Page 19 of If the Duke Demands

“Ifyou agree to help me with Robert.”

He froze, stunned by that. Then he sent her a dubious look, as if she were a bedlamite. Or foolishly in love with a man who had yet to notice her as a woman. “What kind of help, exactly?” he asked deliberately.

“Just to get noticed by him as someone other than me…Well, other than the person he thinks is me, anyway.” She grimaced at herself and at the impossible task she was most likely setting for herself. But she had to try. She would never be able to forgive herself if she didn’t try one last time to make Robert love her. “To give me a fair chance against Diana Morgan, that’s all.”

He blew out a weary sigh, his doubting thoughts about her crazy bargain evident in every inch of him. “Miranda—”

“You won’t have to do much,” she assured him, rapidly trying to persuade him into agreeing and to convince him that she wasn’t mad. Or at least, notverymad. “The time I’ll have together with him will be limited anyway.” Especially since she would be staying with Josie and her family. “Just help me benoticed, that’s all.”

He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “But I’ve seen how you try to get yourself noticed when it comes to Robert.”

“That was a mistake,” she whispered.

“Then you agree that you were wrong to sneak into—”

“Oh no,” she corrected, blinking. He had it all completely wrong. “Imeantthat it was a mistake to trust the footman. Next time, I’ll ask the butler.”

He stared at her, his eyes narrowing, and she suspected he wanted to throttle her right there in the rear garden. “This is madness.”

A terrible thought struck her, and her stomach plummeted. “Because you don’t think I’m good enough for your brother,” she accused, her eyes stinging at the words. “You don’t approve of me for him.”

“Thatisn’t it at all.” His eyes softened sympathetically. “We’re all fond of you, you know that. Including Robert. We only want the best for you.” He paused. “Iwant the best for you.”

Something about the way he said that made her heart skip. “The best isn’t Robert?”

“I love my brother, and I trust him with my life. He’s a wonderful man who would be fortunate to have you.” He arched a brow. “I’m just not certain that he’s the best man foryou.”

“He is.” She said the words with all the conviction she could muster, yet they still sounded thin to her own ears. “You’ve met Diana Morgan, and you know me. Which one of us do you think is better suited for your brother?”

He stared at her hard for a long moment as he considered that. Then he shook his head. “You’ll have to do exactly as I say. Are you willing to do that?”

Hopefulness surged inside her. “You’ll help me, then?”

“I won’t allow any kind of scandal to damage the family’s reputation,” he warned, “or to prevent me from finding a proper wife.” His blue eyes trained on hers, leaving absolutely no room for misunderstanding on this point. “Not even if it costs you Robert.”

“I would never do anything on purpose to harm your family,” she told him, her voice filled with enough raw honesty that the doubt in his eyes vanished. “I love your family as much as I do my own, and I would never want to see them hurt. Especially by something I did.”

He blew out a long breath. “All right,” he agreed, succumbing to her negotiations. “I’ll help you with Robertifyou behave yourself.”

Goodness, were they back tothisagain? She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Ifyoubehaveyourself—”

But the sudden harsh narrowing of his eyes cut her off in mid-sentence, and she slowly pulled her hand away. There were times when she knew she shouldn’t push Sebastian, and this was one of those times. Especially since he’d just agreed to help her.

“I mean it, Miranda. I’ll only help you with Robert if you don’t cause any problems.” He added meaningfully, “Like scandalously sneaking into gentlemen’s bedrooms wearing masquerade costumes.”

Oh, that.Again.“That wasn’t scandalous.” She waved it away. Surely he knew scandals only occurred when people found out what happened. After all, no one had yet found out that she’d also accidentally flooded the butcher’s shop when she was thirteen, and she had no intention of telling him. “I made certain no one would know. It was just—”

“Surprising as hell,” he admitted with a bewildered frown, “to find you of all women in my bed.” He dropped his gaze down her front and murmured, “In that costume.”

Everywhere his blue eyes lingered, heat prickled beneath her skin, the same way he’d warmed her body when he’d stared at her bare breasts last night in the firelight. Was he thinking about that, remembering…Impossible.Not Sebastian. He certainly wouldn’t flirt withher. He’d made that perfectly clear last night. When he thought she was Lady Rose, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. But when he found out that his enticing Rose was Miranda Hodgkins, he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

Men.Would she ever understand them?

“If I had known it was your room, I never would have gone there.” She sniffed peevishly. “After all, you weren’t the brother I was looking for.”

His face darkened. Instead of being relieved at that, he seemed even more annoyed.

Which only worked to make her more annoyed athim. “You and I wouldn’t suit at all, Sebastian.” She folded her arms crossly over her chest. Reaching for the wooden sword was simply too tempting. “At least Robert knows how to have fun and enjoy himself.”