Page 83 of The Noble Smuggler

The duchess smiled. “He, too, has just arrived, and knowing my brother, he will appear any minute.”

As though he’d waited for that precise cue, a knock sounded.

“Enter,” the duchess called.

The door opened, and Lord Langton walked in. Elizabeth stifled a gasp. He was wearing impeccably tailored dark-blue coat and breeches, and rather than donning a white wig, he had tied his naturally dark hair back with a blue ribbon and dusted it with powder.

After greeting his sister with a polite nod, his gaze fell on Elizabeth, and he stood perfectly still.

The duchess’s glance moved from the viscount to Elizabeth and back. Her smile widened, and she cleared her throat. “I must join the duke downstairs,” she said. “We will await your arrival there with Lord and Lady Bloxley.”

Elizabeth managed a faint nod. Lord Langton ignored her completely. The duchess did not seem to mind a bit. With a swoosh of silk skirts, she swept out of the room, leaving the door ajar behind her.

“For a woman intent on teaching you correct protocols, I do not believe she should have left the room,” Lord Langton said. Apparently, he’d been aware of his sister’s departure after all.

“Probably not,” Elizabeth said. The look in the viscount’s eyes was not helping her heart rate.

“You look stunning,” he said. He stepped closer, the scent of sandalwood coming with him. “How are you feeling?”

“Now or before you came in?”

He grinned. “I think it had better be ‘before,’ or you may never leave this room.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks. “Apprehensive,” she said.

He gave her an understanding smile. “Have you met Lady Bloxley yet?”

“No.”

“It may be hard to believe, but I would hazard a guess that the lady is equally nervous about your introduction. Perhaps if you remember that, it will help.”

She nodded. How this man had the power to set her heart pounding one moment and fully calm her the next was completely beyond her. But he did. It was one of the many things that she loved about him.

“Will you be coming with me?”

“I think Bloxley will want this to be just family,” he said. “But I will be waiting for you in the hall when you come down.”

She nodded again.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Self-control is overrated,” he muttered.

“I agree,” she whispered back. Another knock sounded on the door, and Jonas stepped away. “Come in,” she called.

Lord Bloxley entered. Upon seeing Lord Langton in the room, he raised his eyebrows. “Anything I should know about?”

“Yes,” the viscount said. “I need to make an appointment with you.”

The earl looked as though he were fighting a smile. “It’s not like you to be so official, Langton.”

“Well, this is official business,” he said.

The earl lost his battle and chuckled. “Is that so?” He shrugged. “You know where my study’s located. I shall be there most of next week.”

“This particular business cannot wait that long.”

“If it’s that urgent, I daresay the duke will let us use his study while we’re here.”

The viscount’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “I shall ask him.”