“George,” Tony greeted her coolly. He advanced swiftly to the door and flung it open. Two footmen looked at him, startled. “We won’t be needing you. Make sure we’re not disturbed.”

The footmen bowed. “Yes, my lord.”

Tony closed the door and yanked down on his waistcoat to straighten it. George rolled her eyes. When had her brother become this stuffy? He must have been practicing in his room at nights.

“Are you having breakfast?” she asked as she sat down. “Cook has made some lovely kippers.”

Tony ignored her pleasantry. “What could you have been thinking?” His tone was unbelievably dour.

“Well, really, if you want to know the truth, I wasn’t thinking at all.” She took a sip of tea. “I mean, not after the first kiss. He does kiss very well.”

“George!”

“If you didn’t want to know, why ask?”

“You know very well what I mean. Don’t play the flibbertigibbet with me.”

George sighed and put down her fork. The kippers tasted like ashes in her mouth, anyway. “It’s no concern of yours.”

“Of course it’s my concern. You’re my sister and you’re unmarried.”

“Do I poke into your affairs? Do I ask about what ladies you see in London?”

Tony crossed his arms and stared down his large nose at her. “It’s not the same and you know it.”

“Yes”—George poked a kipper—“but it should be.”

He sighed and took a chair opposite her. “Maybe so. But that isn’t how the world works. We don’t deal with how society ought to be but rather how it is. And society will judge you rather harshly, my dear.”

She felt her lips tremble.

“Come back to London with me,” Tony said. “We can forget about this. There are some fellows I can introduce you to—”

“It’s not like choosing a horse. I don’t want to exchange a bay for a chestnut.”

“Why not? Why not find a man from your own class? One who could marry you and give you children.”

“Because,” George said slowly, “I don’t want just any man. I want this one.”

Tony slammed the flat of his hand down on the table, making her jump. He leaned over her. “And the rest of the family can just go to hell? You’re not like this. Think about the example you’re setting for Violet. Would you want her doing what you’re doing?”

“No. But I can’t live my life as an example for my sister.”

Tony pursed his lips.

“You don’t,” George accused. “Can you honestly say that with every action you take, you stop to think, ‘Is this a good example for my brothers?’”

“For God’s sake—”

The door swung open.

They both looked up in surprise. Tony frowned. “I thought I said to admit no—”