“Bernie!” Anne hissed.

  “Have I not been there by your side helping you and your family?” Chester returned. “All while you complain about my presence when I am only trying to be a good friend. What would you do without me?”

  “Maybe I’d be married, and Anne wouldn’t have been impregnated by a Scotsman!”

  “Bernie!” Anne ground out. Then because her body was unpredictable, her knees went slack, and she fell back against the wall.

  Chester jumped into action and stopped her from falling too hard.

  He swung Anne into his arms, and Bernie frantically led them to Anne’s room, waving away a concerned footman as he appeared.

  “It’s all right, a sprained ankle is all, nothing to be concerned about,” Bernie called out to the footman.

  Once in the room, Bernie shooed the maid away who was unpacking Anne’s small trunk, and Chester set her down on the bed.

  Then he started pacing the room.

  “This—this is bad. Who is the father? He should be made to marry you at once.” He paused in his pacing and faced Anne, his gaze wandering over her figure.

  “I can tell your shape has changed. Soon everyone else will. What has your family done for you?”

  “They don’t know. Only you and I and Mr. Hart know,” Bernie said.

  “And you weren’t supposed to know,” Anne grumbled.

  He ran his fingers through his blond hair. “This is madness. Who is the father? I will pay him—”

  “She won’t say,” Bernie cut him off, “and I expected you to react in a calmer fashion, not like this.”

  “You ambushed me,” he said between clenched teeth. He rubbed his jaw. “I expected this of you but never Anne.”

  Bernie spun to face him. “You thought I would beget a child out of wedlock?”

  “Yes! You are easily seducible.”

  “What does that even mean? You think I’m stupid enough to be ravished by a rake?”

  Anne clamped her hands over her ears. “Enough! None of this is helping the situation.”

  “How can you think that of me? And you call yourself my friend?”

  “You love trouble. Just look at what happened with Violet and Weirick? You were eager to help her create mischief.”

  Bernie poked him in the chest. “That was for love.”

  “What about the time you told Billy Topper you’d go swimming with him at night in Middleton pond?”

  “I got three pounds of beef for that.”

  “He saw you in a wet night gown.” Chester growled.

  “Why do you care what he sees me in? He swore on his grandmother’s grave he wouldn’t tell a soul, and he’s kept his promise. You only know because I told you. I know how to protect myself.”

  He folded his arms, his face hardening into a stone mask. Anne had never seen him like this.

  “I care about your family,” he said. “This is beyond your childish behavior. I can see you don’t understand the magnitude, and so I must again save your hide.” He closed the distance between he and Bernie, leaning over her. “And Billy Topper did tell someone, he told Carlson and the McMackle twins. I had to thrash all three of them into silence. And now I will save you again because your sister needs to marry as soon as possible. I know none of the gentlemen here are up to the task of taking on a bride carrying the child of another man.”

  “What do you think you can do? Nag one of them into marrying her like you nag me?” Bernie returned.

  He straightened. “No. I’ll marry her.”

  Anne covered her mouth, but a surprised scream squeezed past her fingers.

  Bernie stepped back, and her mouth dropped open. She clamped it shut, sharing a shocked glance with Anne. “You can’t do that. Your father would not let you.”

  The notch in his neck bobbed up and down as he swallowed. “He might very well disinherit me, but I’ve my own money, and I can take care of everyone. I’ll take her across the border and marry her before anyone even knows.”

  Anne leapt from the bed. “No. I won’t agree to that. You cannot do that to your family.” She came to Bernie’s side and faced him. It’s not that she didn’t like Chester, she did, even considered him handsome with his thick blonde hair, his towering height, and his piercing pale blue eyes. But he’d been more like a brother and the idea of marriage to him was too much to bear. And… Well, it felt like a betrayal to Bernie for some reason. Bernie and Chester were always together, bickering, teasing, the truest of friends even though they didn’t appear to get along most of the time. They were like an old married couple, so comfortable with each other that nothing was ever withheld between them.

