She’d hoped the suggestion would at least appeal to his baser nature. He might be able to capture another glimpse of her bare skin, which he seemed to have greatly appreciated inside the overturned hut.
Doing her best to seem appealing despite the ugly felt gown and her bedraggled state, she offered him a winsome smile.
For a moment, given his expression, Glynnis thought she might have succeeded in gaining access to the viscount’s plummy residence.
Chapter Ten
“Absolutely not!” LordHargrove said. “That’s out of the question.”
“But why?” Glynnis was astonished a reputed rake, a rum buck, a libertine of the first order would refuse to put up a woman in his home. It must be the cursed bathing dress!
“Because as swiftly as the starling flies, I would be accused of ruining you, and we would be forced to marry. And even if we married, you would be looked down upon for the rest of your life as a woman lacking in common decency.”
Glynnis pondered both his objections and wondered how to get around them.
“What if you hired a chaperone?” she asked.
“On short notice? Impossible.”
He was probably right.
“What if we don’t tell anyone? And when my fiancé arrives, he, too, stays in your home, which will prohibit any accusations against you, and even prove my continued virtue. If he accepts the situation, it would seem to have been prearranged. You could be a proper guardian, and I, your charge.”
He gaped at her. “I am not a fit guardian for a woman of your age, and you know it. Nor is that what Prinny intended. You shouldn’t even be considering such a thing. I cannot imagine the other thoughts in your pretty head. What’s more, I don’t wish to find out. But you may cease any designs upon moving into my house. It will not happen.”
She could tell his mind was made up and fell silent.
Passing the porter, standing guard just inside the entrance to the Old Ship, she endured his long stare while she dripped across the foyer, along with Hargrove. They went directly to the concierge’s desk. Mr. Melton rushed around it to greet them.
“Whatever has befallen you?” he asked. “Or is it you who has fallen, directly into the sea?”
Then he laughed. This was not his first attempt at humor since Glynnis had arrived, but she sincerely hoped it would be his last. She might demand they reduce her bill to compensate for having to bear it.
By Hargrove’s expression, he didn’t find the man funny either.
“This lady had an incident with an overturned bathing machine,” her rescuer said. “She will need a hot bath at once. If she doesn’t get it, she may become ill, and I would not want to hear of your hotel causing such a thing.”
