gestured to Lord Edon.
Lord Edon straightened up and adjusted his cravat. “I take my torrid love affairs very seriously, my lord.”
“He does,” Mr. Robinson agreed. “Why, he even wrote a book on how to pleasure a lady.”
Lord Edon shook his head. “No, I didn’t write that book. Someone else did.”
“Who?” a nearby gentleman asked.
Lord Edon shrugged. “How would I know? The books are from an anonymous author. They show up every year at the beginning of the Season at my townhouse.”
Mr. Robinson rolled his eyes. “A likely story.”
“It’s true,” Lord Edon insisted.
While the two continued to argue, Mr. Stonewall told Aaron, “You are forbidden from associating with those gentlemen. Your wife specifically said you should not associate with rakes.”
She had? Aaron didn’t make it a habit of hanging around rakes, but this was the most offensive thing he’d ever heard. Who was Kitty to say whom he could or couldn’t talk to?
Lord Steinbeck smiled. “I like your wife, Lord Northton. What was her last name before she married you?”
“Miss Farrow,” Aaron replied since he didn’t think he could get out of answering the question.
Lord Steinbeck’s eyebrows furrowed. “That isn’t Lord Halloway’s sister, is it?”
“It is.” Might as well come out and admit that his wife’s brother had successfully managed to make his life extremely unpleasant.
“I’m impressed. She saw the results of her brother’s lustful appetites and decided her husband would not be like him. She’s an intelligent lady to come up with the chaperone idea.”
It hadn’t been her idea. All she’d done was copy what he’d done, but Aaron chose to keep quiet. His decision to come to White’s was quickly turning into a disaster. Apparently, he was not to have a normal life until he got that blasted heir.
“Oh, forget it,” Aaron muttered. “I’m going back home.”
As he turned to go toward the door, Lord Steinbeck called out, “Your friend is welcome to stay. I approve having him as a guest. He has my permission to check the establishment for ladies any time he wishes, though,” he hurried to add, “he won’t find any.”
“I’m not in the mood to be here anymore,” Aaron said over his shoulder.
“Ah, you should stay,” Lord Edon shouted. “And who knows? There might be a lady in disguise around here.”
“It’d make the place more interesting if there was,” Mr. Robinson added.
Another round of laughter erupted behind him, but Aaron ignored them all as he marched out of the establishment. He was going to be the laughingstock of London. There was no avoiding it. Coming here had been a mistake. He should have known Lord Edon and Mr. Robinson would ruin things for him. They would be talking about this for days. Weeks. Maybe even months. Perhaps even years. He might even have to move to another country. His life just might, possibly, be over.
Chapter Eight
Kitty was in the drawing room, reading a book she’d purchased at the market during the walk she’d taken with her friends. Miss Britcher sat a couple of chairs away from her. She wasn’t reading. She was just sipping tea and staring at nothing in particular. Quite frankly, it spooked Kitty, but she’d rather be in the large room with plenty of sunlight than in her dim bedchamber. Given a lack of proper lighting, Miss Britcher made her think of a witch.
With a slight shiver, Kitty returned her gaze to the book in her lap. She had just gotten back into the story when someone barked that he wanted to be alone with his wife.
Kitty jerked. She looked up and saw a very angry Aaron enter the room. “Get out,” he told Miss Britcher.
Surprised he would use that tone of voice with her chaperone, Kitty glanced at Miss Britcher, but Miss Britcher didn’t seem to mind the way he talked to her. She just set down her cup and strode out of the room.
Aaron slammed the door and stormed over to her.
Despite the wave of apprehension that swept over her, Kitty was determined to hold her ground. She set the book on the table then stood up and faced him. To show him he couldn’t intimidate her, she lifted her chin in the air. She’d once heard her brother say that a lady who confronted a gentleman directly like that wasn’t one to argue with. He’d said docile ladies were far easier to control. And quite frankly, she was tired of being controlled.
Aaron reached her and set his hands on his hips. “Does it give you pleasure to humiliate me