Nathaniel smirked as he watched the woman's white dress disappear through the door. Entering a bedroom with a man sleeping inside had been a risky move on her part. She should know better. With a huff, he dressed, thankful that no one had seen them. The last thing he needed was to be caught alone—naked—with his friend's younger sister. What had she been thinking?
There were many gentlemen of the ton who wouldn't think twice about grabbing and seducing any woman that wandered into their room. He wasn't one of those men, but she did not know that.
Once fully dressed, he went downstairs in search of something to eat. He found his friend, James Grafton, Viscount Gowthorpe, already at the table in the dining room with a cup of tea and a plate filled to the brim with eggs, bacon, and toast. His sister sat next to him, clasping a cup of tea and fastidiously avoiding Nathaniel's eyes as he walked over to them.
His friend stood as he approached, grinning widely. "I didn't expect you up yet."
"Neither did I," he admitted. "Nor did I expect to see you." In fairness, it was most likely approaching noon by now, but they had only stumbled home in the early hours of the morning after a night about town.
"A maid woke me up to inform me that my sister had arrived. I don't believe you've met before." He turned to his sister. "Angel, please allow me to introduce to you Nathaniel Howerty, the Marquess of Pensington. He's a good friend. I believe I may have mentioned him to you?"
She nodded, her eyes still on the cup of tea. It must be an absolutely riveting cup of tea.
"Pensington, this is my sister Angelique Grafton. Angel to family and close friends."
She stood and demurely offered her hand. He took it and softly placed a kiss above her knuckles, then pretended not to notice that she all but snatched it back.
"We've met," he said, surprising himself as much as her. The look of panic in her wide green eyes made it all worth it. Maybe it would teach her not to walk into rooms where strange men were sleeping—even if it was her own.
"Oh? When was that?" Gowthorpe looked between them, a line between his brows. "I cannot think when you two would have met. Angel is rarely in London."
They all sat back down at the table and Nathaniel glanced at Angel, wondering what she would tell her brother. She stirred her tea with a small frown puckering her brow as she was presumably debating what she could say without giving away too much.
"When did the two of you meet?" Gowthorpe asked again, and Nathaniel almost laughed when she gave him a sullen look through her eyelashes. It was wicked of him to tease her like this, but he was enjoying it far too much.
Looking at the two siblings, it was easy to see that they were family. They had the same blond hair and pale skin, although Gowthorpe's was a few shades darker than his sister's. Both had high cheekbones, a finely chiselled nose, and arched eyebrows. However, where Gowthorpe's eyes were a clear blue, Angel's were light green.
She may not be someone who would turn heads at first glance, mainly because with her white dress and fair complexion she seemed to fade into the surroundings, but once you paid attention, she was quite pretty. Though he was probably better off not thinking of his friend's sister as pretty.
"When I arrived, I went upstairs to my bedroom." Angel stopped stirring her tea and looked up, a stubborn tilt to her chin even as her cheeks darkened with a blush. "I did not realise that someone else used it in my absence."
He schooled his features as his friend turned to him with a frown. Well played, Miss Grafton. Well played.
"No one is meant to," Gowthorpe said. "You slept in my sister's room?"
"Apparently," Nathaniel replied with a wry smile. "We were both quite foxed last night. I think I fell into the first available room I could find."
His friend chuckled. "It was a rather good night, wasn't it?"
Crisis averted, they returned to their tea. It had been a foolish thing to taunt her like that. He really needed to learn to control his impulses better. Fortunately, Gowthorpe didn't seem to suspect anything untoward had happened. Which was the truth. As long as one ignored the fact that Nathaniel had pulled her down onto the bed. His friend might take exception to that. In his defence, he had been half-asleep and thought he was still dreaming when the alluring scent of rosewater tickled his nose.
A footman brought over a plate for his breakfast, interrupting his wandering thoughts. As he ate, he looked over at Angel. She was focusing on her tea, but now and then he caught her throwing him a furtive glance. Maybe she was debating whether he would tell her brother about their unfortunate meeting after all. He would never be so foolish, but he didn't mind watching her squirm.
Gowthorpe questioned his sister about her visit while he finished up his scrambled eggs, leaving Nathaniel to watch them in silence. He couldn't help but wonder why she was so eager to come to London that she'd travel without the comfort of her family.
