“Doesn’t your ward have red hair?” Wexford mused.

Tobias tensed. He didn’t particularly want to look at Lucien. Or Wexford.

Lucien muttered something before taking a drink of his port. “Why was she here dressed as a maid, and who was she with?”

Leveling an icy stare at Lucien, Tobias, said, “I didn’t confirm it was her.”

“You don’t have to,” Lucien said quietly. “It all makes sense now.”

Wexford leaned toward Tobias. “Do you have a tendre for her?”

“No.” Tobias didn’t know what he had for her. One thing was certain, he thought about her too damned much.

Lucien stared at him intently, repeating, “Who was she with, and why were they here?”

“I didn’t know she wasn’t alone.” That was the absolute truth. “She wanted to see the inside of the club. It was foolish, and she knows it. That’s all I’m going to say on the matter.”

Wexford continued to look at him intently, as if he were trying to puzzle something out. “Why can’t you just marry her?”

“She’s young and not yet ready to marry. She already has a perfect suitor in Lord Gregory, and she is completely unenthused.”

Sitting back in his chair, Wexford let out a hollow laugh. “Clear proof that she’s immature and simple-minded.”

“Or that she’s perhaps interested in someone else.” Lucien sipped his port.

Tobias gritted his teeth. “Stop playing matchmaker, both of you. How would it look if I were to court my ward? As if my reputation isn’t bad enough.”

“That seems an excellent argument to marry her,” Wexford said with a shrug. “If people already expect the outrageous from you, give it to them.”

Hadn’t Tobias done exactly that after his failed courtship two years ago? He’d considered eloping to Gretna Green with his prospective bride—after she’d already become betrothed to another man. Thankfully, he’d seen the error in his rash thinking. More importantly, he’d realized the young woman hadn’t ever loved him. She’d loved the idea of marriage to whomever she was with, and the idea of running away to Scotland had titillated her. That was the moment Tobias had come to his senses and changed his mind, telling her to go forward with her betrothed. Afterward, she’d told everyone he’d tried to kidnap her. While many did not believe that of him, the ton’s consensus was that he’d behaved poorly by trying to elope with her. They cast him as a rogue and a scoundrel, and he’d decided to become just that.

Perhaps he was actually a rogue and a scoundrel, and a rake and a reprobate. He had proposed elopement to someone who was already betrothed, and he had kissed a maid—his ward—without concern.

“He’s grown awfully quiet,” Lucien observed. “I think he’s considering it.”

“I am not.” Tobias took a drink of whisky. “Can we please talk about something else?”

Otherwise, Tobias was absolutely going to envision Fiona Wingate as his wife.

Chapter 15

“Thank you for serving as my chaperone today as well as Fiona’s,” Cassandra said to Prudence as they sat down at Gunter’s to await their ices.