Page 51 of An Innocent Little Scandal (Sensual Scandals)

“I’ve had good reason for my haste.” He shifted his gaze around the room until his eyes found Olivia. However, instead of the bright, welcoming smile he had been hoping to find upon his return, she was glancing at the floor with a certain sallowness. His heart immediately twisted in his chest, because he was quite sure what—or ratherwho—was responsible for her sudden pallor.

“I’m relieved to hear it,” the lady said confidently, as if she was the reason for his rushed return. “I assume you spoke to my father in London and can corroborate the claim regarding our upcoming union?”

He clenched his jaw. “I spoke to Viscount Rundale, yes, but I told him that I was already betrothed. This façade shall go no further, and I must ask you to return home immediately.”

She gave a slight pout that she might have thought was charming, but it annoyed him even further. “So, you would deny your son his birthright as the next possible heir?”

His frown deepened—if that was even possible. “What are you talking about? I don’t even know who you are, and I can certainly claim, without a doubt, that if you are with child, it is not mine.”

She blinked innocently, but he wasn’t fooled. “Don’t you recall that night at your estate?”

Miles merely continued glaring at her. “I can’t say that I do.”

She covered her mouth with her hand in a show of dramatics that would have put most any actress to shame. “I’m hurt, truly, that you can’t even recall something that was so memorable to me.” She sighed heavily. “It was just before you decided to travel to London for the duchess’s ball. You were quite in your cups, but I recall it quite vividly, especially when the suggestion was made that we find someplace to be alone…”

She allowed her voice to trail off as if that might spark some sort of memory for Miles, but while he had imbibed in the past, there wasn’t one time, even in his darkest moments, where he couldn’t accurately remember who he had shared a bed with.

But when he would have opened his mouth to refute this fact, Olivia got to her feet rather abruptly. “Excuse me,” she muttered and scurried out of the room. Calliope made a move as if to follow her, but Miles had already turned on his heel.

He instantly forgot the troublesome woman in the parlor as he strode after Olivia. She was halfway down the hallway by the time he halted her with a hand on her arm. “Olivia…”

She yanked her arm free, but kept her face averted. She put her arms around herself, as if it was some sort of shield that she could apply to protect herself.

Miles clenched his fists, for Miss Stillwater was responsible for Olivia’s sudden distrust of him. He vowed that she would pay for whatever deceit she was trying to pull, but for now, he did his best to appeal to Olivia, to prove that he wasn’t the heartless rake that she now believed him to be. “Please don’t say that you believe a word of the nonsense she was spouting off in there. She’slying.”

She shrank even further into herself, and still, she wouldn’t look at him. “She seemed convincing enough to me. Besides, I don’t have a reason not to believe what she claims.”

He frowned, even though she couldn’t see him. “What about the past few weeks? The confidences we’ve shared?”

He hated the desperate note in his voice, but he was afraid that he was losing her, especially when she turned around and looked at him pointedly. “You mean all the lies about being Mr. Stone?”

He shoved a hand through his hair. “I told you my reasons for that. It was to protect you until I’d had a chance to explain things.”

“Who is to say it’s not the same now?” she snapped. “Perhaps you want toprotectme from the fact you’ve kept a secret lover that you planned to throw over?”

Miles clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ground together. “You have mywordthat I have never seen that woman before.”

She tilted her head to the side, as if trying to discern if he was the victim—or the villain. “How is it that she seemed to know quite a bit about you? She even painted a rather vivid picture of how the two of you… met.” She pursed her lips together.

“Most actresses are rather convincing,” he noted. “But I haven’t yet decided if that is the case, or if she is mad when it comes to spouting such absurd conjectures.” He looked at her steadily, praying that she could see the certainty in his gaze.

“I suppose time will tell,” she returned softly, and then she turned to leave him once more.

Miles nearly stopped her again, but he let her go. He hated to leave things like this, but what could he say that might convince her of his innocence when it was apparent she was willing to believe the worst?

Then again, he supposed hewasresponsible for her reluctance to trust him.

But perhaps there was one thing that might convince her he was in earnest. “I was granted a special license by the archbishop.”

He watched as Olivia paused, and although her back stiffened slightly, she didn’t turn back around, no matter how much he might wish for her to acknowledge his statement. The seconds ticked by endlessly, and then she continued on her way.

Something told Miles that if he didn’t figure things out very soon, there would be no wedding.

Chapter Nineteen

Olivia got up the next morning and performed her morning ablutions. She dressed and did everything she normally did as soon as she got up. The only difference was that she did it today as if she was a wraith, a shadow of herself that was on the outside looking in. A glance in the looking glass as her maid was styling her hair proved that her eyes were red rimmed and swollen, and no matter how many cold compresses she might use to ease the discomfort, it was obvious she had passed a distressing night with very little rest.

However, when she was over the moon with happiness one moment and swallowed up by the earth with upset the next, it was no wonder her emotions were so heightened.

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