"What?"
"That den?" and various other mutterings came from the sidelines.
Martin glanced down, straightened his cuff. "She'd just accepted a wager to play whist. Against Connor. She didn't have a partner."
The silence that greeted that was one of abject-positively scandalized-disbelief.
"The second time I saw her was in Helen Hennessy's salon."
Chapter 15
The room erupted. Various epithets were heaped on Amanda's head. Numerous questions were flung at him; recognizing them as rhetorical, Martin kept silent. Eventually, at a sign from Devil, now seriously displeased, the others quieted.
"Very well." Devil's eyes were hard. "What happened then?"
"She had a list of outings she wished to experience, beyond the ton but not of themselves scandalous. A moonlight drive in Richmond Park, boating on the Thames by night, a visit to Vauxhall in non-approved company, and attending a Covent Garden masquerade."
A wave of low growls swept the room.
"You offered to take her on these outings?"
"No." Martin felt his expression harden. "I had little choice-it was either fall in with her plans, or watch her organize with some other who would. She had Lord Cranbourne in her sights for the drive to Richmond."
"Cranbourne! That slug?" Demon's scowl was black.
"There were others she'd met in Gloucester Street. She had real alternatives. I deemed it safer not to call her bluff."
"And during these outings…"
"No." Martin met Devil's gaze. "I took her on the outings on condition she return thereafter to the ballrooms-where she belonged. However, as it transpired, the outings weren't her true goal. Once they were over, she rescripted the rules and returned to Gloucester Street and other venues even less appropriate." His gaze steady on Devil's, he stated, "What happened thereafter was entirely at her behest, if not precisely as she'd planned."
There wasn't one of them who didn't sympathize; he was admitting to being stalked, and caught, by their cousin. Knowing the moment was right, he pressed on, "In the circumstances, a wedding is the prescribed outcome. So… do I have your permission to address her?"
Devil blinked, frowned. "Wealth, birth, station, estate-all those are in order. But what of the past?"
He inclined his head. "The past will be dealt with."
"Did you do it?"
"No." After a moment he added, "But the inescapable fact is, someone did."
Devil's uncannily penetrating gaze searched his eyes; Martin endured the scrutiny without shifting. Devil nodded. "Very well-I agree. Provided the old scandal is resolved in your favor, a marriage between you and Amanda is clearly appropriate. You have my permission to address her. I'll speak with my uncle on his return."
"Good. And you'll make the family's stance clear?"
Devil shrugged. "To the ton? Of course."
"I meant to Amanda."
That last was met with silence, a different, slightly uneasy one. Devil broke it. "Why?"
"Because, while she's 'agreed' in a manner we'd all accept, on several occasions, she's yet to manage the word 'yes' in the appropriate context."
"Ah." Devil's eyes widened. "You've asked her."
Martin frowned. "Of course. Immediately and several times thereafter. Why else do you imagine I've been chasing her through the ton, not an arena I particularly relish, if not to tighten the noose a few notches before I ask her again?"
"Has she said why she won't agree?" It was Richard who put the question.