Hector had ever watched such a scheme unfold so coldly. He felt…unclean just being in the same room with them.
Hector stood. “Well, gentlemen. I think I must leave you now. Brave the cold and stretch my legs outside. Until dinner.”
“Yes, dinner,” Blackwood murmured. “I look forward to it very much.”
Vyne said nothing.
Hector strolled from the room but he had no intention of freezing his balls off outside. He went directly upstairs, taking them two at a time, and stalked the halls until he found Ruby. She was in a bedchamber, a pretty evening gown laid out upon her bed. A dress meant to impress a suitor, and he wondered, too, if it was even hers. “What are you doing with that?”
“What? The dress?”
“Yes.”
“I’m to wear it for dinner, I suppose. My uncle sent it along with several others this morning.”
By the look of it the gown possessed a very low bodice meant to encourage a seduction. He recalled how Vyne had fawned all over Blackwood downstairs and felt sick. “You will not encourage that man’s attentions by wearing that dress to dinner. I forbid it.”
Ruby paused, and then moved toward him. She sighed as she looked up into his face. “I expected you to say something to that effect.”
Faced with such a calm response to his outburst, Hector made an effort to control his temper. “He’s not for you.”
“Then who is? You?”
Hector snorted and took a step back. “That’s not why I’m here.”
She winced. “I know. I’ve known all along your interest in me is only an amusement. You’ve made your wishes quite plain but so have I. The needs of my life are not amusing, and they are no one’s business but mine. I must marry to protect my son. Blackwood isn’t married and it’s plain to see he could deal with my father-in-law quite easily.”
“He doesn’t even know about Pip.”
“But he will and once we become better acquainted, he might want to be a father to my son and help us stay together.”
“Ruby let me—”
She patted his chest. “No, Hector. I do thank you for your company and your concern for our future. But please allow me to decide how best to protect my son.”
“Blackwood isn’t the man for you, or good enough to be a father to Pip. You’re making a grave mistake.”
She shook her head. “Please don’t ruin this opportunity for me, Hector. Blackwood might just turn out to be the man of my dreams.”
“Or your darkest nightmare,” Hector muttered under his breath.
Chapter Twelve
Samuel Blackwood was a hard man to draw into a conversation, but Ruby tried her best. She and her uncle were sitting in the conservatory surrounded by potted palms the next morning and struggling through a discussion on the latest scandals. The room was so well heated, Ruby could hardly stand it. She desperately wished for a fan with which to cool her face.
Of Hector, she’d seen no sign this morning. He’d taken her interest in Blackwood to heart and absented himself from socializing. That was a pity, for she was sure his presence might have helped lighten the mood in this room considerably.
“More tea, Uncle?”
“Yes, I think I will.” Lord Vyne held out his cup, his attention on her, and he nodded as she poured.
Ruby took that to mean he was pleased with her and with her attention to Blackwood so far. The only thing that rankled was Vyne’s insistence she could not introduce or mention her son to Blackwood still. It seemed a ridiculous restriction.
She passed her uncle his cup. “My lord.”
“Thank you, my dear.”
Uncle Vyne had begun speaking more sweetly to her as well since Blackwood had arrived and they’d been introduced. He made it seem like he was a benevolent, even affectionate relative. “Mr. Blackwood, would you care for a second cup?”
“No, thank you.”
Blackwood was strictly a one-cup-of-tea man and an impatient one. He often started tapping his foot when her uncle began droning on about their family.
She put the teapot down, having no interest in drowning in tea herself. After folding her hands in her lap, she looked to her uncle.
Vyne was watching Blackwood. “Have you had a chance to tour the manor, Mr. Blackwood?”
“Not as yet.”
Ruby did not blame the man. The Vynes’ public rooms seemed only a few degrees above freezing on most days.
“Mrs. Roper, if you would be so good as to give our guest a tour in my place.”
Although surprised by the unexpected request, Ruby inclined her head. “I’d be happy to.”
She knew little