Page 17 of The Love Potion
The duke dismounted as soon as they arrived at his home. He was at her side a mere second after his feet touched the street. And when she meant to leap down herself, he murmured to her under his breath.
“It’ll pass, Miss Petrelli. You needn’t worry. I swear it.”
That didn’t bode well at all. She let him hold her ribs tight as she dismounted, his hands large and reassuring. He should have let her go immediately, but he lingered as if trying to protect her. She appreciated the gesture, but she needed to know what had happened.
The duke guided them up his front steps and into his home, all while keeping Kynthea by his side. Her brother used to do that, she realized. He’d stand tall beside her when the crowds on the dock pressed too close.
“Thank you,” she whispered, though she doubted he understood why.
She waited while the butler took their things. Then she waited while the housekeeper escorted them into a room with a hot tea tray already there. And finally, she waited for the servants to leave after the duke said a hard, “Thank you. That will be all.”
She stood with her hand outstretched to Lord Nathaniel. “The paper if you please.”
The man hesitated, but she pulled it out of his hands. “Maybe we can get the paper to issue a retraction,” he said.
Zoe snorted. “Of a gossip column? Damned that busybody Mr. Pickleherring. I hope he dies by his own poisoned pen.”
Kynthea should have admonished the girl for her language, but she had just managed to open the paper. She didn’t have the mental space to do more than read. The first paragraphs were about a gentleman she didn’t know who had vastly overestimated his ability at faro and lost a great deal of money. It went on rather long and she began to skim rather thanlearn more about the card sharps that frequented such places in search of victims. It was only at the end of the column that her world began to crumble.
But the real excitement last night was at Almack’s where a certain lady’s companion threw herself at a very eligible duke. Miss Petrilli was heard to demand that the gentlemen escort her outside and then used the words “throw myself stark naked into your arms.” Everyone was scandalized that such a brazen hussy could be allowed into those hallowed halls. Indeed, that’s a mistake that is sure to be corrected forthwith as no good hostess should allow such a woman into their homes, much less near their children.
“Well,” Kynthea said, her belly clenched with pain. “Now I understand,” she said softly as she calmly set the paper on a nearby table. Damn it, why wouldn’t her hands stop shaking? “It would seem society has found this Season’s first villainess.”
Her.
Chapter Six
Damnation! How couldhe be such an idiot? After a lifetime of keeping himself scrupulously in control, he’d allowed an innocent lady to become embroiled in a scandal. If there was one thing his parents had impressed upon him, it was that—as the son of a duke—scandals would slide off him, but they would land with ten times the force upon those around him. He could go blithely about his life, but there would be scores of ruined lives following in his wake.
He’d sworn on his father’s deathbed that he would be an honorable man, and for the most part, he’d achieved it. Until today. Until he’d let his guard down around a beautiful, feisty companion.
Ras paced the small confines of his morning parlor while Miss Petrelli sank onto the settee in shock. Her charge hovered nearby, clearly miserable. The child had no idea what to do. However, she could not look any more wretched than Nate, who had to have been the perpetrator of this particular crime. Yet it seemed to come as a surprise to him too…
“Damn Mr. Pickleherring!” exclaimed Lady Zoe. “How could he print such lies?”
“That’s the problem,” Miss Petrelli said weakly. “It’s not a lie, is it? I did say those words. I did create a scene.”
“But not to seduce me!” Ras snapped. “If anything, your intent was to give me a thorough disgust of you.” It hadn’t worked. He’d been more intrigued than ever. Her words mighthave been overwrought, but her logic had impressed him. And he was not used to anyone, much less a female, taking him to task as she had. With logic instead of emotion.
“I merely wanted to explain,” she said.
“It’s not your fault,” he said as he sunk down to look at her wan face. “It’s that blasted Mr. Pickleherring.” He looked up at Nate. “What if he printed a retraction? Said he got it all wrong.”
The man shook his head. “First off, it won’t work. It will only add fuel to the gossip.”
True. “Then we need a newer story, a bigger one.”
Lady Zoe brightened. “Then everyone will talk about that one, yes? And this will be all forgotten.”
“No one forgets that fast,” Miss Petrelli said. “I shall still be barred from parties. I won’t be able to act as your companion.” Her eyes abruptly widened. “Your parents will have to sack me. For your own good, Zoe, they’ll have to get rid of me.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Where will I go?”
“It won’t come to that!” Ras snapped. Though God alone knew how he was going to prevent it. Lady Zoe was fierce in her denial as well.
“You will not be tossed out in the cold! I won’t have anyone else but you.” She abruptly brightened. “We’ll go home now and stop them from reading the paper. They won’t ever know.”
Miss Petrelli looked up, her expression a combination of tragic and amused. “Your father reads the paper first thing.”
“But he’s probably still asleep—”
