Ready to make his departure, Derek halted and turned, his
hat and gloves still in hand. A glance behind him revealed
Millicent Rutherford, the Countess of Windmere, standing in
the middle of the foyer. He'd thought her lovely when she'd
come out six years before and after three years of marriage
and two children, she was even lovelier, tall and slim with
the most beautiful, expressive eyes. At the moment they
appeared concerned.
"Lady Windmere," he said in greeting and made his way
toward her.
"I pray you had a pleasant drive?" she said, when he
reached her side. They turned and as if by tacit agreement,
entered the drawing room.
"I did."
"And things are well between you and Elizabeth?" A
subtle, ladylike probe into his private affairs.
He gave a rueful smile. Her concern for her cousin was
expected. No doubt Rutherford had told her his edict of
marriage had been met with something less than joy.
"I wager we will muddle through this well enough." One
way or another.
"You are a true gentleman. Thank you." Lady Windmere took
his hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "Things have
not been easy for Cousin Margaret these last several years.
That's Elizabeth's mother. I don't know how she would handle
such a scandal."
"Where is she from, your cousin?" he asked. He knew
practically nothing of her except the taste of her lips, the
firm softness of her breasts, how she felt pressed up
against him.
"Penkridge. It's a tiny village in Staffordshire. I'm
sure you've never heard of it."
Derek stilled. Not only had he heard of the town but he'd
had cause to go there six winters ago. And in that moment,
the past rose up to sully the present. Margaret. That had
been the name of the mother. The bank draft had been made
out to Mr. Joseph Smith, a local solicitor of meager means
and three daughters. He knew only the name of the eldest—the
calamity had given him good cause to never forget
it—Madeline.
"Her father, what is his occupation?" He strived to keep
the urgency from his voice.
The countess shot him a surprised look. She knew him well
enough to know he wasn't the sort to stand on ceremony and
was a man who would never judge another by his station in
life. "Cousin Joseph is a solicitor. But I don't believe he
retained his practice since he came into the barony."
For several seconds Derek remained silent, schooling his
features as he endeavored not to give any indication of how
great an impact what she'd just revealed had on him.
He'd been duped, played for the veriest fool. And the
irony did not escape him that he'd been nearly caught in the
same trap he'd helped his brother escape years before.
Now the younger sister had him on the hooks and thought
to reel him in with the ease of an accomplished fisherman.
She told him she'd be ruined if he did not marry her, her
family's name dragged through the gutter that was the
ton's gossip mill.
Ruined. For a kiss.
By God, if she was to be ruined, it shouldn't be over a
paltry kiss. No, he'd show her the true meaning of ruin.