Page 6 of Not his Marchioness
Her sister perched cross-legged like a schoolboy, scandalizing the spirit of etiquette with every wrinkle of her nightgown, and pointed to the headline on the cover. “See here?”
“I can read, Marianne.” Charlotte picked up the paper.
There, at the very top of page one, was her name. They hadn’t even bothered with abbreviations. Usually, when they published things like this, they would keep up the mystery. “Illustrious Lady C., daughter of the Earl of L., caught in such-and-such situation” would have been the typical headline.
But no. This time, they hadn’t bothered.
Lady Charlotte, the second daughter of the Earl of Lowey, single-handedly destroys her reputation at Lady Swanson’s soirée.
Two nights had passed since the ball. She had woken up anxious the next day, seeking out the papers, but there had been nothing. It was too soon, of course. It took a while for news to spread and for the publishers to prepare the editions.
Of course, word had already spread. Her aunt had immediately informed her father, who had given her a dressing-down and confined her to her chambers, as though she were a child and not a nineteen-year-old woman.
There had been some talk amongst their neighbors also, but by and large, she had not yet seen the desired effect.
Until now.
Now, here it was in black and white—the scandal she had sought.
She read the article quickly, admiring the accuracy of the story. They detailed everything, from the repurposed red costume to the words she had flung like gauntlets across the ballroom.
She was also pleased they hadn’t noted how much her hands had been shaking or how she had nearly thrown up right there in the middle of the grand ballroom, where polite society had gathered to watch a musical performance.
Of course, they hadn’t been able to see that. She was happy she’d managed to hide her nervousness from everyone.
But when she looked up, Marianne did not look pleased.
“This is very bad,” Marianne said. “Aunt Eugenia is horrified.”
“I expected she would be. And she was already upset yesterday. She has stayed upset since that evening.”
“Yes, but are you not worried?” Marianne asked. “Your reputation…”
“Is in shambles,” Charlotte finished with a smile. “Which is exactly what I wanted.”
Another knock sounded at the door, and she looked up, bracing herself for the entrance of her livid aunt. However, to her surprise, the face that appeared was not that of her aunt, but of her sister, Evelyn.
“Evelyn!” she exclaimed, leaping from the bed and into her sister’s arms. “What brings you here?”
Evelyn held up one of the scandal sheets. “What do you think brings me here? This is the only one I’ve read, and I saw more being sold as I came over. I heard rumors about your adventures at the Swansons’, but this? Tell me, is it true?”
“Of course it is,” Charlotte replied, taken aback that her sister wasn’t prouder of her. “I had to do something. I wasn’t going to let Father do to me what he did to you.”
Evelyn pursed her lips. “So it is true. Father attempted to marry you off to… Lord Emery?”
“Yes. He’s taking advantage of the fact that Nathaniel is in Portugal and cannot do anything about it. He was going to force me to marry Lord Emery by the end of the week. I couldn’t allow that.”
“But Charlotte, there had to have been other ways. Why didn’t you come to me?”
Charlotte paused. Why hadn’t she gone to her elder sister?
She shrugged. “You were far away, and the soirée was taking place that evening. There was no time. I thought I would put to use what I learned from you.”
Evelyn stepped back. “I am certain I did not teach you to dress up like Lucifer and make a spectacle at a ball.”
“Why not?” Charlotte cried, stomping her foot. She wouldn’t have behaved like that around any gentleman or even her father. But with her sister, she didn’t mind showing emotion. “I had to do something! Now, Lord Emery will want to distance himself from me. My reputation is in tatters.”
“Exactly! Your reputation is in tatters forgood. You may have avoided having to marry that dreadful man, but what of your future? Who will marry you now?”
