A Scandalous Portrait (The Rose Room Rogues #1) - Callie Hutton Page 0,25

stood and continued their walk, and Diana became uncomfortably aware of how her body was reacting to this innocuous stroll. She’d been telling herself for days there was no attraction between the two of them, that it was all her imagination.

No. She’d been fooling herself. Something had shifted between them and, not only was she feeling it, but it was quite possible Hunt did as well. She decided to take the bull by the horn.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

She felt Hunt’s muscles tense under her arm.

“No. Why would you say that?”

“Well, perhaps because for the past week I didn’t see you at any of the normal events a man who is looking for a bride would attend.”

He glanced down at her. “Who said I was looking for a bride?”

“You did.” She tilted her head to look into his eyes. “And I heard it from a number of people after I returned from Italy. Apparently when one of the most eligible bachelors in the ton makes it known he is ready to settle down and set up his nursery, ferocious mamas and desperate daughters take note.”

He shrugged. “It had crossed my mind. I am not getting any younger.”

Why did that bother her so much? The thought of Hunt marrying and taking a sweet, silly debutante to his bed and into his life depressed her. Someone perfect, of course. Not like her with her scandals and other mishaps.

A blasé attitude would be best. “Any prospects?”

Just when she decided he wasn’t going to answer, he said, “No. Not really.” He kept his face forward and didn’t look at her.

That was not a sense of relief she felt. No. It didn’t matter to her one whit if he had his eyes set on someone or not.

It didn’t matter at all.

10

Three days of the blasted house party had passed, and Hunt was no closer to obtaining the name of the person working to bring down the government than upon arrival.

Despite Diana’s best attempts to keep Lady Eunice away from him, the young girl found more reasons for him to assist her than one could imagine. It got to the point where he almost asked her if she employed any footmen.

The games had been as silly and degrading as he’d feared, but Diana had come through once or twice by asking him to walk with her in the garden to get a breath of fresh air.

Although it would leave them open to speculation, they didn’t return to the drawing room until the tea carts had rolled out. There were a few raised eyebrows, but since Hunt and Diana had been in view of other couples the entire time, nothing was said.

Except Lady Eunice had looked daggers at Diana.

Today, Lady Grafton had set up a trip to town for the guests. They would visit Roman ruins outside the town, then do some shopping and meet afterwards at a local pub for lunch.

Hunt stepped out of the front door and immediately went to Diana’s side. “Do not leave me alone today,” he murmured from the side of his mouth.

Diana laughed, a hardy sound that one would never hear from any other young lady of the ton. She leaned closer and whispered. “Are you afraid of someone, my lord? Do you need protection from pirates or other brigands?”

“Not funny. I don’t expect to uncover any information in a trip to town, but Lady Eunice and Miss Allison have taken turns talking my ear off, and I prefer a morning of peace and quiet.”

“And you think to get peace and quiet from me?” Diana laughed even harder.

“Your type of peace and quiet I’ve been handling for years, my sweet.”

Diana took the arm he offered. “Were I you, I would be more concerned with one of them attempting to make it appear as if you compromised her.”

“Yes, there is that, too.”

He couldn’t help but think of Diana’s flight to Italy after the same thing happened to her. Except she hadn’t been the one who’d planned the discovery of them together. It had been Viscount Stratford, eager to get his hands on Diana’s money. She’d been wise to refuse to marry him. The man would have made her life miserable.

But she paid the price.

There were only two days left to gather information before they returned to London. So far he’d not seen any of the staff speaking with a guest, except for the normal interaction one would see at any house party.

He’d taken to wandering the halls at night to see if