  And suddenly, it made sense why.

  They belonged together. Their bickering and tension had increased over the years as they’d gotten older, Bernie flowering into a woman, and Chester becoming a handsome young man. They were gunpowder and tinder just waiting to spark.

  “No,” Anne repeated, her voice steadier. “I won’t do it.”

  “Anne…” Bernie took her hand. “It may well be the only way.”

  Chester’s hard gaze moved from Anne to Bernie. Anne watched him, searching for something that might reveal his deeper feelings toward Bernie. But there was nothing revealed by his expression. She turned to Bernie.

  “I can’t do it. I’d rather… I’ll leave. If none of the gentlemen here will marry me then I will leave. I’ll join a convent.”

  Chester scoffed and turned away, resuming his pacing by the bed.

  Bernie took Anne’s hands. “But this is easier.”

  “How can you say that?” Anne asked, her gaze darting to Chester. She lowered her voice. “He… He has been your friend for as long as I can remember, always there to protect you, to…be with you. I can’t take him from you.”

  Bernie’s lip trembled but she shook her head. “He’s like family. This would make him true family.”

  Anne didn’t believe it. Why was Bernie fighting what was so obvious?

  Anne pulled her hands from Bernie’s. “No. I won’t do it.”

  Chester threw his arms in the air and muttered a long string of curses.

  But Anne wouldn’t budge from her convictions. If her plan to marry one of these men failed, she would go away. Perhaps she’d allow Chester to help her with that, but she wasn’t going to take away Bernie’s chance at love. All they needed was a spark to ignite them, and a two-week house party together might just be the perfect catalyst. If Bernie married Chester, her family would be saved. It wouldn’t matter if Anne married at all. She would go away, and her sisters would be salvaged from Bernie’s marriage to a wealthy titled gentleman.

  For once, she had a bit of hope about her situation.

  “You must consider it,” Bernie pressed. “Please, Anne.”

  Anne considered what to say. “Very well,” she lied. “If none of the gentlemen come up to scratch, I will consider his offer but only as a last resort.”

  His muttering filled the room again and Bernie hugged her.

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me,” Anne said, amused. Thank me after you marry him.

  Chapter 18

  Roderick returned to his room, fatigued after his short stint in the drawing room where the sight of Anne in an innocent lavender frock nearly undid him. He wanted to lift her over his shoulder and carry her from the room like a barbarian and be done with this madness. Once she was his wife, surely this obsession would end. Forbidden fruit was always the sweetest, though Anne wasn’t forbidden from him—no, she was a rarity, an elusive treasure he’d give his life to discover and make his own. He went to his desk and began to scribble vigorously as the words for another poem flooded his mind.

  Cryer entered with a pot of tea brewed from a batch of herbs Sonam had given to Violet and Weirick before leaving England. These medicinal teas had been a massive part of his recovery while his consumption of spirits steadily decreased. He mostly only drank in the evenings now, with Weirick coming to his room nightly to share a nightcap before bed so Roderick could sleep.

  The enthusiasm with which his family had rallied to help humbled him and made him feel more grateful for their love and faith than he could ever say.

  And now Anne was here, under the same roof, looking more womanly than he remembered, her skin glowing with a radiance he’d never noticed before. He couldn’t wait to see her at dinner, to remain close to her throughout the games Violet had planned for this evening.

  He’d lured several bachelors here with the promise of hunting and riding. He may have been a bit dishonest about the true reason, but it didn’t matter, really. It wasn’t about finding husbands for all the sisters, it was about him and her and bridging the divide that had always existed between them. Once he had her hand secured, all else would fall into place for her sisters. They could do as they wish, marry whom they wished, Roderick didn’t care as long as he had Anne.

  He sipped his tea and rested until it was time for dinner. He’d begged his mother to keep the seating informal and she’d obliged. He headed down to the drawing room, passing a familiar figure on the landing.

