Carlisle exhaled loudly and then turned and pinned her with his gaze. “Were you in love with him?”
She wanted to rail at him for asking such a question. Had she not been kissing him less than twelve hours ago? But oh, no, her reputation preceded her. Even Lord Carlisle now would question her morals. Was she to forever be branded a woman of easy virtue?
Except that she had been.
So, instead of releasing a stream of venom, she shook her head. “Of course not.” But she could not help adding, “How can you ask me that after…?” She held his gaze defiantly. Those blue eyes that had always been so tender and understanding now chilled her to the core.
“But you’d promised yourself to him, had you not? Did he hold you in affection? Have you broken his heart by failing to meet him?”
“I never got the message!” she defended herself, unable to remain meek for any longer. She spoke through gritted teeth. “I was with you!” But she couldn’t help wondering what would have happened if shehadreceived the message. Would she have followed through with it?
At last, Justin’s shoulders seemed to relax ever so slightly. “Well then, I hazard to say Miss Goodnight is no longer expecting an offer?” His chuckle rang cynically.
Rhoda stared down at her hands. “She is not.”
When she finally peered up through her lashes again, she found him studying her, a serious expression on his face.
“What will you do now? About the wager? Do you have some other gentleman lined up to marry you?” His words were hurtful, but his tone was not.
She merely shook her head. “I don’t know. There is no one else.”
He raised one fist to his mouth, deep in thought. Should she leave him alone now? He didn’t seem overly upset about Emily’s defection. Rhoda had not truly believed that he would be.
“Your sisters will be ruined as well,” he spoke just as she’d decided she would remove herself.
She slumped into her chair again. “Yes.”
“I’d prefer to speak to your father first. Is he in London?” It took a moment for her mind to wrap itself around what he was saying. So now, he’d martyr himself for her. He’d marry her despite all that had happened?
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Is he in London?” he persisted.
And she had to catch herself from refusing again. Because this wasn’t just about her. Her mind conjured up Coleus, trying on dresses and simply dying to make her come out. And Hollyhock, who already was showing signs of the beauty she’d become. “Father never resides in the same place as my mother. So, no. He isn’t in London. He’s at Pebbles Gate, near Oxford.”
“I will meet with him, then and return. It shouldn’t take me more than a few days.” His words were firm. Not much enthusiasm but neither did he sound overly reluctant.
“My mother is in a hurry to return to London. I doubt I can keep her here more than another day.” Coleus would play ill for one day but no more than that. And besides… Rhoda was tired of the deceit.
“Very well, then.” He strode toward her, hitched his trousers at the top of his thighs, and then dropped down onto one knee.
In any other situation, she’d be giddy with delight at the sight of such a handsome gentleman, an earl no less, preparing to make her such an offer. Would she always remember this moment? For the rest of her life? The way the sun slanted in upon the carpet; the sound of the clock as it ticked upon the mantle; the aroma of lemon oil and leather, and now, with his nearness, the scent of his soap and cologne.
He lifted one of her hands in his, and she couldn’t help noticing how comforted she felt, hers small and fragile tucked into his strong tanned grasp.
And yet it was wrong.
“Miss Mossant.” His voice sounded gravelly, as though the momentousness of the occasion had suddenly struck him as well. She glanced from their hands to peer into his eyes once again. She willed his blue depths not to be cold any longer. She wanted, sheneededto see a hint of the warmth they’d held last night before… before he’d realized the extent of her conniving.
Perhaps he’d seen the pleading look in hers, for they lost the iciness from earlier but remained guarded. “Will you honor me by consenting to be my wife? Will you marry me?”
She couldn’t help but remember all the times he’d shown her kindness. At the Crabtrees’ ball, after they’d fallen into the lake together, when she’d gone walking in the garden, and then last night. He’d freed her from a lifetime of guilt with his reason and insight.
She owed him so much already. A steely determination came over her. She’d make this man happy. If it took a lifetime, she’d somehow repay him. And although she had no idea what this would require, she nodded. “I will,” she answered.
Justin had never imagined such a scenario would present itself. Especially after last night, after learning she and Miss Goodnight had conspired to trap him into a marriage with not Rhoda but with the other woman.
She likely would have preferred Blakely. Blakely, although considered a womanizer, had been considered the most sought after, although most unattainable, bachelor in London for nearly a decade. Why wouldn’t she have preferred Blakely to himself, a former vicar?
