Page 52 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
Finally, hoping to ease the situation, Lionel blurted, “Lord Montgomery, I do believe that you and I are long overdue for a discussion about my intentions towards your daughter.”
When he opened his eyes once more, he found Lord Montgomery still glaring at him as though he meant to rip his head right off his shoulders.
“No, don’t do it,” Max mouthed silently over the nobleman’s shoulder. It was clear from the horrified look on his cousin’s face that Max feared he knew exactly what Lionel was thinking of doing.
As though he had not heard Lionel’s earlier words, the nobleman demanded, “What shall it be, my lord? My daughter or my pistol?”
The man shook Lionel slightly by the lapels of his jacket and it took everything he had in him not to grab hold of the older man’s hands and violently remove them from him. Never before had another nobleman dared to put their hands upon him in such a manner. And though he was disgusted by it, it also caused him to realise the severity of the situation.
My cousin could never handle this kind of rough-housing. I must buy him a little time,Lionel realised and so with that, he closed his eyes once more and declared, “I shall marry your daughter, Lord Montgomery.”
Silence seemed to fill the space after his words. Save for the beating of his own heart, rapid in his ears, he could hear nothing.
Then the gasps of horror that followed the sound of drapes being pulled back behind him caused Lionel’s eyes to flash open.
Everyone in the room was no longer looking at him and Lord Montgomery. Even the nobleman had turned his gaze away from Lionel in the surprise of whoever had entered the room.
Feeling the nobleman’s grip on him loosen, Lionel turned in his grip, finding himself released. Yet the moment that he turned to see who was standing beneath the archway between the drawing-room and the parlour, Lionel felt his entire world shifting on its axis.
To have Mr. Kenyon and Miss Kendall hear him promise a talk of a marriage between himself and Lord Montgomery was one thing, but the moment he saw the icy glare on Miss Lloyd’s face, sickness threatened to overwhelm him.
What must she think of me?He gulped at the thought, realising exactly how it must look. For all she knew, he had been attempting to woo her while also romancing the nobleman’s daughter. And the mere thought of ever doing something like that to her made Lionel feel disgustingly ashamed. It was something he never would have done, but how could he tell her that before all of these people without giving his cousin away?
The hard look on Miss Lloyd’s face, the tears that glittered at the corners of her eyes, suggested to Lionel that she wouldn’t believe him, anyway.
And it was only in Lord Montgomery’s next words that he realised the sheer gravity of the situation. “Mrs. Lyttleton! Miss Lyttleton, Miss Lloyd, you must forgive us. I was not aware that there was anyone else in attendance!”
Lionel’s throat immediately constricted as the lord’s words brought his attention to the two women still sitting in the parlour behind Miss Lloyd. At the words, the two of them stood and came to stand in the archway on either side of the raven-haired beauty.
Offering her a desperate look, willing her to understand, Lionel barely heard Mrs. Lyttleton’s response. “There is nothing to apologise for, my lord. The reason for your being here is no business of ours, and it shall remain that way.”
Glancing over his shoulder at his cousin, Lionel silently pled with Max to help, but the gentleman had grown so pale that he actually looked as though he might faint. Even with Mrs. Lyttleton’s assurance that they paid no heed to all they had heard, he knew better than to believe her.
With my reputation, this shall be the biggest scandal London has had in years,Lionel realised, thinking momentarily of Lady Caroline and how she would likely be ruined if he did not now go through with what he had just promised her father.
With only Mr. Kenyon and Miss Kendall to witness such an event, he had been certain that he could find some way to de-escalate the situation, but now? With someone like Mrs. Lyttleton in on it, Lionel was certain that news would spread like wildfire if something was not announced by the next morning.
It was clear from the look on Miss Lloyd’s face that she knew very well the same thing. Yet Lord Montgomery himself appeared to accept Mrs. Lyttleton at her word and the warm smile that she offered him. “I thank you, Mrs. Lyttleton,” he said with a bow of his head.
Lionel was forced to grit his teeth as the woman, who looked much like an older version of her daughter, turned to him and smiled. “Forgive us, my lord. We can see that you have your hands full at present. We shall leave you.”
What are you even doing here in the first place?Lionel thought even as he forced a bow of farewell and tried desperately to catch Miss Lloyd’s eye, praying that she would not be fooled by all she had overheard. The way she refused to look at him as she followed Mrs. Lyttleton and her daughter from the room suggested otherwise.
“Perhaps if we did not have another appointment to keep we could have shared that walk, Mr. Parr,” Mrs. Lyttleton explained over her shoulder, but again when Lionel looked at his cousin it was clear he was too in shock to speak.
Lionel looked back around just in time to see Miss Lloyd’s gaze meet with the eyes of Mr. Kenyon and Miss Kendall. And as they did, he realised that the latter two were looking quite pleased with themselves. He had little time to think on the fact as Lord Montgomery suggested, “Perhaps we ought to retire to a more private room to discuss terms?”
Lionel immediately gritted his teeth, wishing that someone had been sensible enough to suggest such a thing earlier. He offered Lionel a glower, wishing his cousin had given him more warning as to who awaited them on the other side of the drapes.
Though now that he thought about it, he had missed his cousin’s hints, the way he inclined his head discreetly, the way he had suggested they never knew who might be listening.
Was I a total fool?Lionel thought, growing evermore nauseous. Yet the damage was done and though he wanted desperately to hurry after Miss Lloyd, to let her know that none of what had been said was true, he knew that would have to wait.
With a heavy sigh, only relieved that Mr. Kenyon and Miss Kendall finally took the hint to dismiss themselves, Lionel gestured towards the door and said, “Shall we?”
If he did not do something, he was certain that Lady Caroline’s reputation would be ruined by morning. Mrs. Lyttleton would be sure to see to that along with the help of all the other mamas of theton.
And though he hated the thought of having to bite the bullet, Lionel was well aware he had brought this upon himself. After all, his reputation as a rake had been the very thing that had gotten himself in this mess in the first place.
