“What?”
“As I said, it’s always the woman who suffers in this sort of situation.And with Lady Hewitt’s unsavory reputation ...”
“To hell with her reputation,” he snapped.“What situation?There is no situation.Lady Hewitt has been living under your protection the entire time, and I’ve been staying at my club.”He’d gone out of his way to ensure the proprieties were observed.
She shrugged.“I did deny it, of course, but ...”She spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
He rose and began to pace around the room.After all the care he’d taken to protect Tessa.Blasted gossipmongers!He stopped pacing.He knew what needed to be done.He’d been planning it for a while.Giving her time to find her feet, explore her options, realize what needed to happen.This would just bring it forward.
“I suppose marriage would quash the scandal,” he said in his best off-hand manner.
It was the perfect solution.He didn’t want to make a love-match, didn’t want to make himself vulnerable to desire, even though he was experiencing it, stronger than ever, each time he saw her.But as long as nobody else knew about it, he would be safe.
Tessa herself didn’t need to know, he told himself.He’d been planning to offer her marriage as a low-key practical arrangement between friends, but now ...
This blasted gossip problem could be a heaven-sent opportunity.Ifhe could talk Tessa into it.
“Marriage?” his aunt declared.“Good God, no!Iknowhow reluctant you’ve been to marry, dear boy.I wouldn’tfor the worldsee you saddled with an unsuitable gel, simply to stop a few tongues wagging.”She snorted.“Besides, hasn’t she told me a dozen times or more thatshehas no desire to marry again?Marriage, Marcus?No, no and no!You’ll have to think of something else!”
Marcus stared at her and sat down, eying her cynically.What was going on?She’d been nagging him to marry for years.
His aunt added thoughtfully, “Actually, the best thing will be for the gel to take up that position up in Yorkshire.Once she’s out of sight, the scandal will fade.”
Marcus frowned.“What position in Yorkshire?”
She nodded to herself.“It’s the perfect solution.I’ll write her a glowing recommendation and she’ll disappear from sight, never to be seen again.”
Never to be seen again?Not if he could help it.
“Once she’s gone, the gossip will fade in a sennight or two, take my word for it.Some other scandal will take its place in theton’s imagination.It always does.Remember the fuss that was made over Lord and Lady Templeton last year?Such a to-do about noth—”
“Whatposition in Yorkshire?”he repeated with grim patience.There were times when he itched to throttle his beloved aunt.
His aunt blinked at him and said vaguely, “Oh, she applied for a job with some complete stranger somewhere in the wilds of Yorkshire.Answering an advertisementin a newspaper, would you believe?”She snorted again.“It could be anyone, but gels these days ...”
Marcus recalled the letter Tessa had given him to frank, some address in Yorkshire.Dammit, why hadn’t he thought to ask her about it?
Marcus rose.“I’ll give the situation some thought.I must go now.Good day, Aunt.”
“No need for any thought, dear boy,” she said brightly.“Stashing the gel far away and out of sight in Yorkshire is the perfect solution.Let us just hope her new employer is someone respectable.”Then she added, “Or at least someone safe.”
#
THE FIRST THING MARCUSneeded to do was to check on this so-called rumor.He didn’t trust his aunt at all.She had a tendency to exaggerate things, and unless it was indeed the scandal she’d claimed ...Well, he would be as bad as her father and brother if he talked Tessa into a marriage based on a lie.
After checking the usual haunts, tracked his friend Barney to Tattersalls.Apparently there was an interesting auction coming up.Barney had a good eye for horseflesh.
Marcus had no interest in the auction; he wanted to pick Barney’s brain, catch up on the latest gossip.His aunt claimed the damaging scandal about him and Tessa was everywhere.Naturally nobody would speak of it to Marcus’s face, but Barney would know the truth.
As expected, he arrived just in time to see his friend make a successful bid for a rather splendid-looking bay hunter.He made his way through the crowd.
“Did you see it?”Barney said when he clapped eyes on Marcus.“Such hocks, such a powerful, deep chest, and the temperament—”
Marcus cut off the enthusiastic horsey flow, which he knew could last for hours.“Congratulations, Barney.A fine looking beast.”
“Yes, and—”
“A drink?”
