Celeste Bradley - [Heiress Brides 01] by Desperately Seeking a Duke Page A

elsewhere.”
    Tessa swallowed quickly. “No, no, of course not. Er, please thank Mr. Lementeur for us?”
    They left, Phoebe now pondering the possible reasons behind Brookhaven’s selection of her, Tessa unusually quelled, Deirdre sporting an amused half-smile, and Sophie looking very thoughtful—and very much present.
    “How do you think he can make a gown without measuring?” Sophie ventured when the carved oak door had shut behind them.
    Deirdre shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. What does it matter? His gowns are always superb, so he must know his business.”
    They passed another shop, one with gentlemen’s accessories displayed in the window. Phoebe’s eye was caught by a stock pin, a dark yellow topaz set in gold that winked at her, twinkling like Marbrook’s brown eyes. She felt the impulse to buy it and give it to him.
    You are not allowed to give Marbrook gifts. Your gift-giving is now restricted to Brookhaven and Brookhaven alone.
    That fact brought home her situation as nothing had
before it. She would never be able to entertain the possibility of another man again, not for the rest of her or Brookhaven’s life.
    Some women might not be so bound by their vows, but Phoebe wasn’t one of them. If— when —she married Brookhaven, she would abide by those vows forever and never look back.
    Resolutely, she turned her eyes away from the topaz stock pin and looked for one to suit Brookhaven. After a moment she spotted one that made her smile. It was a golden figure, a bullheaded man, the mythical Minotaur. There was no earthly reason why it should remind her of Brookhaven, but it did.
    Before she could allow herself to reconsider, she walked smartly into the shop and purchased it for him. She would give it to him tonight.
    If it made him smile as well, then she would know that she had made the right choice.
    And which choice is that — the man or the pin?
    Well, now, that was best not thought about, wasn’t it?

Chapter Fourteen
    Rafe knew that he ought not to be loitering here on this street full of shops, hoping to get a glimpse of Phoebe as she left Lementeur’s. He knew that he was heading down a dangerous road, but he found himself there all the same.
    And then she was there as well, across the street. Her aunt and cousins milled about her for a moment, obscuring his view. Then they walked on while she paused before another shop.
    She was just another pretty girl, he told himself savagely. A girl in a bonnet, shopping on the street with her family. There was no reason for his pulse to jump, world to narrow down to only her, no reason for his feet to step forward off the walk, into the street—
    A shout jerked him back to awareness just in time to leap backward out of the way of a fast-moving cart. By the time he found his footing again, Phoebe was gone.
    Damn. Or perhaps it was better this way. Now he’d only see her tonight, at dinner, surrounded by family and servants. That would be a safe way to meet her again.
    After all, it had only been one evening—only an hour of that evening, in fact.
    So she preferred Calder. What of it?
    How do you know whom she preferred? You didn’t ask her.

    He’d hardly had the chance, had he? Calder had moved with uncharacteristic impulsiveness—or was it merely Calder’s usual decisiveness? What if Calder really loved her?
    God. Rafe ran a hand roughly over his face. Calder had been so alone for so long. Rafe doubted his brother had so much as touched a woman’s hand since Melinda died.
    Could he in good conscience try to take that from Calder?
    And what if Phoebe truly did prefer Calder? His eyes narrowed as he tried to sort it out in his mind. Yes, she had liked him, he was sure of it—but that was only liking. He’d reacted very strongly to her, but what if her reaction had only been champagne and the relief of being saved from humiliation?
    The thought that chafed, was that in a scarce fortnight, Miss Phoebe Millbury would spend her wedding night in