Page 26 of The Scoundrel and the Lady

Iris sighed. “It would seem not.”

Harriet clicked her tongue. “Nonsense. She obviously needs our aid. If not with your previous dilemma, then with the matter at hand.” She came and sat by Iris, putting a soothing hand on her back.

Iris opened one eye.

“What could you possibly have done to offend Lord Ashby?” Harriet asked.

Iris dropped her head into her hands. “It was awful,” she said, her voice muffled by her palms. “I flirted with him. Aggressively.”

“Iris,” Agnes said.

Iris sat upright, willing to face her friend’s chastisement. “I was brazen and out of control. And today I feel horrible and humiliated.”

Agnes’s frown deepened, whereas Harriet did a poor job of covering her wide grin with her gloved hand.

Just then, a maid brought in a tray. “Mrs. Reynolds suggested this would help.” She set the small plate down and curtsied as she left the room.

“Dry bread?” Harriet asked.

Iris grabbed a piece and tore off tiny bites. She’d emptied her stomach several times over the course of the evening and knew that she wouldn’t feel herself again until she’d eaten.

“My brother always swears by sleeping for several hours,” Harriet said.

“Your brother is a cad,” Agnes said.

“Indeed,” Harriet said. “Now then, back to Iris’s evening. So, you flirted with him. You have flirted with gentlemen before.”

“Not quite like this. I told him I enjoyed his kisses.”

Harriet sucked in a breath.

“When have you had the experience of enjoying his kisses?” Agnes asked.

Iris waved her hand. “That is a bit of a story as well. He kissed me again, but only because I practically begged him to do so. And now I have ruined this bargain we had, which means I’ve failed in my task, not only with the Ladies of Virtue, but also with Jasper. Now Lord Ashby has no reason to do me any favors. Furthermore, I destroyed any claim I had to proper behavior. How can I continue to be incensed by those ridiculous articles if I acted the wanton in his arms?”

“We have other issues to manage,” Agnes said. “That of your virtue. Does he need to be made to see reason, do right by you?”

“Oh, good heavens. He compromised you?” Harriet asked.

“No. No.” Iris shook her head in denial. “It was a kiss, that is all.” Well, it wasn’t merely a kiss. It was passionate and seductive, and had he tried to pursue things further, she wasn’t certain she would have stopped him. She felt compromised, but her virtue remained intact. Granted, there were plenty in London that would not see it that way, but that wasn’t her concern now.

A footman came in with a tray. He brought it over to Iris. “A message came for you.”

“Thank you,” Iris said. Once the footman had left, she looked up from the note. “It’s from him. Lord Ashby.”

“Read it!” Harriet said, clapping her gloved hands together.

My dearest Lady Iris,

I do hope you will accept my apology for my abrupt departure. I meant not what I said, and of course, our agreement still stands. Lucy will arrive at your address promptly at two o’clock. If this does not meet your approval, please send notice.

Rub a bit of vinegar on your temples to ease that headache.

Affectionately yours,

Merritt Steele, Earl of Ashby

“Oh goodness. That gave me the shivers. He sounds positively divine,” Harriet said.

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