“I do,” she said.
To be truthful, she was not unhappy with the way things had played out, but as the word left her lips, the reality of her false engagement sent her heart racing. She could be convincing now, but how many times was she going to have to lie before all of this was over?
Not just to her family, but to all of theton.
Her plan for the duke to convince them that he had changed his ways suddenly felt incredibly far-fetched. Not only would they have to appear in Society together, she realized, they were going to have to act… like they cared for one another.
What if he already regretted it?
Her stomach did a little flip and, listening to her mother and sisters making plans for a grand celebration—her and theDukeof Malum’sengagement ball—she wished she could escape as easily as the duke just had.
Because this wasn’t a love story—it was a lie.
A STRATEGIC UNION
THE LONDON ENQUIRER: MAYFAIR WHISPERS AND WICKED TRUTHS
Good people of London, brace yourselves for a match as scandalous as it is sudden! The engagement of Lady Melanie Rutherford to the notorious Duke of Malum has set tongues wagging across Mayfair. On the surface, it may seem like a strategic union, but closer inspection suggests a very different story.
Sources reveal that the engagement was hastily arranged after Lady Melanie was discovered in a compromising position with the duke in the Earl and Countess of Fallbridge’s library. Hardly the romantic tale one might expect! But it seems the Rutherfords will go to great lengths to salvage their daughter’s reputation—even if it means marrying her to a man whose reputation is even murkier than her own.
A reputable nursemaid, Mrs. Flora Green, claiming to have been contracted by the Wellington Household Placement Agency, has come forth to reveal that the duke recently welcomed a child into his home—born to one of his courtesans, no doubt. Is it any wonder that someone as uninspired as Lady Melanie is the perfect choice for such a peculiar arrangement?After all, the duke doesn’t appear to need a wife so much as a mother figure for his illegitimate son.
And what of the Rutherford family? By accepting such a match, one must wonder how far they are willing to go to secure their place in Society. After all, if they are willing to wed their daughter to the owner of a brothel, of all things, one might suspect they could be capable of more sinister deeds. Was the fire that paved the way for Lord Standish’s title merely a twist of fate? Or is there something darker lurking in the ashes?
This engagement is far from a fairy tale—it is a spectacle, a desperate move on both sides that raises more questions than answers. Is Lady Melanie going to become England’s next duchess, or is she merely a pawn in a game of scandal and power?
Stay tuned, dear readers. To be certain, there is more to come!
HONOR’S REWARD
Sitting in his office at theDomus, Malum didn’t need to read the article a second time. Instead, he cast it onto his desk, brooding over thepositively auspicious beginningof his so-called engagement to Lady Melanie Rutherford.
This.
This was what he got for trying to be chivalrous, for attempting to do “the honorable thing” as those in Society would say.
“Blast and damn,” he cursed under his breath.
The employment agency promised discretion and confidentiality in all matters, but not, apparently, where former employees were concerned. Malum had been careless in his dealings with the former nursemaid and this was the result.
His fault.
What with the ongoing search for Ernest’s mother and then the debacle at the Fallbridge’s ball, he’d been…
Distracted.
The weight of it was unfamiliar, irritating—like a coat that didn’t quite fit. For years, he hadn’t bothered accounting for hisactions to anyone but himself. Rumors could swell and swirl for all he cared; he’d been the only one bearing their brunt.
But now, there were others to consider. Lady Melanie and her family—already teetering on the edge of ruin—were caught in the web of public scrutiny he’d always had the luxury of ignoring.
And then there was the innocent child and his mother.
He’d known exactly what people would assume about his relationship to Ernest, even though it wasn’t true. Allowing the child to stay openly at Preston Hall had been an act of arrogance, the kind only possible when one was untangled and indifferent to the consequences.
Which, apparently, he no longer was.
For all intents and purposes, Malum was an engaged man.His decisions, his lapses in judgment, were now capable of dragging others down with him.
