Page 13 of Ravished By the Beastly Duke

“Ileave you alone for a brief second and you are caught in a snare by a vixen.” Theo laughed, slapping his thigh. “That sounds so pitiful, I almost feel terrible for laughing.”

He, Magnus, and Edwin had rushed over to William’s estate, arriving less than an hour after he had, following his exit from the Yardley ball. The news apparently traveled fast, and considering it was most probably the biggest scandal of the year—since a duke was involved—he knew most of the families in England would be abuzz with excitement.

William had relayed everything that had happened leading up to their discovery, and his friends had not reacted well to the lady’s role in it.

He wondered how she handling all of this.

Her reputation was shredded by now, and any hope she had of securing a match would be non-existent come morning, when even more families would be abreast of the situation.

Evenhewould have a hard time handling the attention that came with such a scandal even if they had not been caught in a state of undress or a lovers’ embrace, but by then, the tale would have passed through different ears, and the truth of what had been seen would be lost amid the twists added to it.

“She was not exactly a vixen,” William clarified, knowing he would get odd looks from his friends. “She would have attempted much subtler seduction or asked for more than a kiss.”

“Yet she just happened to be wandering in the same wing of the manor and step into the room you were in?” Edwin asked. “She must have followed you to trap you and has no doubt succeeded if you choose to do the honorable thing.”

The truth sounded even more like a lie than their assumptions did, but he felt hard-pressed to assert the truth of the encounter. They had not seen the look on her face when she had been led outside by her sister. She had looked so devastated that he had almost told her it wasn’t her fault. But if he had spoken to her, more fodder would have been added to the flame of gossip.

“That sounds flattering, but I highly doubt anyone would be so desperate to marry that she would consider trapping me in a scandal,” he argued.

“You are a duke, Mayfield,” Edwin reminded him. “You are an eligible bachelor in the eyes of desperate females.”

“Yet I have served in the army and shunned Society for months on end,” William countered. “No one knows anything about my character or fortune, so it would take a bold gamble to attempt to snare me.”

“Yet she has done it,” Edwin went on. “Which goes further to show her desperation.”

William raised an eyebrow at Edwin’s knowing tone, wanting to know what his friend had discovered about the lady to make him sound as insulting as he did.

“What do you know?” he asked grimly.

“Her name is Eveline Jennings. She is the second daughter of Reginald Jennings, the Viscount Notley, who has three daughters and no sons. The first daughter is unmarried and is already a spinster. Miss Eveline is twenty-one years old, and considering that this is her third Season, it is no surprise that she would go to such desperate lengths to secure a match,” Magnus reported.

Even though William wasn’t unaware of how far his friends’ network of spies extended, he was still surprised by how quickly they were able to gather information on someone who was otherwise unremarkable. Magnus must have discussed his findings with Edwin as they had arrived together.

William frowned, turning the information over in his mind and trying to reconcile his friends’ assumptions with the lady he had met. She did not seem as conniving as Edwin had described, but could he really claim to know her character after just one meeting or vouch for her when she had behaved so improperly with someone she barely knew?

Could she really just be an innocent whose first attempt at adventure ended in such a scandal?

“I still do not think she is so conniving as to concoct such a scheme,” William declared. “After all, no one had expected me to attend. You all were more likely targets if she had a duke in her sights.”

“Yet you were the bird caught in the snare,” Theo mused. “It is almost unfortunate for your first night out. Were you really attempting to take my advice and bed the woman?”

“Not everyone lacks principles as you do, Emerton,” Magnus sneered.

“I was only asking a question, Blackmore.” Theo shrugged, unbothered by the insult. “You really should learn not to take things too seriously.”

Another argument was about to begin—these two were always at each other’s throats.

“An unnecessary inquiry, as always,” Magnus continued. “You should be suggesting solutions and learning to take things a little more seriously.”

“And stop yours and Edwin’s attempts to defame the character of the woman? Whyever would I?”

“You’re—”

“Can we focus on the matter at hand, gentlemen?” Edwin interjected in a tone that left no room for argument.

The two men glared at each other and turned away from each other.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen, but now that it has, there is only one solution going forward,” Magnus stated with a frown. “You have to marry her.”

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