To Kiss a Highland Rose (Kiss the Wallflower #6) - Tamara Gill Page 0,15

win one's heart, one must be determined, or so he'd heard matrons of the ton tell their charges the few times he'd bothered listening in on their conversations.

He spied Rawden drinking whisky near the terrace doors. Joining him, he procured his own glass of wine from a passing footman. "The ball is going well. How is your chasing of Lady Julia going? You seem quite enamored of her."

Rawden grinned, saluting with his drink. "Very well, thank you. I may even steal a kiss later this evening if I can maneuver her into the gardens."

"Hmm, I wish you well with that." The idea did have merit, and he glanced back to where he'd left Lady Elizabeth, thinking of trying a similar move. Would she be a willing participant in a kiss? If he wished to marry her, he ought to find out if there was any sexual awakening on his part when he kissed her. Certainly, each time he touched her, he was loath to set her aside. A marriage by his estimation would work between them.

"You ought to try it yourself, Hastings. From what I hear, Lady Elizabeth is quite the catch in Scotland, no matter her disastrous Season in London. Did you know that her sister-in-law is the sister to Marchioness Graham and sister to Mr. Stephen Grant, who married Lady Clara Quinton, the Duke of Law's only daughter?"

Sebastian frowned, having quite forgotten the connections Lady Elizabeth had to high society in England. All the more reason she and her extended family never found out why he wished to marry her. Not until the deed was done, at least. They would loathe him for all eternity, tricking their Elizabeth into being his wife, but that wouldn't matter to him, not once he owned Halligale again.

"I had forgotten, you're right."

"Are you still going to continue on with your plan? The moment he finds out that you are courting his sister, her brother is sure to put a stop to it. He will see straight through your interest for what it is. A means of getting back the property he won from your brother at cards. I would suggest, as your friend," Rawden said, crossing his heart with his hand, "to give up the chase. For as much as she's beautiful, witty, and eligible, you will only cause her pain if you trick her into marriage."

Sebastian frowned, turning to Rawden. "Whose side are you on? Are you not supposed to be my friend? Have my back?"

Rawden glared back in turn. "I am your friend, and that is why I caution you on this. If you stop, no one will be hurt, and no Scottish lairds will be out for English blood."

He shrugged. "I like a good sword fight every now and then, and Mackintosh's underhanded ways of winning Halligale from my brother need attending to in any case. I may have to ensure there is no way of her refusing me. I shall have Halligale back then."

Rawden gaped. "You would ruin her to get your way?"

"Others have done it before me." Sebastian looked back to where Elizabeth stood, smiling with her friends, her lips a deep, rosy red that made his blood pump fast in his veins. No, he could not ruin her to get his own way, no matter how much easier that path would be. He wanted her to choose him because she wanted him above anyone else. Not because he had seduced her and they were caught.

"Do stop glaring at me, Rawden. I shall not seduce her. Disregard my earlier comment. I was an ass."

Seemingly satisfied, Rawden nodded, changing the subject to the events that awaited them in Edinburgh on their return. "So from all accounts, we're quite the popular gentlemen this year."

"I had heard," Sebastian said, spying Lady Elizabeth and her friend Lady Julia slipping from the ball through the terrace doors. "Come, we'll gain some fresh Scottish air. The night is surprisingly warm, and it will revitalize us for the late night we're to have."

Rawden agreed, and they walked from the room, stepping out onto the large, stone terrace that overlooked the grounds. There were just as many people out on the terrace as there seemed to be indoors. It made it almost impossible to spy where his quarry had disappeared to.

"She came outside, did she not?" Rawden asked, his tone bored.

"Yes." Sebastian chuckled, pushing ahead. "Come, she left with Lady Julia. Mayhap you can persuade her to dance with you and give me additional time