Page 19 of Kiss the Scoundrel Farewell
“Now, Son,” his father began, anxiously rubbing his bald head.
“Don’t use that term toward me when I’ve been acting as head of the house for the last five years.” Simon almost relented when his father paled. But this was too much. Too much sacrifice, too much control, too many expectations. “I’m afraid I’ll be the next cause for scandal, for I will not be marrying the marquess’s pregnant daughter.”
“Simon, be reasonable. People are already talking of it.” The tremor in his mother’s voice disappeared as she spoke. Her resolve returned. “I will not be cast out again when I’ve so recently returned to my proper status.”
“You’ll have to find another route, Mother, because this scapegoat has fled the pasture. Did you know the doxie tups her servants?”
“What of your sister?” Lady Tarlton’s voice grew cold. “You would prefer that poor girl to be the sacrificial lamb?”
Simon closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. Addy.
“Oh no, you don’t,” said Lady Adeline, entering the room to stand beside her brother. She grinned up at him, displaying the slight dent in her chin. “Is this a frontal attack? Or should we each take a flank? I take on Mama, and you take Papa or vice versa?”
He laughed as he looked down at his slender sister, who looked so much like their mother with her dark hair and gray eyes. She was always able to diffuse a tense situation. “I say we stick with the frontal attack. Strength in numbers, eh?”
Addy nodded. “I will not be the reason my brother marries. And I resent being called a poor girl. Really, Mama, you’re much cleverer than that.”
Lady Tarlton drew in an angry breath. “I will?—”
“Lose control, Mama,” said Addy. “You both realize, due to our situation the past few years, that I will be one and twenty by the time I come out next year. At that age, I may choose whoever I like.”
“We hoped with Simon’s betrothal, you could come out earlier than next Season,” her mother said tightly.
“So you can arrange an advantageous match for Addy too?” Simon’s fists clenched.
“Brother, if you don’t marry, then I cannot be auctioned off. So if you truly love me, make yourself happy.” She reached up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek before addressing Lady Tarlton. “Be very careful, Mama. For I will be making my own choices soon. There is the sweetest, most handsome solicitor I met…”
“You wouldn’t dare!” screeched her mother.
“Wouldn’t I?” Addy crossed her arms over her chest and thrust out a hip, sending her lilac skirts swishing around her ankles. “I have Papa’s heart but your steel in my spine.”
“I saved this family once. I believe it’s your turn next.” Simon’s gaze held steady on his mother.
“No, actuall, it’s my turn,” spouted Lord Tarlton in a voice none of them had heard in years. “I am the earl, and as my countess, you will heed my words. Leave the children alone.”
“Tarlton, really,” her mother hissed, “now is not the time for bravado.”
“I said enough!” shouted the earl.
His sister took Simon’s arm and turned them both toward the door. “Seems we’ve started an uproar. Let’s take cover outside.”
Once on the portico, Simon shook his head. “I believe our father is done being cuckolded. And you… you were magnificent.”
“Why thank you, Brother. You were quite the soldier yourself.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at him. “Mama heard a rumor you were with a woman when you left the ball early the other night. Who did you leave with?”
“You know me too well,” he said, chucking her chin lightly. “Lady Drake. You may remember the name Miss Margaret Flemming?”
Addy gasped. “The girl you were in love with just before the scandal came out? The one who married the short pompous baron?”
He nodded. “She ended up embroiled in her own scandal when her husband died in a duel.”
“Over another man’s wife,” she finished. “Just because I’m not being paraded at Almack’s doesn’t mean I don’t hear things. She was beautiful, was she not?”
“And still is.” He hugged Addy, wondering when she’d grown into such a sensible adult. “Would you really marry a solicitor?”
“If I fell in love with one, most certainly. But I haven’t,” she said with a smirk. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever marry.”
“Well, I will gladly leg-shackle myself to Lady Drake if she’ll have me. Wish me luck. I’m off to propose to the woman I should have married years ago.” He kissed the top of her head, then paused on the bottom step. “If you ever need to escape them, my door will always be open to you.”
