Page 17 of Lady Controversial
‘It’s a mystery,’ he said, chuckling. ‘I’m a very likeable fellow.’
‘Lord Finchdean!’ Isolda let out an exasperated sigh. ‘Tell me to mind my own business if you like, but I rather think this is my business now. I cannot fight Lord Brooke, my sister and my aunt without some ammunition to throw back at them.’
‘Of course you cannot, but you cannot tell them what I am about to reveal either, which will make things rather difficult for you.’ He again paused. ‘Even so, I can depend upon your discretion?’
Isolda bridled. ‘You need to ask?’
‘Sorry.’ The earl looked uncharacteristically sombre. ‘This is not something I would ordinarily talk about to a stranger, let alone a lady.’ A charmingly reprehensible smile chased away the residue of his anguish. ‘But I already feel as though we are far better acquainted than is actually the case.’ He met her gaze and held it. Isolda felt in danger of drowning in the depths of his intelligent dark eyes and was the first to look away. ‘The fact of the matter is that Lord Brooke attempted to compromise my sister.’
Isolda gasped. ‘I have never thought well of him. The way I have caught him looking at me once or twice, even though it is obviously Jane whom he admires, made me most uncomfortable. But surely he would not overstep the mark with a lady of quality? An unmarried lady, one presumes.’
The earl inclined his head. ‘Like you, I have never held a high opinion of Brooke. We were at university at the same time and he ran with a wild set. I mean we all sowed our wild oats to some extent, but the majority of us knew where to draw the line.’ He paused. ‘He got into any number of unpalatable scrapes which we ignored, but we could not ignore it when he compromised the mayor’s daughter.’
‘Ah.’
‘The mayor was understandably incandescent and demanded to know who was responsible for his daughter’s ruin.’
‘And you told him.’
‘I did. I knew for a fact that it was Brooke. He and his friends had struck a wager to see which of them would be the first to seduce the poor girl, if you can believe it, and I actually heard Brooke boasting about having done so and making his friends pay up.’
‘What happened? Surely the mayor would have been within his rights to insist that Brooke do the right thing by his daughter?’
‘His family got involved, I believe. They paid off the mayor and swept the business under the rug.’
‘But Brooke never forgave you for revealing his identity,’ Isolda said, leaning her elbow on the table and lowering her face onto the palm of her cupped hand, a position that eased the pounding in her head where the lump had formed. She felt inexplicably tired and wanted to lie down, but she desired to hear Lord Finchdean’s explanation more, so she fought against the urge to yawn.
‘Precisely so, and we have been sworn enemies ever since. He told me he would get his revenge and very nearly did.’
‘With your sister?’
‘Indeed. Unbeknown to me, he courted her assiduously whilst she was in London with my mother and my other married sister last year. I had business elsewhere but in actual fact was making excuses to avoid the marriage mart in which you seem to think I should so actively participate.’
Isolda chuckled. ‘Well, you should.’
‘I returned to London unexpectedly and caught the two of them in a compromising position.’ He threw back his head, closed his eyes and shuddered. ‘That image will remain with me for the rest of my days.’
Isolda nodded, wanting to do or say something to express her sympathy. But it wasn’t as though she could touch him, and no suitable words sprang to mind so she remained silent. She sensed that he had not spoken of the matter to anyone else before, and that doing so now had been something of a relief to him. ‘What happened?’ she asked.
‘I cannot think why my mother had been so lax in her chaperoning duties, and I still have nightmares when I think of Jemima’s narrow escape.’
‘Brooke can be very charming and has impeccable connections. Perhaps Lady Finchdean thought that your sister’s affections were engaged, in which case it would be natural for her to encourage the match.’
Lord Finchdean sent her a look of mild surprise, seemingly impressed by her perspicacity. ‘That is exactly what she has never tired of telling me. She does not know the truth, of course, but blames me for blighting Jemima’s chances of making a spectacular match.’
‘How did you leave it with Brooke?’
Lord Finchdean flashed the suggestion of a smile. ‘I left him with a broken nose and an irredeemably tarnished reputation.’
Isolda chuckled. ‘I am sure there was satisfaction to be had in that particular form of retribution.’
A slow, somnolent smile graced his rugged features, causing Isolda’s insides to curdle with pleasurable anticipation, which was as surprising as it was inappropriate. He was here because he needed her help to overcome Brooke’s ambitions, not to pursue some form of odd amatory interest in her. She would do well to remember that. Besides, she was quite definitely not looking for a romantic entanglement. She blamed the blow to her head for temporarily muddling her priorities. She would be herself again the moment the earl quit her kitchen.
‘You have no idea,’ he assured her.
‘I cannot approve of brute force,’ she said, crossing her fingers behind her back when she thought of the manner in which she earned a little extra to keep the family’s collective heads above water, ‘but I can understand why you felt such a pressing need to protect your sister’s honour.’
‘Jemima, to her credit, believed herself to be in love with Brooke and thought that her feelings were reciprocated. He had actually proposed to her.’
