Page 32

Sophia’s lips twisted, the expression more wistful than wry. “Neither of us has had an easy time of it, have we?”

“Richard did bring you flowers that day you compromised him!” Lily murmured, her tone tinged with mischief.

Her cousin huffed, though her eyes softened. “And he drove me to Gunter’s the day we wed to flaunt our connection in front of the ton.”

A quiet giggle escaped Lily as she recalled the strange, determined course of Sophia’s wedding to the earl. They had battled through the storm and found shelter in each other. The memory, though not hers, warmed her like a hearth on a winter’s evening.

Slowly, her high spirits trickled back, buoying her heart until a fragile optimism stirred to life. “Perhaps it could all work out!”

Sophia reached out to clasp Lily’s hand, their fingers curling together with the certainty of family. “I will do everything in my power to make it so.”

Brendan stepped out into the bright, sunlit street just as another man emerged from Lord Moreland’s stately townhouse. They both halted at the bottom of the steps, momentarily frozen, assessing one another with narrowed eyes. Brendan realized with a jolt that this must be Moreland’s heir. The resemblance was striking—tall, square-jawed, and broad of shoulder. The gentleman bore his father’s commanding frame, but the coloring of Miss Abbott. That chocolate-brown hair, those sharply glaring eyes—there could be no mistake.

Before Brendan could step away from the widow’s modest door, the younger man strode across the cobbled street, boots striking hard against the stone.

“What are you doing at this … this … this harlot’s home? Why has Lily turned you down?” he demanded, fury surging in every syllable. Without waiting for a reply, Abbott seized him by the lapels of his coat.

Blazes. Brendan fought a grimace. I need to visit Gentleman Jackson’s. This is the second time I have been manhandled in as many days.

His lack of rest dulled his reflexes. The pounding in his skull had not abated since morning and now throbbed in rhythm with his rising pulse. “I was here for ten minutes. Nothing happened,” he said flatly.

Abbott hesitated, breath hard and uneven. Slowly, he released his grip. Brendan tugged his waistcoat into place, then smoothed his jacket with deliberate calm, as if dignity could be refastened with sartorial effort alone.

“My sister is ruined, and it is my fault for leaving her alone that night. You have to fix this, Ridley!”

The anguish carved into the young man’s features was unmistakable. Despite the ache behind his eyes, Brendan felt a sharp jab of shame strike his chest like the edge of a blade. If it were his sister …

“Miss Abbott refused my offer.”

“Why? What did you do?” Abbott’s voice cracked on the question. “She hoped you would take care of her after what she did for you!”

Brendan broke eye contact, staring over Abbott’s shoulder at the stately line of townhouses across the street. He was hardly going to admit to his own foolish blunder—the cruel accusation flung at Lily, the fumbling, botched proposal.

“It is not what she wants. And what about you? Would you marry a child?”

Abbott’s face hardened like carved stone. “She is no child, you scoundrel! What Lily lacks in stature, she makes up for in heart. She is kindness and joy. And, fortunately for you, she is the epitome of honor, or even now you would be imprisoned.”

He gestured violently toward the house behind Brendan. “That woman is a vicious viper. Yet you visit her while my sister has retreated, facing certain ruin. I am to take her to the Continent to outrun this scandal. Lily is a young woman with her entire life ahead of her. What is she to do if you will not assist her?”

Brendan winced. His fingers curled into fists at his sides. The more he learned of Miss Abbott—no, Lily—the more deeply ashamed he felt. Her goodness had not only shielded him from disaster, it had been freely offered, with little expectation. And what had he given her in return? Grief. Dismissal. Humiliation.

He had to make amends. But how did one mend something so carelessly shattered?

“She practically threw me out,” he muttered. “But I will work something out.”

Abbott’s eyes narrowed, his gaze raking Brendan from head to toe with measured intensity. Then he stepped back, as if allowing him a last sliver of grace.

“I spoke with some of the chaps this morning,” Abbott said quietly, “and they tell me you are a good sort, Ridley. You must wed my sister to save her from this shame. Lily does not deserve this. Everyone she knows will give her the cut direct. It is inconceivable that this should happen to her.”

His voice broke then, and his shoulders dipped under the weight of his helpless affection. “She is the very best of sisters. If I could restore her reputation with my own hands, I would. But I cannot. You must help her.”

Brendan raised a shaky hand to rake it through his hair. He had not eaten properly in days, and now the sheer weight of this muddle threatened to pull him under.

He had no idea how to repair the damage he had wrought. But he could not walk away from this … or from her.

“I will try to make it right, Abbott.”

It was not much. It was not nearly enough. But in his exhausted, unraveling state, it was all Brendan could summon.