Johnathan wasn’t certain how to reply to that, so he merely offered the ladies a final bow and made his way out of the drawing room, with Cross right behind him.
“My goodness, girls. Such a scandal!” Lady Fosberry breathed, as soon as Lord Melrose and Lord Cross were gone. “Poor, dear, brave Lord Melrose.”
Poor Lord Melrose, indeed.
Under cover of the blue velvet pillow in her lap, Emmeline’s fingers curled into fists.
What sort of gentleman kissed a lady as Lord Melrose had kissed her, without having the faintest notion he was standing beside her the very next morning? The worst of it was, she couldn’t even reveal what an utter scoundrel he was without giving herself away!
“I think it’s all nonsense,” Juliet announced. “If it was too dark for Lord Cudworth to see the lady’s face as she left the library, then how could he tell the color of her gown?”
“Or be certain the gentleman he saw was Lord Melrose at all?” It had most certainly been Lord Melrose, but Emmeline was desperate to try staunch the flow of this rumor, even as she knew it was hopeless. The ton had it now. They wouldn’t let it go until they’d squeezed every drop of blood from it.
“My dear child, no one could ever mistake Lord Melrose for another gentleman. He is the Nonesuch, you know.”
Emmeline slumped against the settee with limbs heavy with sudden exhaustion. Dear God, what a tangle. She should have listened to Phee, and kept far away from London.
What a fool she’d been to imagine for a single instant she wouldn’t be found out. The ton was always watching, peering around every corner, ready to snap up the latest scandal like a frog catching the tastiest flies on the tips of their tongues.
“This puts an end to our wager, my lady,” Juliet observed. “Lord Melrose was quite clear about his intentions regarding the Lady in Lavender.”
“Oh, bother the wager!” Lady Fosberry waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t give a whit about it, and never did. I’ve been begging Euphemia to accompany me to the Continent for months now, and you know very well I’ll insist on giving Tilly a season. The wager was simply a means to get you to London, in the hopes of improving your circumstances.”
Juliet smiled. “And so, we will. There are a great many other gentlemen in London aside from Lord Melrose. Perhaps I’ll marry one of them.”
Lady Fosberry gave her a sharp look. “I hope you aren’t referring to Lord Boggs.”
“Lord Boggs!” Emmeline repeated, appalled. “What’s Lord Boggs got to do with anything?”
Juliet shrugged. “A bird in the hand, as Helena says.”
Emmeline stared at her. “What does that mean?”
Lady Fosberry grimaced. “Lord Boggs admires Juliet. Anyone who attended my ball last night could see that, but I do hope you’re not encouraging him, Juliet.”
“I don’t see why I shouldn’t. You said yourself he’d be a good match for Miss Crowley. That’s even more true for me, given our mother’s scandal.”
“He isn’t a good match for you at all, Juliet!” Emmeline was horrified by the very idea.
“Are there any dreadful scandals about Lord Boggs, my lady?” Juliet asked, ignoring Emmeline and turning instead to Lady Fosberry.
“No. He’s as dull as a church sermon, but there’s nothing to his credit, either.” Lady Fosberry exchanged glances with Emmeline. “I agree with your sister. I think him an exceedingly bad choice, Juliet, but I don’t pretend to understand all the twists and turns of your magical matchmaking formula.”
“There isn’t a bit of magic to it, my lady.” Emmeline said automatically, but her gaze remained on Juliet, uneasiness twisting in her stomach.
“Ah, yes. I keep forgetting it’s simply mathematics.”
“There’s a great deal more to it than that,” Emmeline protested, unable to help herself. “If you take into account psychology, even zoology—”
“My dear Emmeline, this is no time for a discussion of zoology.”
“—but I don’t recall a single principle of science, mathematics, or matchmaking that argues for a match between Juliet and Lord Boggs.” Emmeline took Juliet’s hand. “He’s not the sort of man who could ever make you happy, Juliet. Just the opposite, I’m afraid.”
Juliet said nothing, but she didn’t need to say a word. The truth was dawning on Emmeline with such awful clarity, she couldn’t imagine how she hadn’t seen it sooner.
The wager, this trip to London—it had never been about a betrothal to Lord Melrose. Juliet had leapt at the chance of a season right after they’d learned Lady Mariana Shelby had refused Lord Boggs. He was the reason Juliet had accepted Lady Fosberry’s wager, despite it going against both Phee’s and Emmeline’s wishes.
Now that she considered it, Emmeline would be amazed if Juliet had ever intended to pursue Lord Melrose at all. She’d likely had Lord Boggs in mind from the start.
