Whatever had possessed him to drink so much wine after he returned to his lodgings the previous evening? He shook the water from his hair and sank back into the rapidly cooling bath his valet had prepared for him. Last evening’s dinner party had been a total failure as far as he was concerned. Not only had he been bored by Miss Roberts, finding her shallow and foolish, he had left without speaking to her father. ‘Damned idiot!’ he muttered as he rose from the water and towelled himself down, the droplets glistening on skin that was slightly golden in tone. Why the hell had his father lost so much money to Cheadle? It was the cause of all this bother, the reason he had no choice but to offer for a girl he did not truly admire. He must either marry to advantage or enter the army and sell his estate to salvage what little he could. Surely there must be another alternative? The thoughts had been going round and round in his head since waking. He had really believed he could go through with the marriage to Miss Roberts until…he had seen her looking at him with those thoughtful eyes.
