Page 15 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
To Kate’s surprise, her mother shrugged one shoulder and swilled her own drink. Amelia pulled a face, took a tiny swallow, and placed it back on the table.
Kate sampled her own. It tasted sweet but burned the inside of her throat. As soon as the sherry hit her stomach, warmth began to fill her.
“I’m truly sorry to have caused so much inconvenience,” she said, staring into the golden depths mournfully before trying it again.
“We’ll get through this,” Andrew assured her. “Finish your sherry and go to bed. There’s nothing more we can do before the morning anyway.”
Half an hour later, as she lay staring at the ceiling, Kate couldn’t sleep a wink. All she’d wanted was to meet a handsome man who’d made a remarkable first impression on her, and now she feared that she’d wake to discover she was ruined.
CHAPTER 5
Theo startledawake when a loud crash echoed through his bedchamber. He bolted upright, his heart racing, and he raised his fists instinctively to protect himself.
“Damn.” Another crash, this one smaller. “Fucking hell.”
He peered through the darkness, his pulse beginning to calm. He recognized that voice. “Nicholas?”
A large body collapsed on the edge of the bed, and warm breath reeking of alcohol bathed his face.
Theo cringed away. “Dear God, man, did you empty a tavern of its stores last night?”
Or should that be “tonight?” He wasn’t sure whether he’d slept long enough for a new day to have arrived.
“I gave it a damn good try,” Nicholas slurred, scooching closer in an apparent effort not to fall off the edge of the bed.
“What the hell is going on?”
Nicholas rolled onto his back. “I fucked up.”
“How?” Theo fought off frustration. Nicholas had always been reckless and irresponsible, but surely whatever he’d done could not be dire enough to warrant this display. “Couldn’t this have waited until morning?”
“Morning,” to Nicholas, usually meant around noon.
“No, no, no.” Nicholas covered his face with his hands. “I’ve only just arrived home, and I’ve delayed for too long already. You need to know. Oh, it’s such a fucking mess.”
“What did you do?” Theo gritted out, his patience waning.
Nicholas groaned. “You’re going to hate me.”
For the first time, genuine fear curled in Theo’s gut. Nicholas had made many mistakes before, but he’d never been this reluctant to own up to one. “For the love of God, man, what did you do?”
Nicholas was quiet for so long that Theo wasn’t sure he was going to reply, but finally, he did. “I accepted an invitation to the Wembley ball on your behalf.”
Theo shook his head, trying to make sense of that. “If I remember correctly, the Wembley ball was last night, so it’s not as if I was forced into going because of you. I don’t understand the problem.”
“No, you don’t comprehend what I’m telling you.” Nicholas exhaled roughly, drowning them both in beer breath again. “You weren’t interested in going, so I went in your place. Ipretendedto be you.”
The squirming worry in Theo’s stomach tangled tighter. Wherever this was going, he got the feeling he wasn’t going to like it. “And what did you do while people thought you were me?”
“I was…”
“Yes?”
“Uh… I…”
“Spit it out.”
“I was investigating potential wives for you!”
