Page 41 of A Scandalous Bargain
“I hate having to remember all this nonsense,” Rafe said. “I don’t know how you and Beatrix did this for so long.”
Selina scoffed. “As if you weren’t weaving your own lies as the Vicar. It’s not that hard. Beatrix is our half sister. We share a mother who is now dead. Beatrix is twenty-two, not twenty-six, though I can’t imagine why her age would ever come up. The rest are thingsyoufabricated.”
Beatrix’s stomach dropped through the floor. Tom stared down at her in disbelief. He released her as the color leached from his face. But only for a moment. It came right back, especially in his cheeks, where red swaths marked his anger.
“Rafe, don’t worry.” Selina sounded concerned but caring. It did nothing to soothe Beatrix, but then, it wasn’t directed at her. “I’m sure it was fine. You’ve survived so much. You won’t be toppled by Lord Dimwit or whatever his name was. And neither will I or Beatrix. Now come on, we need to get back.”
Whatever Rafe said next was unintelligible. But a moment later, the distinct sound of the door closing was impossible to miss.
Tom took a step back, which would have made him visible to anyone else in the room. “What the hell just happened? Are you not Lady Gresham’s half sister? Or Mr. Bowles’s half sister? Whoareyou?”
“I’m your friend.”
“I thought so, but apparently, I don’t know you at all.” His voice trembled with such anguish that her heart nearly tore in two.
* * *
The most sexually charged moment of Thomas’s life had turned to ash in the breadth of a short conversation. One that hadn’t even involved him. He was still trying to process what he’d heard.
What had she and her sister—who wasn’t her bloody sister—done for so long? Hell, she’d even lied about her age. Why? None of this made sense. Unless she and her “siblings” were imposters.
To what end? So they could infiltrate Society and…marry well?
He shook his head as if he could jar his jumbled thoughts into some kind of clarity. “What lies was she talking about? Is anything about you real?”
“Can we move out from behind the bookcase?” she asked.
Thomas took another step back. Pivoting, he stalked to the middle of the room. His body crackled with outrage.
“Are you going to explain, or should I go?” He should leave. What was the point in listening to her explanations? He wanted to know the truth, but how could he ever know if she lied to him or not?
She’d followed him to the middle of the room, her petite form stiffening so that she seemed slightly taller. “I am entirely real. Selina is not my blood sister, nor is Rafe my brother. They are siblings, however. Iamthe bastard daughter of the Duke of Ramsgate. I met Selina at school when I was eleven. The other girls were horrible to me because I’m a bastard, and Selina was kind. We grew close and vowed never to abandon each other.”
She spoke so clearly and with such ferocity that it was impossible not to be moved by the obvious love she had for her faux sister. He also couldn’t ignore the lingering pain in her voice when she mentioned the other girls. Thomas longed to learn each of their names and make sure they suffered for their cruelty. Even after learning Beatrix had lied, he was apparently still drawn to her.
He remembered the night he’d seen her in the tree. “You almost gave me another name when I met you.”
“Linley. It was my mother’s name. When I left the school, I took a different name. Selina and I reinvented ourselves.” She looked at him with anguish in her gaze. “Please don’t ask me about Selina. Her secrets are not mine to share.”
He could understand that, and for now, he would honor her request. “Continue. What other lies was Lady Gresham referring to?”
“Just that—who we really are. We’ve been on our own for more than a decade. It’s often been…difficult.” She wrung her hands, her stomach twisting into knots she feared would never untangle.
Thomas wanted to understand. “In what way?” He thought of how she’d fought the footpad, of her ability to wield a pistol.
She dropped her hands to her side and stuck out her chin. “We’re women. We were unprotected. We had to…fib to navigate our way here. It was always my hope to come to London, to find my father, to regain my family. I wanted to show him that I am an accomplished woman, that he can be proud of me.” Her hands curled into fists, and her shoulders tensed. “I amsoclose.”
The fervent commitment—and hope—in her voice erased the remnants of his anger. He resisted the urge to go to her and take her in his arms. “I suspect there is more to it than what you’re telling me. If you ever want to unburden yourself, please know that I will listen. And I won’t judge.”
She stared at him, her gaze inscrutable. He had no idea if she would ever tell him the truth. He also wasn’t sure she needed to. Who was he anyway?
“Thank you,” she said tentatively. “What will you do?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Will you expose us?”
Ah, that. “As you so aptly pointed out when we met, we share secrets now. And we made a bargain to keep them. I would honor that. I won’t divulge that which you have worked so hard to keep private or that which you have overcome.”
