“A slip of the tongue,” he assured him grimly, turning back to check on Suzette again and scowling when he saw that Garrison was holding the girl far too close in the turns. Not as close as he had held her in the gardens, but still too damned close for his liking . . . and she wasn’t pushing him away either. She obviously considered Garrison a suitable backup if he said no to her proposal. The hell of it was, Garrison would probably jump at the offer to marry her if she made it. He would certainly not find the idea of bedding the woman as any kind of chore. Taking her money would be a pleasure to him, and her request to lead separate lives would probably make him the happiest damned bounder around. Hell, if Garrison had been the one in the garden with her rather than himself, the chit would probably already have been deflowered out in the garden and on her way to Gretna Green even now.

For some reason, that knowledge caused a twisting in his gut that brought a grimace to his face. Daniel could actually see her sprawled amongst the flowers in the garden, her skirts hitched up, moonlight dappling her passion-wreathed face, and Garrison pounding himself into her with happy little grunts. Hell, she would be the perfect prize to the bounder. But Garrison wouldn’t treat her right. He’d quickly tire of her, dump her in the country and go off whoring and drinking and gambling away her dower until she found herself on the verge of ruin and scandal again. And then hers would be another life ruined by George’s machinations.

Much to his relief the dance ended then and Garrison saw Suzette back to Lisa’s side, and then stepped aside as another man, the much older and rotund Lord Alliston, approached to claim her for the next dance. Once again Suzette glanced to Lisa in question as she joined Lord Alliston on the dance floor, and was again given a series of mysterious signals, but seemed more resigned than pleased by them this time, though they appeared similar to those given for Lord Garrison. Knowing that Lord Alliston was in search of a well-heeled bride himself, Daniel guessed the signals were to indicate as much to Suzette but this time she wasn’t all that pleased at the knowledge. However, he was pleased to see her safely in the old man’s arms rather than Garrison’s. While Alliston had been a roué when younger, he wasn’t known to force himself on a woman and was relatively harmless now.