Page 111 of Oddity of the Ton
Eleanor leaned forward. “Please, Papa, he’s not as bad as you think.”
“What nonsense! Surely you’re not condoning your fiancé cavorting withharlots?”
She suppressed a shudder. “It’s not like that, Papa. I-I know what it looks like—and I’m sorry if you’re disappointed in me.”
Of all the trials she might have faced—humiliation at Montague’s hand, even if it were planned, her mother’s ever-constant irritation, her sister’s spiteful triumph—the one assault she could not weather was her father’s disappointment.
She closed her eyes, willing the tears to subside. Then she felt a warm hand over hers.
“Oh, my sweet girl,” he said. “I could never be disappointed inyou. In truth, I’m not disappointed in him, either—for he’s exactly what I first believed him to be.” He shook his head and sighed, and Eleanor’s heart gave a little jolt at the tiredness in his eyes. “No, I’m disappointed inmyself, for having been taken in. He led me to believe he’s an honorable man who would never break a promise.”
Eleanor blinked, and a tear splashed onto his hand. She placed her other hand over his and wiped it away.
“Montague is an honorable man, Papa,” she said. “He has not broken faith with me.”
“Then whathashe done?”
She sighed. The truth would emerge sooner or later. Better it come from her lips than any other’s.
“It was all a pretense,” she said. “We never intended to marry.”
“Youwhat?” he cried.
“W-we made an arrangement, to pretend to be engaged.”
“Whatever for, child?”
“H-he said it would help me in Society,” she said. “And hehashelped me, Papa. I can more easily speak to strangers. It’s down to his tutelage that I could speak to Colonel Reid during our walk and secure our invitation to the Academy Exhibition.”
“And what was in it for Whitcombe?” he asked. “I doubt he did it out of kindness.”
“I…” Though she longed to speak the truth, shame prevented her.
“Foolish girl,” he muttered, as if to himself. “Let me hazard a guess. Hounded by young women hunting a title, he chose to deter them by entering into a false arrangement with another. Doubtless he chose you because he thought so little of you that he expected you to meekly comply with no thought for your own self-respect. The bastard! I’ve every right to—”
“No, Papa!” she interrupted, tears spilling onto her cheeks. “It wasn’t like that! Perhaps at first—but we struck a bargain. I had as much to gain from it as he—don’t you see that?”
“All I see is a foolish girl who was tricked into a masquerade by a cad who thought of nothing but his own self-gratification.” He let out a bitter laugh. “He’ll have done himself no favors. Society doesn’t look kindly on a man—whatever his rank—who breaks off with his fiancée by making a public show of himself with harlots. And as to his being hunted—he’s only bought himself a reprieve. Next Season, the scavengers will be out in greater force. Curse him! I was beginning to like the man.”
He opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a sheaf of papers.
“I could sue him for breach of contract.”
“No, Papa—I couldn’t let you do that to him. And you have every reason to continue liking him. Despite what you may think, we’re still friends.”
“A man and a woman can never be friends,” he replied. “Not when there’s love involved.”
She caught her breath at the intensity of his gaze, then she looked away. But it was too late—he’d already delved into her soul.
“You love him.”
It was not a question.
Eleanor flicked her gaze up to find him still staring at her.
What was the point in denial? She reached for her glass and took another mouthful.
Papa was wrong. The effect of the brandy did nothing to detract her from her troubles.
