trial. They’re nice people. They treat me like family. And they don’t go hieing off to places at any hour of the night to do Lord knows what without a word to anyone. Nor do they expect their sisters to hang about for years, futilely hoping for some . . . some future beyond—”
“Enough, Beatrice.” A muscle flexed in his jaw. “If you want a come-out, have one. I’ll see if I can’t . . . scrape together some funds.”
“You don’t need to. My aunt says she can afford to pay for mine since Thornstock is paying for his twin’s. Indeed, both Aunt Lydia and Lady Gwyn seem eager to help me gain a husband.”
“Which is all you want, isn’t it?” he said bitterly. “To get away from me.”
Of course he would see it like that. “I want to have a life, blast it! Yes, I want a husband and children to love and a home of my own that I can be sure won’t be pulled out from under me! Is that so unreasonable?”
He gaped at her, clearly thrown off by her fervent expression of her true desires, which she did try to hide around him, because she never knew what might set him off.
“It’s not unreasonable,” he finally said, tightening his hand on the head of his cane. “I just wish you would find a husband here, in town.”
“Yes, because there are so many young men around with a war on.”
The minute he went rigid she regretted mentioning the war. “Right,” he snapped. “All those men off serving their country while I hobble around here—” He caught himself. “Forgive me. I’m merely . . . annoyed that I can’t be the one to help you gain what you want. To ensure you have a proper debut.”
That stuck a pin in the balloon of her anger. “Oh, Joshua. I know where your heart is. I do.” She couldn’t resist lifting a hand to stroke his cheek. When he shied away from the affectionate gesture, she stifled a sigh and dropped her hand. “And it’s not as if you could do it on your own, anyway. I must have a woman present me. It’s really very kind of our aunt to offer.”
“Very kind, indeed,” he bit out. “That lot is nothing if not ‘kind.’”
The way he said it gave her pause. “What is that supposed to mean? You’ve barely spent time with our aunt, you ignore Sheridan, and you haven’t even met Lady Gwyn.”
“None of them has ever given a . . . bloody damn about what happens to you until now, and suddenly they show up offering you a debut in good society? Mark my words, they have some ulterior motive.”
“I’ll take that chance.”
Somehow she had to get her and Joshua out of this place, find somewhere more secure, where he could flourish . . . where she could flourish. Because right now they were dying a slow, miserable death amid the debris of Papa’s scandalous actions and Joshua’s deep wounds.
She was so sick of it. “Are you saying you won’t approve the scheme?”
The bleak anger in his hazel eyes made her want to cry. To her surprise, he said, “Of course I’ll approve it.”
She threw her arms about his neck, unable to keep from touching him. “Oh, thank you, thank you! You’re the best brother ever!”
Though he stiffened a bit, he didn’t push her away as he usually did. But he did say gruffly, “It isn’t as if you’re giving me much of a choice.”
She hugged him close. “I always give you a choice, Brother. As long as you make the right one.”
When she drew back, he was actually smiling. “I swear, duckie, you are growing up too fast.”
He hadn’t called her “duckie” in an age. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not only fully grown but rapidly approaching spinsterhood.”
“Nonsense. Any man with eyes can see you’re a diamond of the first water.”
“A diamond in the rough, perhaps,” she quipped. “And apparently, only blind men live around here.”
“Except our cousins, right?” Before she could answer, he added, “Very well, go on out into the great, wide world. I shan’t stop you.”
“You could accompany us to London,” she said on a breath. “I’m sure our aunt wouldn’t mind. And you deserve to be out in society, too.”
He scowled. “There is no way in hell I’m going near that cesspool. And trust me, no one wants me there, poking at all their pretensions.” He shoved his free hand in his