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placed it at an angle where he could see both of them properly. “Seems I’m addressing my remarks to the wrong lady.”
    Lady Cassandra’s hand flew to her throat. Lady Lucy’s unusual eyes lit with fire, and she stared down her haughty little nose at him. “I don’t know what you mean.” She blinked innocently.
    “Don’t you?” He arched a brow at her.
    Lady Lucy shrugged. “You’ve asked after our plans and we’ve told you.”
    He gritted his teeth. “I asked after Lady Cassandra’s plans and you’ve answered for her.”
    Lady Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. “I’m Lady Cassandra’s chaperone.”
    “Oh, really? An unmarried female acting as a chaperone?” he retorted.
    “Yes. I’m eminently qualified,” Lady Lucy replied.
    “That I doubt.” Another tight smile from him.
    Lady Lucy nearly came out of her chair. “How dare you?”
    “Oh, I dare quite easily, my lady. What I don’t understand is why you insist upon acting as if—”
    A small, ladylike throat-clearing interrupted them. Lady Cassandra’s attempt to get the two of them to stop arguing, no doubt. He turned his head to face her. “My apologies, my lady.”
    “What are your plans for the afternoon, Your Grace?” Lady Cassandra ventured.
    “Seeing as how you’re already occupied, I may ride out to Huntingdon and see the new estate.”
    “The estate that was endowed upon you with your title?” Lady Cassandra asked.
    “Yes, seems I’m a landowner now,” Derek replied.
    “You might want to get under way as soon as possible,” Lady Lucy offered. “It’s quite a journey from here, is it not?”
    “Ready for me to take my leave, my lady?” He eyed her with suspicion.
    She innocently batted her long lashes at him again. “I meant no such thing. That would be rude .”
    “Ah, yes, and you’ve no experience in that quarter, do you?” he replied tersely.
    Lady Cassandra gasped quietly and Lady Lucy gave him a withering glare. “Seems you do, Your Grace .”
    Derek blew a frustrated breath between his teeth. “Lady Lucy, perhaps you and I have words better said to each other in private.”
    Lucy raised a brow. “The two of us ?”
    “Yes.”
    “In private?”
    “Yes.”
    “Would you prefer it if I left?” Lady Cassandra offered, looking quite relieved at the prospect, actually.
    Derek shook his head. “No. I’m willing to have a short private conversation in the corridor with Lady Lucy if she is willing.”
    Lady Lucy immediately stood up and gestured toward the door. “By all means.”
    Lady Cassandra watched them, her mouth a wide O, her lovely blue eyes blinking rapidly. Derek offered his hand to Lady Lucy, who promptly refused it with a tight smile and stalked ahead of him out the door of the drawing room. He followed her and closed the door behind them.
    Lady Lucy swung around to look at him, her arms still crossed resolutely. “Yes, Your Grace?” A fake smile was plastered to her face—and there went those distracting eyelashes again. Bat. Bat. Bat.
    He cleared his throat. “My lady, it seems you and I have got off on the wrong foot. I’d like for us to start over.”
    She dropped her arms to her sides. “Very well. Do you intend to desist in your courtship of Cass?”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “Then I’m afraid we cannot start over.”
    He inhaled a deep breath through his nostrils. “Why exactly do you find me so objectionable?”
    “For one thing you’re overbearing, for another, you’re arrogant.” She pointed toward the drawing room door. “Cass is a sweet soul. She wouldn’t hurt a bee and she’s friendly to everyone. She needs someone to look out for her best interests.”
    He arched a brow. “And that someone is you? Not her father?”
    Lady Lucy shot daggers at him with her eyes. “In this case, yes.”
    He poked out his cheek with his tongue. “So there can be no truce between us?”
    She folded her arms over her chest again. “Not as long as you insist