“It’ll get better, I promise.”
Caroline met her sister-in-law’s stare. “Goldie, I… exposed my bare legs to everyone in Mayfair.” She would never forget how her dress had worked its way around her hips… If not for a few inches of material, she might have shown… Caroline closed her eyes. Dear lord, it had been a nightmare.
“They’ll eventually forget,” Goldie urged her. “When the next scandal comes along.”
Goldie spoke from experience. Following a hasty marriage to Caroline’s brother, the newly married couple had existed on the outside of society for most of last year’s season.
But Reed was an earl. And Goldie wasn’t only a countess, she was also a duke’s daughter. No matter she’d been disowned for marrying Reed.
Caroline sent the other young woman a weak smile. “I don’t know if I can wait that long.”
She’d always considered herself a strong person. Growing up in the country, she’d once chased off a pack of wild dogs to protect Josephine. Caroline wasn’t afraid to swim in in the river that cut across Breaker’s Cottage, nor of exploring the caves in the nearby hills. She’d even climbed the tallest trees on her father’s estate and not felt an ounce of fear.
Well, perhaps an ounce.
She had witnessed her uncle’s hunting cabin burn to the ground—knowing her father and brother were trapped inside.
But she’d never felt the ridicule of others on such a personal level and all those indifferent stares hurt more than she’d ever admit. She was getting… tired.
“If not for Melanie and Josephine, I’d go home tomorrow.” Because London was not her home. It never would be.
Goldie opened her mouth to respond but then fell silent when a couple of gentlemen stopped in front of Caroline’s tree. It did not appear that they had been noticed, and Caroline would honestly prefer not to be.
“Standish is back in town.” A male voice on the opposite side floated through the leaves. Caroline held a finger up to her lips, her stare locked with Goldie’s.
They were talking about Reed—Caroline’s brother and Goldie’s husband.
“I don’t know how he can show his face. The blighter ought to be in Newgate.”
Goldie frowned and for an instant, Caroline thought her sister-in-law was going to jump out and defend Reed’s honor. Caroline grabbed Goldie’s hand, however, and shook her head.
“The Gazette says a new investigation is under way.”
“It’s a travesty that he’s gotten away with it for this long.”
The two men were joined by a third and they continued their ignorant speculation. Not having had the opportunity to converse with any of these gentlemen, Caroline didn’t recognize their voices.
But it didn’t matter. She’d heard others gossip along the same vein—far too often.
Nonetheless, by the time they drifted away, Goldie looked fit to be tied. And Caroline’s heart sank.
Because this sort of speculation was extremely dangerous. If the ton decided Reed was guilty, he might still be arrested, despite the lack of evidence. No one would care to learn the facts behind last year’s murders if they thought they already had the culprit.
“Do you know who they are?”
Goldie shook her head. “The gossip was supposed to go away,” she whispered, looking pale. And Goldie was right. In fact, it was the initial reason Reed had married her.
He’d quickly fallen in love with his wife, of course, but his marriage had originally been arranged to distract the ton from their suspicions that Reed had started the fire, effectively killing off the men who stood between him and the title.
Caroline shook her head. She knew exactly what was fueling such talk—it was those blasted articles in the Gazette.
“If only the paper would let it die,” said Goldie, apparently thinking along the same lines.
“What does Reed say?” Caroline hadn’t spoken with her brother about anything significant in almost a week.
“He says it will pass. But…”
“Reed understands the ton even less than I do.” Caroline wouldn’t gloss over her brother’s naiveté.
