out of his mind. The luscious curves, the dusky rose of her nipples . . . Damn. He could have happily lived a lifetime never having seen that. Now it had raised a whole passel of completely unbrotherly feelings in him for the girl that he just didn't know what to do with.
He needed to hire that runner and get this whole situation resolved as quickly as possible, Robert decided. He also needed a night with his mistress soon. Hopefully a romp with Giselle would help wipe the vision of Lisa in the brothel from his mind. Perhaps then he could return to seeing her as sweet, young, dreamy-eyed, silly little Lisa Madison.
Chapter Six
The slamming of her bedroom door stirred Lisa from sleep and had her blinking her eyes open to see Bet rushing excitedly toward her.
"You'll never believe it," Bet said excitedly, rushing around the bed to her side, her face flushed with excitement. "Lord Langley is here. Cook says he spent the night and is going to stay for days.
That he is having some painting done at his townhouse and Lord Radnor invited him to reside here to avoid the smell and noise." Lisa groaned and pulled her pillow to cover her head with disgust, only to have Bet pull it away.
"Didn't you hear me? Lord Langley is here," she said slowly and loudly as if Lisa may have misheard her.
"I heard," she said with a grimace. "And I already knew. The painting is just an excuse. He's staying here to keep an eye on me until they find out who the suitor was. The men seem to think the fellow might make another attempt to take me."
Bet's eyes had grown wider and larger as Lisa spoke, and now concern covered her face. "Really? I hadn't thought of that. I thought that business was done once he got ye safely away." She bit her lip worriedly. "Ye shall have to be careful then."
Lisa sighed and took her pillow from Bet's hands to put it back under her head. "I shall be. But right now I am going back to sleep."
"Wouldn't ye rather get up and go down to breakfast?" Bet asked with a frown. "Lord Radnor and Lord Langley just went down. Ye can still join them if we hurry."
"Why on earth would I trouble myself to dine with a man who isn't the least bit interested in me?" Lisa asked grimly and turned on her side, eyes closing.
"Are ye sure that's all he feels?" Bet asked with a frown. "His wanting to look out for ye shows he cares. You always said he did and - "
"I was wrong," she interrupted with annoyance. "He made it abundantly clear that he thinks of me as nothing more than a little sister, Bet."
"Oh," she said sadly. "Well . . . what are you going to do then?"
"Find a husband among the available bachelors this season and forget about him," she said firmly. "But to do that I need my rest."
"Right," Bet murmured, getting the point. "I shall let ye sleep then."
"Thank you," Lisa whispered, and listened as the maid left the room. She lay still and tried to relax into sleep, but it wasn't as easy as she'd hoped. She was awake now, and not likely to find sleep again.
Lisa shifted from one side to the other, and then rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, grimacing when her stomach growled. Sighing, she finally just gave up and got out of bed. She was hungry. She may as well get up and go below. The problem was she had sent Bet away.
Lisa shrugged. She could dress herself, and she'd just leave her hair down. It wasn't like she cared to look attractive for Richard or Robert anyway.
Decision made, she walked over to kneel in front of her chest and began to sort through her gowns. After a moment, she sat back on her heels with disgust. Every single gown she owned was awash in frills and ruffles, and for some reason, she was repulsed by the overly feminine creations now. She'd always thought them pretty before, but last night at the ball she'd noticed that they seemed to make the other women look young and sweet. It was no wonder Robert had seen her that way for so long, she'd thought, and now found herself preferring a more simple arrangement with less of the ruffling.
Lisa hesitated for a moment and then lifted out