“No,” Lady Bridget said. “I wished to confront Lady Susan about the terrible gossip she was spreading about me. I said something that angered her, and she shoved me in the lake.”
“You must have said something dreadful to her,” Lewis said. “Lady Susan is known for her impeccable breeding and behavior.”
He did not really know much about Lady Susan, but Lady Bridget’s flushed face told him everything that he needed to know.
“The world would be a more convenient place if everyone with cruel intentions simply announced them, wouldn’t it?” Lady Bridget asked tartly. “If you truly believe that Lady Susan is such a paragon of virtue, you might want to consider the possibility that you are a poor judge of character, Your Grace.”
“I see.”
He let the silence grow between them, curious to see if the lady would offer more information. She did not, but it was difficult to determine if her refusal to be forthcoming stemmed more from embarrassment or something else.
“What was the gossip?” Lewis asked.
The lady’s scowl deepened. “Do you really need me to repeat what she said?”
“I should know if there are any rumors circulating about my wife, which might harm my reputation.”
“Your reputation?”
He smiled sharply. “If we are to be married, anything detrimental to your reputation also impacts mine. I am certain that I do not need to explain this to you.”
“And I am certain that you already know about the rumors,” Lady Bridget retorted. “Asking me is unnecessary unless your aim is to humiliate me further.”
Lewis snorted. “Contrary to what you may believe, I have far more important matters to attend to than listening to every rumor and scandal circulating among theton.”
“But you would have heard of mine. I cannot imagine that you would have agreed to this match without learning more about my character.” As she spoke, a small note of hope entered hervoice. Lewis sensed that something had onlyjustoccurred to her, but he could not say what. “But perhaps you do not know. After all, most reasonable men would not wish to marry a lady with a scandal such as mine.”
Lewis did know, though. He had done a small investigation before asking this lady to be his bride. He merely wanted to hear what she had to say about the matter, for he also knew well that thetonhad a regrettable tendency to exaggerate.
“It was—it wasdreadful,” Lady Bridget said, something malicious and gleeful in her expression.
He suspected that she might be exaggerating herself. Lewis fixed his gaze forward, thinking. Why would a young lady wish to embellish the severity of her scandal? That made little sense.
Lewis frowned.
Or it makes all the sense in the world.
She hoped that he would refuse to marry her, and doubtlessly, she was preparing to craft some exceptionally salacious tale to persuade him against his present course of action.
“I was found alone in a room with an unmarried gentleman,” she said. “Not only a gentleman but an incurable rake.”
“Were you?” he asked mildly. “And what did this incurable rake do to you?”
“A kiss on the cheek.”
“And?”
Her eyes darted to him, and her lips slightly parted. “And is—is that not sufficient for you?”
Lewis laughed. “Just a kiss? That is hardly anything.”
“B-but it was?—”
“Barely a scandal.”
“How can you say that?” Her voice hitched a little. “That scandal ruined my marriage prospects!”
“Only because thetonis full of hypocrites,” Lewis said. “A kiss? That is nothing.”
