He shook his head. “We are not going to London.”

Relief flooded her, along with confusion. “No? But that was your plan when you were to marry my sister. You had not told me it changed.”

He blinked. “I-I suppose I should have. Again, I apologize, I am not accustomed to another person’s life being so entangled with my own. My decisions impact more than just myself. I’m certain I will remember it eventually.”

“What made you change your mind?” she asked. “My sister?”

His lips thinned. “I won’t tell you that Anne’s disappearance doesn’t have something to do with it. As does some other unexpected business I discovered waiting for me here.”

She wrinkled her brow. Although Jasper hadn’t written her sister off as their father had, he also didn’t seem driven to find Anne. But at least if they were here, she could continue to press her case.

“My mother will return to London tomorrow as planned, though,” he said.

She sucked in a breath. She would not be sorry to see the dowager go, though she wouldn’t say that to this man. “Apparently my father also intends to leave on the original schedule.”

He jerked his face toward her. “What? He isn’t staying here to seek information on his daughter?”

His shock was comforting at least. And humiliating since the answer wasn’t one she could pretend away. “No. I suppose he could do so in London.”

“But you don’t think he will.”

“No,” she admitted after a pause that seemed to last forever. “My sister has lost her value to him after this fiasco. If she has married this man, this stranger, he won’t gain anything until he knows the worth of him at some future point. And if she hasn’t—”

She broke off with a shudder.

He nodded. “Then she is ruined.”

The words hung in the air between them.

“Yes,” she whispered. “She is ruined whether by act or by implication. He won’t be able to match her well. That is all that matters to him. He may be forced to settle with his earl and call it a day.”

His lips parted. “His lack of concern is sickening.” He pushed to his feet and paced the length of the room. “Have you spoken to him about staying?”

She shook her head. “Juliana is doing that today. She has always been the one to manage him. Manage everyone, really.”

“I will add my voice to that chorus,” he said. “At least he should be here, close by in case—”

He cut himself off and she flinched, for the potential outcomes were clear. Painfully so.

“In case she is found or returns of her own volition,” she said, filling in the space with the scenario that pained her least.

“Of course,” he said. “But I cannot guarantee I will be able to keep him here. At any rate, we will remain in Harcourt Heights. Unless…”

He trailed off and his dark gaze held hers a moment, seeking and analyzing in a way that made her feel utterly vulnerable to him.