The Lady Seals Her Fate (The Langley Sisters #5) by Wendy Vella

see you so aggravated over this, Alex, when it has been happening since she entered society. Why now, I wonder?”
    “I did not realize it was happening,” Alex snapped getting out of his chair again to pace around the room.
    “You’re an idiot then, because everyone else did.”
    “Ben,” Alex cautioned his brother. “I am not in the best of moods.”
    “Shall I take off my jacket then?”
    “Shut up and tell me what you were going to add when you said plus.”
    “Plus Hannah does not grovel and feed the egos of those who think themselves better than her. Had she, she may have been accepted, is my opinion.”
    “She should not need to!”
    “Spoken like someone who has never known rejection a day in his life.”
    Alex accepted his brother’s words with a grunt of acknowledgement. To his shame, he had not, yet Hannah had and he had done nothing to aid her.
    “We accepted her, as did Finn, Phoebe, Will, and Livvy, Alex, and I believe that has helped her from being ostracized, but still, behind our backs, she is slighted.”
    He thought about the ugly truth of his brother’s words. She had struggled to be accepted and he had known that, but chose to ignore it as she never appeared upset by the notion. In fact, she was always just Hannah, with her smart mouth and dry wit.
    “Now tell me the rest of your story,” Ben said.
    “She told her father she did not want her dowry raised. He said he wanted her to have the chance to choose a husband from a selection of men. Hannah told him she will not marry a man who wants her for her father’s money, and that she feels like Woolly is selling her off, and it all became messy.”
    “Plenty of fathers have fired off their daughters for the same reason,” Ben mused. “I have to say I’m intrigued, if this all leads back to your walking about London in your shirtsleeves.”
    “Bear with me.”
    “My ears are yours,” Ben said. “Although we both know mine are shaped in a far superior way.”
    Alex rolled his eyes and continued. “She came to my house in the early hours of this morning, and told me that she’d invented a beau to get her father to stop, as that night at the ball Lord McDonald proposed to her.”
    “Never say she chose you?” Ben looked at him wide-eyed.
    “Yes.”
    His brother shook his head. “I suppose you do get that look when you are with her, and I’ve often wondered if she does not feel the same way.”
    “What look?”
    “Lust.”
    “Oh, that one.” Alex did not deny the truth.
    “Continue on with your story.” Ben waved a hand in his direction. “I have not been so entertained in days, but before you start, let me just say that I do not like McDonald. There is something nasty about him. Even though women fall over each other fluttering their lashes when he is in the room, I cannot like him.”
    “Yes, I’m not sure why I feel this way, but I think he is a threat to Hannah. He was in the park opposite her house when she and Bridgette were flying kites, and then today he was waiting for us when I took her driving.”
    “We shall watch him then. Now, pray continue, I need a good laugh.”
    “Of course. I live to amuse you.”
    “You’re doing an admirable job.”
    “She asked me to play the part. After my initial shock, I agreed, and then after more thought, I realized it would be nice to have a break from matchmaking mothers and their progeny for a season. We are not betrothed, merely showing an interest in each other.”
    Ben’s whistle was long.
    “She told her father that we had hoped to keep our interest a secret until we were sure of our feelings, due to the fact our lives are so entwined already. Friends, family—”
    “Got it.” Ben smiled as Damson entered the room with a laden tray. “Thank God, I’m sure I was faint with hunger.” Ben rose to fill a plate with food. “Would be nice to be off the market for a while,” he mused as he returned to his seat.
    “Should you not be lecturing me on the