The ringing in her ears faded slowly, replaced by the thunder of her own pulse.
Howard stood before her like a judge pronouncing a sentence. “Now,” he said calmly, “we will speak like rational creatures.”
Rational?
The word nearly made her laugh.
Howard clasped his hands behind his back, assuming a pose of dignified authority. “I have discovered something, Gwendoline,” he began. “Something quite enlightening. Would you like to know what it is?”
Gwen pressed one hand to her cheek. It burned fiercely. Her vision swam, yet she lifted her chin.
Howard chuckled humorlessly. “You see, I know what you did.”
Gwen’s stomach tightened. He could not possibly know. He couldnot. Not about Victor. Not about the lodge. Or last night.
“You,” he said, pointing at her, “were the one who spread those rumors about yourself last Season.”
Gwen’s blood ran cold.
Cordelia gasped. “Howard, no! That cannot be.”
Howard ignored her, his eyes fixed on Gwen. “Do not deny it. A gentleman at the club mentioned overhearing your little friends bragging about it. They said you were the mastermind.”
Gwen’s breath stuck painfully in her chest.
Of all the secrets she feared being revealed, this was the one she had never expected to surface first.
Howard stepped closer. “Imagine my surprise. Formonths,I believed the worst of you. I thought the rumors were true. I thought you had behaved indecently and deserved the consequences.”
He smiled. It was not kind.
“But it seems I was mistaken. You are not immoral. Only just profoundly stupid.”
Gwen’s knees weakened.
Howard leaned forward. “Do you understand what you have done to this family? People laughed at me. At your mother. Whispered about us. Mocked us. I have fought tooth and nail to restore my standing at the club, all while defending a fool who orchestrated her own ruin.”
Cordelia’s voice cracked. “Howard, she was frightened. She was?—”
“She was incompetent,” he said sharply. “If she wished to destroy herself, she ought to have done it without dragging my name down with hers.”
Gwen swallowed, her throat tight. “I am sorry, Mama,” she whispered.
Howard seized her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Sorry does not improve our standing. Sorry does not erase gossip. But I know what will.”
Her pulse fluttered wildly. “What do you mean?”
“A husband,” he said. “A respectable one. A man of rank. Perhaps even a title if you are fortunate. A marriage will wipe the slate clean. Your value has diminished, but it’s not beyond salvage.”
Gwen felt physically ill. “I am not ready to marry.”
“I do not care what you are ready for,” Howard snapped. “I have made inquiries. Some gentlemen might be persuaded. Some who will overlook your history if the match benefits them.”
Cordelia clutched her shawl. “Howard, please. She is still young.”
“She’s far too old already,” he snarled. “And too troublesome to leave unwed. She will be married. Soon. And unless she behaves, I will choose the man myself.”
Gwen’s heart thudded against her ribs. Images flashed through her mind. Men she had never met. A household she did not choose. A loveless bed. A cage she could not escape.
