Free Julia London 4 Book Bundle by The Rogues of Regent Street

then reluctantly came to her feet. “Yes, the sewing,” she said unconvincingly. “If you need me, I shall be
in the sitting room.
” She said it so distinctly that Adrian had to suppress another smile of amusement Caroline looked once more at him, then practically sprinted for the door. She peered carefully into the corridor before slipping through, and closed the door softly behind her.
    Thankful to be free of the giggler, Adrian smiled warmly at Lilliana. “You must assure your sister that Iam not accustomed to offending women in their father’s study.”
    The tension seemed to have left her, and she flicked a dismissive hand toward the door. “Oh, that is my mother’s doing. Caroline lives in mortal fear that I shall receive another tongue-lashing,” she said absently.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    Lilliana jerked a wide-eyed gaze to him. “I mean … I mean … Mother worries that I will be un-chaperoned. Quite a lot,” she added with a quick, impatient roll of her eyes.
    “Indeed? And are you in need of a chaperone?”
    Her indelicate snort surprised him. “Hardly! What on earth could happen at Blackfield Grange?”
    And so did her naivete. “If one were so inclined, I rather imagine anything.”
    She frowned thoughtfully at him. “Indeed? Such as?”
    Adrian chuckled. “Lilliana, my offer?” he prompted her. She did not immediately answer, but gave him a soft shrug of her shoulders. All right, she was going to make him work for it. “Would you torture me with your silence? If your answer is no, then please, do me the favor of ending this uncertainty.”
    That made her wince ever so slightly. “I … I think it very kind of you, my lord, but I should … It’s just that … it’s just that I should very much like to know some things,” she said uneasily.
    “Anything.”
    She glanced up, assessing him. “Well … I should like to know why you offered my father such a large sum of money.”
    God, had Dashell told her the terms? Rather indelicate, but then Lord knew what customs ruled in the country. “Quite simple. I wanted to make sure he understood how determined I am. I hold you in great esteem, Lilliana, and I did not want to dicker over the terms of the betrothal if you would have me.”
    For a fleeting second she looked confused, thenstartled him by laughing gaily. “Oh my, you are not very practiced, are you?”
    Oddly, that remark made him want to squirm. “I beg your pardon?”
    “At least I may surmise that you have not offered for many others, as you would know that my father would have accepted
far
less than what you proposed. Without dickering.” She laughed again, flashing the lone dimple.
    “You have me there. I am quite new to this,” he agreed, feeling a sense of relief. “Is there more you would know?”
    She sobered immediately and glanced at the carpet again. “What of Benedict? Do you really think the two of you shall, ah, come to an understanding? He is rather tenderhearted, and I do believe he will be quite … well, perturbed.”
    She peeked up at him with such genuine concern that Adrian bit his tongue on the point that Benedict would fare well enough and always did. “We have suffered through worse and remain brothers.” It was not a lie. Lilliana said nothing, but drew her bottom lip between her teeth again. Adrian shifted forward in his chair. “What else would you like to know?”
    A soft frown creased her brow. “Where shall we live?”
    That should not have caught him by surprise, but he did not know the answer she wanted to hear. “Longbridge, for now,” he said carefully, “but if you prefer—”
    “Is it very far away?” she asked earnestly.
    Adrian nodded, thinking it best to leave the exact distance unsaid. “Not so far to prevent you from visiting your parents whenever you desire, but far enough one might think twice before arriving unannounced,” he said. To his considerable relief, she smiled fully and glanced at the window, a