Page 19 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
“We must salvage your reputation,” he said, hoping she understood. But when she met his gaze, remorse had dulled her normally bright eyes.
They were well and truly sunk.
Chapter Seven
Niall arose the next morning like he always did.
He went through the motions of his normal routine, departing for Westminster at the allotted time, attending to his duties and meetings, engaging in discussions, and returning home at night.
Yet his insides still churned like a cauldron filled with dread. He had declared in front of thetonthat Lady Lindsay was his affianced wife. Of all the excuses he could have offered, why was an engagement the one that skipped past his lips? Niall could close his eyes and vividly recall the surprise and then panic that had leached the color from the countess’s lovely face when her gown had torn.
They were the same emotions that now flipped his stomach upside down, as he sat in his quiet study in Campbell House, glass of whisky in hand. Why had his care for Lady Lindsay’s reputation caused him to act so rashly? Perhaps he should have left her to her shame…although the thought made his chest uncomfortably tight. Of the two of them, Niall could admit she had more to lose than he did.
Blast it all, how had he allowed this to happen?
Niall slammed his glass on the desk, and gripped his head with his hands. He should have thought of a better remedy for the scandal roiling before them than a declaration of marriage. Worse still, he suspected Lady Lindsay had not thought his avowal in front of the Talbots’ guests was done in earnest. He’d seen it in the forced humor and the disbelief lurking in her brown eyes.
The situation was untenable.
At two and thirty years old, he’d had no intention of finding himself in the holy state of matrimony any time soon. His life was politics. There was barely time for anything or anyone else, and he wouldn’t want a wife just for the sake of having one. Yet, Niall admired Lady Lindsay. He respected her and her lively views, and as of late, fantasized about her in his bed, her blond hair spread across his sheets and her dark eyes heavy lidded with desire. Forhim.
And now she was to be his bride. Should he not be celebrating?
As an MP, a marquess, and the son of a wealthy duke, Niall had treated his future title like a commodity he could barter, should the need arise. Now he had no choice but to offer his name to a woman who seemed quite content to remain a widow, with all the freedoms such a position afforded her.
Still, he did not regret offering her his protection.
A loud knock shook the front door. Niall rose to peer out the window, curious to see who deemed it appropriate to call at this time of night. Before he could consider the sleek carriage parked in front of Campbell House, rapid footsteps came down the hall.
The door suddenly burst open, the wood thudding against the wall. And on the threshold stood a ferocious storm packaged in the willowy stature of his youngest sister, Flora, the Marchioness of Amstead.
“Say it isn’t true, Niall.” Her green eyes were large with incredulity. “Please tell me you weren’t trapped into marriage by an upstart countess.”
“I wasn’t trapped—”
“Yes, I know. Juliana has assured me it was an accident.” Flora plucked her hat from her curls and tossed it onto a chair before she advanced in the sideboard. “Still, considering I just learned of the incident, I intend to indulge in some sisterly outrage.”
“You are quite good at it,” Niall admitted with a reluctant smile.
The door opened again and Amstead entered. His dark hair was in disarray and his jaw was covered with a beard. Niall suspected the marquess had jumped from the back of a horse to the traveling carriage as soon as they received word about his impromptu engagement.
Stepping forward, Niall grasped the man’s hand. “You didn’t have to come. Everything is going to be fine.”
“Is it?” Flora said, looking at him over her shoulder. “Your bid for Prime Minister is a close thing. And then you’re caught in a…a wardrobe malfunction with the Countess Lindsay in the middle of the Talbots’ ballroom. Surely you know you won’t be able to smooth over such a scene quite so easily.”
“Says the woman who disguised herself as a man to work as a horse trainer for a bachelor lord,” Niall pointed out.
Flora snorted. “And look how well that worked out. I landed the very best man as my husband, and acquired his prime horse stock, too.”
“My dear, you stroke my ego only to stomp it down with your heel anytime you group me with my horseflesh,” Amstead drawled, walking to Flora’s side and pressing a kiss to her hair.
Niall couldn’t help but chuckle at that. The marquess and Flora had risked a great deal for their love, and their lives were so much richer for it. He might not have noticed it at the time, but their happiness made it so clear now.
Lady Lindsay’s pale face flashed through his mind. Their acquaintance had been short, but he respected her. Liked her.Desiredher. People had built a marriage on less.
But could she be happy with him? Uncertainty soured—
A glass of whisky was suddenly shoved into his hands.
