Page 19 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
Andrew and Amelia sat on one chaise, cups of tea already poured, as if tea could solve any issue that plagued them. Her mother sat opposite, and Kate dropped onto the chaise beside her, grateful for the fire burning in the hearth because it warded off the chill in the air. Last night had been relatively mild, but the weather had turned overnight, and it was now raining lightly.
She looked at the paper on top of the others, reading quickly and immediately recognizing her name in an article near the bottom right corner. Without reading more, she passed the other papers around. Her nerves would get the better of her if she had to check them all herself.
“There’s a brief mention of you in this one,” Amelia said, reading faster than anyone else. “It follows a description of theWembley ball and simply says that an unmarried miss was heard to have been caught on a balcony with an unidentified lord.”
“A lord?” Andrew’s eyebrow rose. “And he didn’t stay and do his duty to ensure no harm befell you?”
Kate winced. Whoever the man was, he’d just lowered himself in her brother’s estimation. She returned her attention to the article with her name in it, horrified to discover that the writer had taken liberties with the truth, alleging that her hair had been unpinned and her back unlaced when they were come upon.
“I amnota harlot,” she breathed, incensed. “The man didn’t lay a finger on me except to escort me to the balcony.”
She kept reading but stopped when her mother gasped.
“I’ve identified our mystery gentleman.” Lady Drake’s voice was shaky. “It seems you made the acquaintance of Viscount Blackwell yesterday evening.”
Viscount Blackwell.
Kate’s stomach hardened, and her pulse thundered in her ears. “Surely not.” She rubbed her chest, hoping to ease the sudden tightness there. “Lord Blackwell hasn’t ventured into polite society for years. That’s what you told me, isn’t it, Mother?”
“That’s certainly what I believed.” Lady Drake’s mouth pursed. “He married young and he and his wife rarely attended society events. He hasn’t been at any since his wife… passed away.”
Kate heard the pause before she finished the sentence and mentally filled the gap.
Before he’dkilledher.
Because everyone knew that Viscount Blackwell was rumored to have murdered his wife when she failed to produce an heir. Just as, if gossip was to be believed, he may have done away with his father to shorten the wait to inherit his title.
“Look at this.” Lady Drake thrust the scandal sheet toward Kate, who took it with trembling hands.
Kate read the headline:Is Lady K to Be the Next Ill-Fated Viscountess Blackwell?
Amelia tore it from her and scoffed. “No one will make you marry a murderer. I won’t have it.”
“But what if I’m ruined?” Based on these papers, everyone would assume she’d been engaging in an illicit liaison. No one would ever believe that the whole thing had been nothing more than unfortunate timing.
Amelia balled up the paper, tossed it aside, and took Kate’s hand. “You willnotmarry a murderer. Will she, Andrew?”
“No, of course not.” Andrew was frowning as he flipped through another paper. “Although I never bought the stories about Blackwell. I know the circumstances didn’t look good, but as far as I could tell, he seemed a decent sort.”
Decent?
Decent?
Was he prepared to base Kate’s future safety on “decent”?
She really hoped not.
“Give me the paper,” she said, reaching for the one propped on Andrew’s knee. “I want to see all of them.”
He let her take it. Amelia and Lady Drake stacked the rest in the basket and placed it next to her so she could read them at her own speed. She made her way through them one by one, her heart growing heavier and her head lighter with each new piece of information that burrowed into her brain.
Eventually she could no longer focus on anything, and spots were dancing in front of her eyes.
Before he’d fled, she’d liked the man she’d met last night. She’d never have thought him a murderer. But many members of thetonseemed to believe he was, although there must not be any evidence, or he’d have been locked away.
She didn’t know what to do. Her name had been mentioned enough times throughout the articles that if she did not wed, she knew she would bring shame to her family, and if any gentlemen would have her, they’d certainly be ones she wanted nothing to do with.
But her other option—finding a way to make Lord Blackwell marry her—didn’t appeal either. First, she’d have to be brave enough to perform her marital duties, and then, if she failed to conceive, she might find herself in an “accident” like the one that had befallen his previous viscountess.