"I assume you will be at your sister's coming-out ball tomorrow evening, Pensington?" Gowthorpe asked, bringing his attention back to Nathaniel.
"It's not as if I have a choice," he said with a look of mock disgust. "I never thought having a sister of marriageable age would be so much work on my part."
Gowthorpe laughed. "Be glad only one of them is! Imagine if you had all three out at once."
"Aunt Jane already has plans for the younger ones, I'm sure," Nathaniel muttered, not even wanting to consider the fact that he would have to go through it all two more times. It wasn't that he hated attending social events, but the sheer number his aunt was asking him to accompany his sister to this season was beyond reasonable.
"Angel, did you bring a ball gown, or are they all coming down with our family?"
"I believe my maid packed one or two." She set down her cup of tea. "We haven't had our coming-out ball yet though. It's not until after Joan and our aunt and uncle arrive, so I probably shouldn't attend any functions just yet."
"Hogwash," Gowthorpe exclaimed, waving away her excuses. "I have presented you at court. The coming-out ball is a formality at best, and a glorified meat market at worst. Of course, you can attend events before it."
She looked hopeful, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as her eyes twinkled. Nathaniel swallowed as he realised she wasn't just pretty. She was beautiful.
"Do you think?" she said, then her face fell. "I don't know... Joan will be cross if I was allowed to attend balls without her. She was already throwing a tantrum when Aunt Christine agreed I could travel early."
"Our cousin throws tantrums about everything," Gowthorpe said. "Do not let it bother you. While our aunt and uncle have been taking care of you since I reside in London, I am your legal guardian, and I say you can attend this ball with me tomorrow. It's Pensington's sister Jessica's ball. His family is a lot nicer than he lets on and I'm sure you will get along splendidly."
"They really aren't that bad," Nathaniel agreed. "Well, the youngest is more feral than domesticated, but she won't be allowed to attend."
Angel stared at him, and he grinned. "I beg your pardon, I make them sound terrible. Truly, they are not." Most of the time. He loved his family dearly, but he was not blind to their faults, just like they were not blind to his.
A footman entered the dining room, presenting Nathaniel with a note on a silver tray. "My lord, this was just delivered for you."
"Thank you." He took the note and unfolded it. After quickly skimming the words, he stood. "My aunt is requesting my presence to help with preparations for tomorrow's ball. Possibly to ensure that my sister does not lock herself in the library before it is time."
"Does she not wish to attend her ball?" Angel asked.
"Probably not," he admitted with a wry smile. "My sister is what some might call a bluestocking and would rather read than find a husband."
"She sounds like a reasonable young lady to me," Angel said pertly, making him laugh.
"I do believe our sisters might get along," Gowthorpe said with a chuckle. "We will see you tomorrow night."
Nathaniel nodded and, after a bow, he followed the footman out to the hallway. It wasn't until after he'd shrugged into his greatcoat and the butler had gone to open the front door that he realised Angel had followed him. She came up to him, staring up at him with her large green eyes.
"Yes?" he prompted when she didn't immediately speak.
She cast a nervous glance towards the butler by the door, but he didn't appear to be listening. Leaning a little closer, she said quietly, "I thought we weren't telling anyone about—" Her words stalled for a moment as her cheeks stained pink. "About this morning. And yet you told James straight away."
"I apologise for that. It slipped out."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Can I trust you to keep it to yourself from now on? I don't wish to create a scandal on my first day in London."
He chuckled. "You won't. It won't happen again. I would be in equal trouble if your brother was to find out. As we said, let us pretend it never happened."
There was a slight quiver of her lips as if she was holding back a smile, but she nodded. "All forgotten," she murmured, her gaze avoiding his.
Nathaniel bowed again before exiting through the door the butler held open for him. His aunt had sent a carriage for him, so he jumped in and sat down on the bench. With a last glance at his friend's London townhouse, he wondered why Gowthorpe had neglected to tell him his sister was quite beautiful. Definitely an oversight on Gowthorpe's behalf, and a fact he wished he had not realised. It wouldn't do to be attracted to his friend's sister. Especially not as he had sworn off anything resembling love and romance. He had better stay away from Angel Grafton. Something which would not be easy considering the number of events they were both likely to attend. But he would have to make an effort to avoid her. For both of their sakes.
~~~~~~