Good Lord, she sounded almost excited by the prospect. There was nothing romantic or exciting about having a man force you—nothing. But her beautiful cousin liked to be the object of male desire and thought their lust flattering. Joan knew differently.

Though a few years older than her twenty, Alice seemed far less mature. Joan had always been older than her years, and with everything that had happened since her mother was imprisoned, it sometimes felt as if she were Alice’s mother rather than a young woman near her own age.

Though Joan wanted nothing more than to shake some sense into that silly head, she pretended to take the question seriously. “I suspect they might have. We are fortunate indeed that Sir Aymer’s man figured out their plan. Who was he? Perhaps we should thank him for saving us.”

Her tone must have been more curious than she intended. Her cousin’s gaze seemed to narrow just a little. “I don’t know. My husband didn’t say. But I don’t think that will be necessary. Besides, I doubt Sir Richard would like it. He watches you like a hungry hawk.” She frowned disapprovingly. “You need to be more circumspect, cousin. People are starting to talk, and it reflects poorly on Henry and me.”

Joan tried not to choke on her tongue. Good Lord, that was the guilty cast as the accuser. Alice’s rampant promiscuity was equaled only by her husband’s, although Alice was fiercely jealous, whereas Sir Henry couldn’t have cared less with whom his wife shared her bed—much to Alice’s irritation. Her cousin seemed to equate jealousy and possessiveness with love. Joan had seen the fallacy of that with her parents.

Joan lowered her eyes as if embarrassed. “Sir Richard is leaving soon.”

“Good,” Alice said, standing from the chair she’d been seated at while Joan helped her with her jewelry. “I do not begrudge you your flirtations, cousin, but I do not like to hear you the subject of unflattering rumors.”

In other words, she didn’t like Joan being the focus of attention—even negative attention. That Joan had always been content to be in her cousin’s shadow was the only reason Alice had taken her as a companion and tiring woman. Joan had never made herself a threat and needed to keep it that way. Fortunately, although Joan’s looks appeared to resonate with the men, her cousin didn’t view her as competition. With her dainty, well-curved figure, blond hair, blue eyes, and perfect doll-like features, Alice de Beaumont was a strikingly beautiful woman.

With a properly chastised nod that showed her gratitude for her cousin’s benevolence, Joan followed her cousin to the Hall.