“Private?” she shrieked. “So that you can ruin my reputation even more?”
He gave her a stern look. “Lady Kentwood, I really must insist—”
“You can insist all you’d like, for the good it will do. But I will never willingly go into a private room with you ever again.”
Malice darkened Collin’s hazel eyes. She never thought she’d witness such anger in his expression, but it was worth every second. Victory was within reach.
“Lady Kentwood,” he grumbled for her ears only, “you are making a spectacle of yourself. If I didn’t know you better, I would think that you’ve been drinking from your late husband’s liquor cabinet.”
She gave him an evil grin and shook her head. “No,” she said softly, “I have never touched the stuff, and I never will. This outrage you see is all me.”
Silence stretched between her and Collin, but moments later, two men joined them. One of the men resembled Collin, but his hair was a dark brown. Each man grasped one of her elbows.
“I do not know who you are,” the man who looked like Collin said in a gruff voice, “but you were not invited to my wedding, and so my cousin and I are going to escort you back to your coach.”
Adeline looked back at Collin, showing him through her glare just how much she loathed him. She didn’t take her eyes off him even as the two men led her away from the wedding guests.
Finally, when they reached her coach, she pulled away from the men. She moved her attention to the bridegroom. “I beg your forgiveness for ruining your party, but it was your brother whom I wanted to embarrass, not you.”
The man lifted his chin. “Lady Kentwood, I thinkyouare the one who has been embarrassed the most here today.”
She shook her head, trying to keep her heart from breaking all over again. It was over now, so why didn’t she feel better? “No, it was the new Marquess of Kentwood. But I will have the last laugh, I assure you.”
With unshed tears stinging her eyes, she turned and climbed into her coach. When she sat on the seat, she sighed with relief as her body trembled. She’d waited for a whole year to get that off her chest. So why then, did she feel like her world was crumbling around her all over again?
