Page 29 of My Daring Duchess
“Well, no.” He rubbed at the back of his neck as if working out the knots. “I have also never seduced a woman whom I did not explicitly inform of my purpose, therefore giving the woman every chance to deny my advances.”
As if one could,Anne suddenly thought as she looked at him. He once again was missing a cravat and the collar of his shirt was tugged open to reveal the top of his chest, which appeared bronzed by sun. He had no coat on, and his broad shoulders more than filled out his fine shirt. The sculpted muscles of his thighs were scandalously visible beneath the tight breeches that were the current fashion. His accent alone made her heart flutter, but it was his way of looking at her—as if he truly found her beautiful and could get lost in her eyes—that made her breath catch and made her want to throw all caution, all sensibleness to the wind. She imagined he had that effect on every woman he turned those keen, delving eyes upon.
“How very noble of you,” she finally said, instilling a teasing note in her voice.
“In all seriousness, Anne, I’d very much like the name of the scoundrel so I can ensure he never gets near my sisters.”
“I very much doubt he ever would. I don’t believe he is even in England any longer, and honestly, I cannot fathom why I even told you what I did. No one truly knows my secret, except my sister and her husband. Not even my grandfather knows. He thinks Lord Cad merely broke my heart. I was very lucky not to be scandalously ruined in the eyes of theton. It would have devastated my grandfather.”
When Simon flinched, Anne stilled, realization hitting her like a cold bucket of ice. That was what Simon intended to do—ruin her publicly to strike the only blow he could at her grandfather. She felt betrayed, angry, hurt, and disappointed all at once, but most of all, she felt a desperate need to flee before Simon succeeded in his revenge. “I need to take my leave,” she blurted, scrambling to her feet.
Simon was standing in a flash and caught her fingertips with his hand. “His name, Anne.”
At this moment, she would have told him almost anything to be allowed to depart. “Ian Frazier.” She tugged her hand away, and fled the ballroom and Simon without looking back.
Ten
Simon let Anne flee without chase. She’d return tomorrow. He understood that now. She was honorable to her core and would sacrifice herself to save her friend. He could not seduce her to ruin her. The very thought was repugnant to him now as he considered what he had learned about her today.
Ian Frazier.The name of the man who had taken Anne’s innocence—and quite possibly her heart—filled him with anger. He knew Frazier from business, as Simon sold lumber to the man’s railroad company. He was going to crush Frazier and take his company from him for Anne.
But what of Anne’s goal to aid Lady Fanny? His business dealings would not save her from ruination. And given Rutledge’s unyielding and understandable position yesterday, Simon could not fathom the man having a change of heart and agreeing to wed Lady Fanny simply because Simon had suggested it.
And what of revenge?
Simon paced the room. Could he really relinquish the desire? If he still pursued revenge against Rowan but with a different course, it would hurt Anne. As he paced back and forth in the ballroom, he considered every possibility. He was truly fascinated and drawn to Anne, as he had never been to another woman. What if he honestly courted her and then wed her? Would Rowan allow it? Simon almost wished the man would oppose it so Anne could defy him for Simon. That would be sweet revenge, indeed.
Before he could think more on it, the sound of his sisters’ laughter outside of the ballroom door reached him. They appeared together in the doorway, arms locked, and smiles on their faces. “Simon!” Elizabeth gushed, rushing across the room to him. “I had the most amazing time at the Duchess of Scarsdale’s home today.” Elizabeth prattled on for a good ten minutes about all the delicious food, the duchess’s exquisite gowns, and the decorations of the home. Simon did not think he could take much more, and Caitlin looked as if she felt the same, when Elizabeth took a deep breath, grabbed Simon by the arm, and said, “You will never believe what we learned that may be of some interest to your friend Lord Rutledge.”
Simon frowned and looked from one of his sisters to the other. Elizabeth looked eager, but Caitlin appeared uneasy. “Lady Jocelyn, sister to Lady Fanny Simpell, told us in the utmost confidence of her sister’s scandalous and unfortunate bad decisions—and all because of love!”
“What does this have to do with Rutledge?”
“Well,” Elizabeth said, coloring, “we—” she motioned between herself and Caitlin “—happened to overhear Lord Rutledge tell ye of the rumors involving himself and Lady Fanny.”
Simon frowned at both his sisters. “Have I not told ye both explicitly not to eavesdrop at my study door?”
Caitlin glared at Elizabeth. “I told ye he’d linger on that small detail,” she accused.
“Really, Simon!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “Ye must listen to me and set aside the lecture ye wish to deliver.”
He clamped his mouth shut and nodded.
“It seems Lady Fanny has been quite infatuated with Lord Rutledge for some time now. Ever since he apparently rescued her bonnet from the Thames. Anyway, Lady Jocelyn said that she believes Lady Fanny may have actually planned to follow Lord Rutledge into the library that night in the hopes that he would kiss her and fall in love with her! If she plotted for that…”
“It is not so farfetched to believe the lady plotted to trap him in marriage,” Caitlin finished. “Simon, ye must find out. This could make all the difference for Rutledge. If he can clear his good name, he can still make a good match to save his family from ruin.”
“The two of ye must have planted yerselves at my study door and pressed yer ears to the wood.” The guilty looks his sisters exchanged confirmed his guess. “Rutledge no longer needs to make a good match to help his family, but I’m quite certain he’d like to clear his name. I need to somehow get the truth from Lady Fanny herself.” Maybe then, he could resolve that particular issue of tension between him and Anne, and then actually court her.
“We can help with that,” Elizabeth exclaimed.
“How?”
“Well, Lady Jocelyn has invited us to tea at the end of the week,” Elizabeth explained. “Ye can escort us there.”
Caitlin nodded. “Lady Jocelyn says her sister has been mostly cloistered in the house since the gossip started, except to go out for some ridiculous—Lady Jocelyn’s words—Sisterhood meeting, at none other than Miss Adair’s grandfather’s home.”
“What sort of meeting?” Simon asked, completely intrigued.
