Page 24 of Ravishing His Wicked Lady (The Shadows 4)

“Wha… Why?”

“I don’t know!” Lavinia stood and covered her face with her palms before starting to pace again. “I don’t know. But I panicked, and the only thing I could think of was our conversation before and how I said Lord Roth would be the last person I’d want to marry. But when I panicked, my brain just stopped working, and I got stuck with his name on my lips, and when Mr. Atwood demanded I answer… Well, what was I supposed to say?” Lavinia finally drew a breath. “Who else was I going to name?”

Annalise bit on the tip of her thumb in thought. That action from the proper Annalise meant that she was truly distressed. And that was the last thing Lavinia had wanted to do. Especially since Annalise was in a delicate condition and wasn’t in the best of health. And now Lavinia had poured down all her worries onto her. But who else was she going to tell this to? Not Caroline, that’s for certain. And Olivia was dealing with her cousin’s problems. She didn’t have time for anyone else’s.

“I should… I should just tell him the truth. Or I should tell him that I decided to break off the betrothal.”

“Do not be ridiculous.” Annalise’s words were soft, almost a whisper, but Lavinia heard them nonetheless.

She stopped pacing and looked at Annalise’s frowning face. “Pardon me?”

Annalise looked up at Lavinia. “Sit, please.” Once Lavinia complied, Annalise continued, “The lies you told might not have been ideal—”

“Indeed,” Lavinia scoffed.

“However, it does buy you some time. But first, tell me everything you told your guardian.”

Once Lavinia recited her conversation with Mr. Atwood verbatim, Annalise tapped her lips with the finger and then focused her gaze on Lavinia. “Here’s what we are going to do. We are going to go to that house party. And you are going to try and seduce Lord Roth into proposing.”

“What? But I don’t want… And even if I did… To seduce? I don’t even know—”

Annalise lifted a staying hand. “Who is better, Lord Roth, or whoever your guardian has prepared for you?”

Lavinia grimaced. “Neither?”

“You might not have a choice. Lavinia, all my life you have always been the rational one, the sane one,” she said with a chuckle.

“Compared to you, perhaps.” Lavinia’s lips curled in a smile, but she quickly sobered. “But I cannot be rational about this, please, understand.”

“Youcanbe rational; you can be stone-hearted. You gave up the man you loved for me, when Payne disappeared, or did you forget?” When Lavinia didn’t answer, Annalise scooted closer to her and covered her hand with hers. “You have to be rational in this, my dear. I want you to be happy more than anyone else. Perhaps even more than you.” They both chuckled, and Lavinia shook her head.

“It was easy giving up Dane for you. But it was painful seeing him marry Caroline. It was easy contemplating my life alone. But marrying Lord Roth? Caroline’s cousin? I just… I can’t imagine it, Annalise. I can’t imagine those visits to Kensington’s townhouse, the teatime with the family, seeing Caroline carrying Dane’s babe… It’s just… it’s too painful to contemplate.” Her heart squeezed, and her stomach churned at the mere thought.

Annalise nodded thoughtfully. “Well, there might be an alternative.”

Lavinia looked up at her friend in surprise. “Alternative?”

“We could go to that house party under the guise of announcing your betrothal to Lord Roth, and while we are there, you’ll find someone else to charm. But, Lavinia, I do not see any other option for you.”

“How about running away to France?” Lavinia said with a feigned smile.

She was only half-joking. Truly, leaving England seemed like the only feasible plan at the moment. Especially considering the note…

If someone truly knew what had happened that night in her father’s townhouse, there was no telling what they could do. They’d warned her once, and she dreaded what the second note would say if she ever received one. Given time, they could make her life a living hell. She needed a more long-term plan than a sham betrothal. But Annalise was right. The house party would give her time to plot.

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