An Affair So Right (Rebel Hearts #4)(66)

Quinn frowned, wondering what might be bothering his betrothed now.

Theodora turned to him. “Would you excuse us a moment, my lord? I need to have a private conversation with your mother, if you do not mind.”

That seemed ominous. He nodded slowly. “Don’t yell too loudly at Mama, my dear,” Quinn advised.

He left the room, but instead of retreating entirely, he lingered on the other side of the door to listen. Quinn thought it a good idea to know how Theodora and his mother spoke to each other when he wasn’t around. He eased as close to the gap in the doors as he dared to listen.

“…have the truth between us,” Theodora was saying in a firm voice. “Lady Berkley did not goad you to do this, did she? You announced an engagement for a reason you will not reveal to your son. What is it?”

Quinn gaped in the telling silence.

“You are as perceptive as your mother has always claimed,” his mother complained.

What was this? Quinn moved his eye to the crack between the doors and peered through.

Theodora was standing over his mother, hands on hips. “Do not change the subject, Maggie dearest. I am very cross with you right now.”

He almost laughed at how his mother pretended to cower. Theodora just stood there waiting.

“Clever women like you are always a pleasure to deal with,” mother exclaimed after a moment, then sat up straight again. “But we’ll rub along together quite well, I suspect. That is why I chose you for this endeavor.”

“The reason—and no more delay with flattering me!”

Quinn had never heard Theodora so angry before. She was cold and unforgiving. He couldn’t be more impressed. Mother had ruled the roost for a long time. Many women gave way to her immediately, but not Theodora Dalton apparently.

“Oh, very well,” mother grumbled. “We are in mourning, and then the season will begin. Louisa will have her chance to charm the gentlemen, and my son will be back among the ton where he belongs. It worries me that my son will be the Duke of Rutherford sooner than we ever planned for. I cannot have him make a mistake at such a time that might see him matched with an unsuitable woman.”

“I doubt he would make such a mistake and marry the wrong woman.”

“I am not so sure of that. Quinn’s long-term friendship with that mistress he had is proof that he’s just like every other man.”

“That woman underestimated his appeal. I’ve already seen to it that she never bothers him again.”

“Did you now? Well, that is well done of you.” Mother beamed. “A betrothal will take him off the marriage mart before the season even begins…”

“…and allow him to make the right choice at a time of his choosing,” Theodora finished.

“Exactly.”

There was a long pause, and Theodora’s hands slid off her hips. “So, you are using me.”

“Well, yes. I hope you don’t greatly mind the part you must play in all this.” Mother fell silent a long moment. “Never think I would deliberately entrap anyone I care about into a loveless marriage such as I had?”

“I would never agree to that,” Theodora promised. “Neither would he, I believe. I am surprised he is willing to go along with such a lie.”

He was going along with it because marriage to Theodora was what he wanted in the end. He’d settle for a temporary understanding, and a real engagement—complete with a proposal, flowers, and loving whatnots—would come when he was sure Theodora’s feelings for him were reciprocated.

“My son is imminently sensible and very forgiving. Patient, too.” There was another long pause, and Quinn strained to hear anything. “All I want is for him to marry someone he loves.”

“As do I.” He pondered what Theodora wanted for her future as she began to pace the room. “I want your promise that you will not make any arrangements for a marriage to actually take place. No new gowns ordered, no inquiries sent to the church. If you do anything that commits either one of us to actually marry, I shall call the whole thing off immediately and let you drown in your embarrassment. Do we understand each other?”

“Absolutely, my dear. You and I will get along famously, don’t you agree?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

Quinn smiled widely and backed away, delighted with what he’d heard so far. A fake engagement engineered by his mother should have been alarming, but he should have known Theodora was more than a match for his mother’s own managing tendencies.

She would indeed be the perfect wife for him one day. Just as soon as she realized she was already part of his family.





Chapter 26





“I had a thousand things to do tonight,” Theodora whispered as she smiled at the footmen still lining the sides of the dining room. The six servants were waiting for everyone to retire to another room so they could clear the dishes from the formal dinner she’d just shared with her faux betrothed.

“Work can wait long enough for us to share a meal, surely,” Quinn murmured, as he strode along at her side.

She glanced at him, and then toward Lady Templeton. “That is, word for word, exactly what she said to me earlier.”

Quinn smiled quickly. “Did you never dine with Daniel when you were engaged?”