  “Cage, good of you to come.”

  Mr. Cage grabbed his shoulder and turned him away from the stairs with an angry glare.

  “Do you know what I just encountered in the drawing room?”

  “An elephant?” Roderick quipped.

  “Women, you blackguard.”

  Roderick grinned. “Ah, Cage. I know you like women.”

  “Not unmarried ones, not when I was invited here on the condition of hunting and other manly things—to get away from the perfumed tentacles of our mistresses, is what you wrote.”

  Roderick chuckled. “What’s a house party without the fairer sex?”

  “Relaxing, is what it is.”

  “Don’t fret, old friend. It’s only the Marsden sisters. You need not worry about marrying any of them unless the mood catches you. I will confess there is a purpose to this party, but it does not involve you.”

  Mr. Cage folded his arms. “What purpose is that?”

  “I already said it doesn’t involve you, just like it didn’t involve you last time when it was my neck on the marriage block.”

  Mr. Cage narrowed his eyes. “I don’t trust you.”

  “You should, you definitely should.” Roderick clapped him on the back and headed toward the stairs once more. His good mood lifted once he entered the drawing room, and there Anne stood in a circle of her sisters in the same lavender dress, hair swept up with softly curled ringlets brushing her bare shoulders. Drawing the eye to her creamy skin and inevitably to the lush valley of her breasts.

  Good enough to eat.

  Her skin glowed in the candlelight, and it was readily apparent to Roderick that he was not the only gentleman who appreciated the sight. He straightened, taking in the scene. Mr. Hart was present, much to Roderick’s annoyance. The man had stayed at the castle giving lessons to some of the staff under Weirick’s urgings. Roderick had been too busy trying to beat his own demons that he hadn’t given much thought to what his presence meant here. He was not with Anne, which was good for his continued living, but speaking to his mother. Roderick supposed he could forgive the man. He must not have taken an interest in Anne if he was not part of the jackals circling her now.

  Roderick went straight to her group, nudging Lord Luckfeld aside with an elbow.

  “Ow, beg your pardon, Andrews,” Luckfeld moved over with a discreet glare.

  “I’m happy you could join us here in the wilds of Northumberland once again, Luckfeld.”

  Luckfeld’s gaze passed over Anne. “I didn’t admire the scenery as much as I should have before.”

  “Ah, scenery. What a delight. You’ve met all nine sisters, yes? Annette, Bernadette, Georgette, Jeanette, Josette, Lunette, Nicolette, Odette—their twins, you know, and Willette. Beware of her, she’s the youngest and she’s too intelligent for you.”

  Luckfeld chuckled, “But not you?”

  “Oh, definitely too intelligent for me, but I’ve known her all my life, so she knows to speak to me in short sentences.”

  A whisper of a laugh stole his attention. It was Anne’s laugh. She tried to hide it behind a gloved hand, but he’d heard it. His focus moved to her.

  “Miss Marsden, how,” delicious, “lovely you look this evening.”

  Anne gifted him with a small smile. “Thank you, my lord.”

  “Have all the introductions been made?”

  “They have,” Anne said.

  Roderick was curious about her serene mask. She usually had no patience for gentlemen and parties, but she appeared quite comfortable now, surrounded by three of her sisters and four rogues, five if he included himself. Roderick greeted Georgie, Josie, and Odette. It had been some time since he’d seen the sisters all together at once. It was a bit startling. They looked so similar to each other, their pale English skin and raven hair stunning to behold when they were all together.

  No wonder Cage had been scared off. Being surrounded by this many beautiful women one could not flirt with, without consequences, was terrifying, but for Roderick those consequences were also his goal.

  He still didn’t have the faintest idea how to convince Anne he was the man she wanted, but he wasn’t above using his strength against her weaknesses. She was physically attracted to him, and he was an expert in seduction.

