Free Tempted at Every Turn by Robyn DeHart

but it’s not her primary concern. You know that.”
    He was right. Their mother was far more concerned with her garden than on whether of her children married and started families. But Willow firmly believed that was a product of her illness and not her true feelings on the matter.
    Willow toyed with the necklace at her throat. “I do worry about you. All your gambling. Wherever do you find the money for that sort of thing? And the additional funds you give to Papa?”
    He gently tweaked her nose. “Willow, you are too nosy for your own good. One of these days that curiosity is going to land you in a heap of trouble that your blessed rules can not work out.”
    Couples filled the dance floor as the band began a quadrille. Willow immediately spotted Charlotte dancing with the Marquess of Sinclair. They made a striking pair together with their tall statures and attractive features. Willow snuck a look at Edmond and was unsure if he saw the couple before they moved further into the ballroom. She noted that his jaw clenched, and supposed he’d seen everything she had. While she had never received confirmation, she’d always speculated that her brother had fancied Charlotte more than he was willing to admit.
    Her eyes traveled back to Charlotte, who now laughed as a new partner twirled her about. Something in her chest pinched. Charlotte, always the beauty. Always the center of some man’s attention, more than likely a crowd of gentlemen. Willow tried to hide her wistful sigh. It had been ages since she had been asked to dance. Ages since a man’s hands had brushed her own and used his strength to guide her about the sheen of the dance floor.
    There had been a time when she’d enjoyed the few moments in which she’d held a man’s attention. But then she’d realized she didn’t have that sort of luxury with her time, couldn’t afford to encourage a relationship of that type. Not when it had become abundantly clear that her mother would require more constant care. This was precisely the reason Willow rarely attended these functions; they made her want things she could not afford to desire.
    “Willow?” she heard Edmond ask. “Your mind is elsewhere this evening.”
    She smiled. “Yes, it is. I apologize. I’m afraid I didn’t get much sleep last night and I—” Her eyes fell on the familiar form of Inspector Sterling and her words died in her throat. “Oh, goodness,” she said. What was he doing here?
    “Oh, goodness, what?” Edmond asked.
    “What?” Then she remembered she’d been in the midst of fabricating some story of lost sleep to excuse her flighty behavior. “I merely saw someone, that’s all.” There wasn’t any good way to tell her older brother that she’d unofficially joined the ranks of the Metropolitan Police. “Someone I wasn’t expecting.” So she couldn’t explain her new unladylike relationship with James, but the odds were quite unlikely she’d actually have to. There was no conceivable reason why James would engage her in public. Besides, it looked as if his entire family was with him.
    “Who?” Edmond asked.
    “James Sterling. A friend of Colin’s, an inspector with the police.” She’d seen Lord and Lady Dandridge on enough occasions to recognize them, but this evening she could see their resemblance to James. He and his father were nearly the same height, James having an inch or so on the older man. And Lady Dandridge—she had the same dimples Willow had briefly seen displayed in James’ smile. “We met at Amelia’s earlier this week,” she added absently. That was true enough.
    “And you do not like him,” her brother stated.
    It did not matter if she liked him or not. Or found him dashing—that especially did not matter. And it appeared she wasn’t the only one who found him so. As he stepped into the crowd, the fans started waving and a chorus of giggles broke out every time he walked past a clump of ladies.
    He actually swaggered, no doubt fully aware of