Engaging the Earl

The comparison was enough to rile the previously tongue-tied Miss Mercer. “I hardly have a violent streak!” she defended. “It was an accident.”

Marcus made a “hmming” noise deep in his throat. Mostly just to irritate his sister’s friend. He found that he quite liked the high flush on her cheeks and the fire in her gray eyes.

“And even if it weren’t accidental—which it was,” she added as an impassioned aside to Olivia, “you would have deserved it for accosting me.”

If Miss Mercer had noticed how wide Olivia’s eyes grew with speculation at that statement, she probably would have stopped her passionate defense. As it was, with the two women sitting side by side, Marcus was the only one with the benefit of reading both expressions.

Olivia’s was the height of amused curiosity.

Miss Mercer’s bordered on horrified.

Smothering a laugh, Marcus interrupted her. “I was rescuing, not accosting. Which you wouldn’t have needed had you not been on such an unsavory street at such a late hour.”

Miss Mercer’s eyes narrowed. And Marcus had the distinct impression that she might now like to punch him in the mouth instead.

“I was perfectly safe.” She turned to Olivia as though she was about to try and convince her friend of the truth of that statement.

Marcus could tell by Olivia’s expression that his sister was too busy trying to smother her own smirk than trying to tamp down her interest in the saga unfolding before her. “Don’t worry about me, Emma,” she said, her voice almost choked with laughter. “I’m just listening quietly.”

Emma whirled back on him. “And you should tell her it was an accident!” she nearly yelled. “It’s not as though I would have hit you on purpose.”

“You wouldn’t have?” he asked, keeping his face as impassive as he could manage.

“That might not be true right now,” she nearly growled at him.

Olivia rose suddenly from her seat. “Did someone call for me?” she asked no one in particular, as though the room were populated with at least a hundred people.

“No!” Emma said at the exact moment Marcus said …

“Maybe.”

Olivia smiled approvingly at him. With a nod, she brushed out her skirts and began walking toward the door.

“I think I’ll just go check,” Olivia said. She spared a look for Emma that was probably supposed to be apologetic. But her expression was too speculative to be sincere. “It’s a big house. People are always needing something. You just never know.” Then the marchioness shrugged.

“No, you never know,” Marcus agreed, relaxing back against his seat, enjoying the rapid-fire emotions that flitted across Miss Mercer’s face.

While he would never be so ungentlemanly as to accuse a gently bred woman of doing so, he couldn’t help but notice to himself that his sister ran from the room.

Leaving a murderous-looking Miss Mercer in her wake.

“No one was calling her,” the lady said unnecessarily.

“No, they weren’t,” he agreed with a small smile.

“You’re an awful person,” she said then.

Marcus tensed a little, wondering if he’d taken his teasing too far and now she was truly put out with him. “Why’s that?” he drawled slowly.

“For letting your sister think I hit you. She might be upstairs packing my bags for me.” While the words had a forced lightness to them, Marcus could hear the genuine fear underneath.

All the humor drained from the situation. And Marcus felt like a cad.

It was impulsive—and probably foolish—but he rose from his seat and crossed the few steps to be at her side. He covered her hands with one of his, stopping her from wringing them together.

“Olivia’s doing nothing of the sort. Honestly, if she thought you’d hit me on purpose, she’d probably be out buying you a gift. I can only estimate how many times she’s wanted to do the same.” Marcus hoped his smile put her at ease.

That brought out what looked to be a genuine smile … although a small one. Marcus felt a flash of elation and pride at having wrested that expression out of her anxiety. And when he noticed that she hadn’t tried to pull her hands away from his, he felt something else … something warmer, more indefinable.

“Olivia shut the door behind her,” Miss Mercer said then, surprising him with the sudden change in conversation.

But Marcus followed her gaze and laughed. His sister was nothing if not enterprising.

“So why do you think she ran out of the room?” Miss Mercer asked after a few seconds.

Marcus grinned. “She was giving us some time alone.”

The complete innocence in Miss Mercer’s expression was refreshing. “Why?” she asked.

“To see what we would do.”

“What we’d do?” she echoed.

Marcus nodded. “She probably thought you might like the chance to punch me again.”

Miss Mercer laughed. It was the first time he’d heard her do so, and Marcus decided that she was exceptionally beautiful when she laughed. Her gray eyes twinkled. And as she tossed her head back, some of her shiny black hair slipped out of her fancy arrangement, tumbling to her shoulders. Her full lips quirked in a smile.

“So what did Olivia think you might want to do?” the lady asked. A guileless question.

Why, then, did Marcus want to answer her with a kiss?

Not that he would, of course. No, it was a completely inappropriate urge, and … and a ridiculous idea, besides. His lack of sleep was playing tricks with his head. After years of ducking and dodging every predatory female on the marriage mart, surely he wasn’t succumbing to tender feelings just because a pretty woman—this particular pretty woman—smiled at him. The very idea was absurd.

Yet, for all that, he was still careful to take a step away from temptation before he answered.

“Olivia likely thought I’d want to talk about the particulars of finding you a husband.”

Emma choked.

On air.

“You will be helping me find a husband?”

His teasing smile gave way to a sheepish expression. “My sister has decided that I will, so it seems highly likely. She’s accustomed to getting her way. I’d like to lay the blame on her indulgent husband, but I’m afraid her indulgent brother was the first to set the trend in place.”

“So you will … that is … you—I don’t understand.” Mentally, she scolded herself for sounding like such a ninny, but really, how was she supposed to respond? Olivia had truly asked the man she’d assaulted to find her a husband? What if he married her off to a boxing master in revenge?

“I’m here today by Olivia’s summons,” the earl explained. “When I arrived, she presented me with the following list.” He waved a piece of paper in the air. “It’s the names of all the gentlemen I’m supposed to coerce into calling on you—by means of physical force, if necessary.”