After all, she wasn’t the only one who could play at manners. “A more welcome visitor to Park Place we’ve never had.”

Her lips twisted at the private meaning behind his comment. “Surely you have more visitors than that!”

“None like you, I assure you,” he returned the volley, noting the gleam in her eyes that they’d fallen so easily back into yesterday’s sparring. And liking it. Only the Hellion could make him look forward to battle. One he planned on decisively winning.

From the look in her eyes, however, so did she.

But he was also aware of his mother’s puzzled frown as she watched them curiously. Not wanting to explain their war to the duchess, he took her arm and led her across the room. “Mother, may I introduce you to Miss Mariah Winslow? Miss Winslow, my mother, Elizabeth Carlisle, Duchess of Trent.”

“Your Grace.” As Mariah dropped into a low curtsy, genuine nervousness danced across her face. That the Hellion would be nervous about meeting anyone…Interesting.

“Miss Winslow.” His mother smiled and reached to squeeze both of Mariah’s hands. “Welcome to Park Place.”

“Thank you.” Her nervous smile turned into a full-out beaming beneath his mother’s warm welcome. “I’m quite beside myself to be here.”

Oh, Robert was certain of that. But how much of that glow on her face was nothing but pretense?

If his mother noted anything peculiar in Mariah’s remark, though, she didn’t comment. But then, she wouldn’t. His mother exuded a sense of natural elegance that most women could only envy, yet one that Mariah seemed to match grace for grace.

“Sit here by me.” His mother gestured to the settee. “Tea?”

Mariah sank gracefully onto the cushions while Robert collapsed into the chair opposite them. “Yes, thank you.”

His mother smiled and poured cups, handing one to Robert and a second to Mariah. “So, Miss Winslow—”

“Mariah, please,” she interjected. “I would be honored if Your Grace would use my Christian name.”

Robert choked on his tea. And on her flattery.

But his mother didn’t seem to notice. Instead, her smile brightened. “It is indeed a pleasure to have you here at Park Place, Mariah.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Robert studied her closely. The smile she gave the duchess seemed wholly genuine. And lovely. What would it feel like to have her guilelessness aimed at him for once, instead of her rancor?

Mariah offered politely, “Your house is beautiful. I’d heard stories about how grand it is, but they certainly didn’t do it justice.” She trailed her gaze admiringly around the room. “I’m so fortunate to be here this afternoon.”

Robert fixed his gaze on her, wariness nipping at his heels. “Why is that?”

She smiled patronizingly at him. As if he were a bedlamite. “Because Her Grace has so graciously offered to help with my season.”

“It’s my pleasure, my dear,” Mother assured her and gained Mariah’s grateful smile.

Robert tightened his jaw. How could she do it, be so sincere and polite to his mother yet remain ready to sink her claws into him the moment his guard slipped? She was more cunning than he’d given her credit for.

“When Robert asked me if I would help with your season, I wanted to have this opportunity for us to meet, to see if we would be a good fit to take on society together.” His mother rested her hand on Mariah’s arm and softly assured her with sympathetic understanding, “I would never attempt to take the place that your mother should have had, but perhaps we can work to give you the kind of season she would have wanted for you.”

Mariah’s lips parted slightly as she stared at the duchess, absorbing the offer she’d just made, and the glistening of emotion in her eyes struck him with unexpected force. She’d truly been affected by his mother’s kindness.