Page 63 of The Trouble with True Love

“We broke them apart. Can’t we reunite them?”

He shrugged. “To what end?”

“Honorable courtship, of course. And,” she added firmly as he groaned, “a view to matrimony.”

“A view aspired to by no sane man, ever. And Lionel, I assure you, is quite sane. He asked for my advice to avoid matrimony, remember?”

“You could persuade him.”

“Send a man to hell before he’s even dead?” Rex quipped. “Why would I do that?”

“You said you’re not against marriage for everyone,” she reminded.

“I support it for my friends only if they are sure it’s what they want, and a month isn’t long enough for anyone to be sure.”

“It’s nearly two months now.”

“During which time, they’ve not seen each other, as your account of Dina’s conversation with her friend makes clear. And,” he added before she could reply, “even if I were willing to try bringing them back where they were, I’d have little opportunity, since—as you may have noticed—Lionel is still not speaking to me.”

“All the more reason for us to do something, then. What better way to regain his goodwill than to reunite him with the woman he loves?”

He muttered an oath, then sighed. “I assume you have a plan in mind to achieve this miracle?”

“You had a plan already, remember? Is your friend a man of discretion? If I did what you first asked me to do, if I explained to him what really happened, could he be persuaded to keep my secret?”

“Since his entire reason for being so angry with me is my supposed lack of discretion, he’s hardly the sort to tell tales himself. If you told him about Lady Truelove and asked him to keep it to himself, he wouldn’t breathe a word. But at this point, he’d never believe you. It’s known now that I’m paying you my addresses, and I’m sure he’s more convinced than ever that I gossiped to you, and that you used that gossip as fodder for the column. How could he ever be made to think otherwise?”

“By the fact that you’d never court me if I had used you so despicably?”

“There’s something in that, I suppose. But you’ll have to sound very convincing when you explain to him what really happened.”

“It’s not hard to sound convincing if one’s telling the truth.”

“It won’t all be true. For I assume you’re not going to tell him I’m writing the thing now.”

“Heavens, no. That would confirm all his worst suspicions even more strongly. I shall let it be assumed I’m still Lady Truelove. Well?” she prompted when he didn’t reply. “Will you help?”

“I’d be very glad for him to know what really happened, and even more glad if it succeeds in mending our quarrel. But as for the rest, I’m not sure it’s right to interfere.”

“Well, that’s the thing about giving advice. You are required to bear some responsibility for the consequences.”

“Coming from you,” he said dryly, “that’s rich.”

Her answering look was wry. “Why do you think I didn’t want the job of being Lady Truelove in the first place? But working to bring them together for an honorable courtship is the right thing to do.”

“Only from your point of view, and only if it stays that way. As I told you at the picnic, they’ve crossed the Rubicon. An honorable courtship, with all its constraints, would be something they’d probably find unbearable. Neither of them will be able to tolerate it now, at least not for very long. If we bring them back together, I give them a fortnight before they either capitulate to society’s rules and rush into marriage—the very thing I wanted them to avoid—or passion will out, and they’ll resume their secret assignations at discreet London hotels—a situation you have deemed dishonorable and immoral.”

“She’s heartbroken, Rex. She thought he loved her, that he’d come after her when she ended things, and that he’d do the right thing. She’s entitled to expect honorable courtship of a man who professes to love her, isn’t she?”

“Oh, good Lord.” He sighed, tilting his head back to glance at the ceiling. “Women,” he said as if talking to God, “are the very devil.”

He looked at her again. “If I agree to this, I want it understood that whatever decision they make is theirs, and the affair ceases to be any of our business. If they resume their illicit liaisons, I don’t want to hear one word from you about how he’s being dishonorable.”

She nodded, lifting her hand from his shoulder to make a crossing gesture over her heart. “Not one word, I swear. But,” she couldn’t help adding, “if they decide to get married, you’ll have to put on your best morning coat, go to the wedding, and give that speech about true love and happy marriage. You said you would, if it came to it.”

“Don’t remind me.”

She ignored that. “So, the question is, how can we maneuver Lionel into listening to me long enough for me to explain what I did?”

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