  All he needed was the right opportunities to get her alone, and then she’d melt for him. He’d get behind her walls and storm the castle of her heart until she could think of nothing else but him, want nothing else but him, and someday, love no one else but him.

  He was determined to earn her love no matter what it took. What man was willing to do that? Certainly not any of these scoundrels he called friends. They had their good sides, but where Anne was concerned, he was the only man who knew her for everything she was, her hopes, her fears, her dreams. He knew every facet of her vibrant, giving heart. All he wanted was to prove his love, to show her that in him she could have the security she’d been searching for.

  Would that not absolve him of past boyish stupidity? He’d gladly spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

  Dinner was announced, and before he could put himself at Anne’s side, Luckfeld had her arm, and Roderick hid his snarl behind a smile as he offered his arm to Georgie.

  “How are you this evening, Georgie?”

  She gave him a sideways glance and shrugged one shoulder. “I get the feeling none of these gentlemen knew why they were coming here.”

  Roderick snorted and lowered his voice. “Do you think I should have told them they were coming here to court eight sisters?”

  She frowned at him. “Nine. There are nine of us.”

  He cleared his throat. “I know, but Willa is too young to marry. She doesn’t count just yet.”

  “So you lied to them?”

  “I had to. Men are notorious for not doing the thing that they ought to be doing. All of these men need to get married for various reasons: an heir, duties, et cetera. But they won’t because it still scares them. They have to be convinced in subtle ways.”

  “You mean tricked.”

  “I did not say that.”

  “But you implied it.”

  “I most definitely did not. I specifically said convinced.”

  “Which means trick.”

  “No, it means use your wiles. All of you are stunning.”

  “We’re also poor. Wealthy men want wealthy wives.”

  “Yes, it is the aristocratic way, but I picked them because none of them need a wealthy wife. They could marry for love.”

  “Oh, so not only am I to use my wiles but I must make them love me? That’s nigh impossible to do in two weeks.”

  Roderick winked at her. “Not for you. I have faith in you.”

  Georgie rolled her eyes. “That makes one of us.”

  Roderick chuckled. “So tell me, which one of these gentlemen might earn your favor if he is so lucky. And don’t say Lord Luckfeld. I already regret inviting him.”

  Georgie sighed. “None. The only one who might be the least bit amusing to converse with is Mr. Cage, and he’s disappeared.”

  Roderick looked around. “He’s returned and escorting my mother in as we speak. I met with him in the hall before entering the drawing room and he looked peeved.”

  “Yes, I’d told him he was the first on the auction block. I thought it was funny, but he did not.”

  “Hmm, yes, I can see how that might have frightened him off.”

  “Then what am I supposed to do if he frightens so easily.”

  They had entered the dining room and Roderick held her chair and thought about what advice to give her. “Try being his friend first.” He pushed in her seat and took the open chair beside her.

  “Friend? That’s not what I’m here for,” she whispered.

  “Yes but approaching a man as a potential bride is too much pressure for both parties involved. Be a friend first, then see what develops after that.” As he said the words, he saw how true they were.

  Georgie cocked her head to the side. “Actually, that is rather brilliant.”

  “Shocked are you?”

  “Yes, I would have thought you’d tell me to climb into his bed.”

  “Well, when all else fails that would work. I’d make him marry you or murder him.”

  She placed her hand over his. “That is the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  Roderick winked at her and surveyed the table. At least he managed to garner a smile from one sister, but Luckfeld now sat beside Anne. A glass of wine was placed before Roderick and he stilled. This was his first drink of the day. He stared at it, wondering if he was strong enough to only drink half of it and leave the rest. A tinkle of laughter pulled his attention away, and Roderick looked over to find Anne smiling at something Luckfeld had said.

  Bloody hell.

  He picked up the wine glass. A slippered toe met with his shin.

  “Ouch.” He glared at Bernie across the table.

  “I’m distracting you.”

  “You’ve maimed me. The surgeon will have to take my leg.”