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Authors: Bronwen Evans
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to their hostess seated on his right, Lady Helen Hale, Christopher’s mother, he asked, “We appear to be missing someone. I hope they’re not indisposed.”
“How astute of you to notice. Yes, Miss Kerrich, the baron’s sister. She is unwell, I have been told, although I am assured it’s nothing serious.” She focused her gaze on the baron and called, “Daniel, you do promise me your sister is not seriously ill. I am quite sure Christopher would send for the doctor if needed.”
The baron’s face colored. “There is absolutely no need Lady Hale. Rheda is simply indisposed.”
“Well, I shall visit her tomorrow and ensure for myself that all is well.”
Rheda?
Rufus almost choked on his mouthful. Was Rhe short for Rheda? He shook his head and took another sip of his wine, trying to halt his coughing. No, it could not be. But the proof was sitting across the table from him. Why had he not noticed it from the start? The baron’s hair was darker than Rhe—Rheda’s, but the features of his face and the deep green of his eyes gave her identity away.
No wonder Rufus had been unable to find her. He’d been looking in all the wrong places. He cringed at the realization he’d almost seduced a lady. But it added to the puzzle. What on earth had she been doing with that barrel?
Lady Umbridge spitefully added softly in his ear, “I suspect she’s too embarrassed to show her face at Lord Hale’s table in front of polite society. He supposedly proposed to her.”
Rufus wasn’t at all surprised. Miss Kerrich was a beauty any man would desire. Lord Hale wasn’t the brightest pumpkin in the patch, and although handsome, his lack of intelligent conversation and his portly body did not endear him to the ladies. Even with his wealth, he was not inundated with marriage prospects. Keeping his question casual he asked, “But they never married?”
Lady Umbridge smiled conspiratorially, warming to her story. “I believe Lord Hale was gentleman enough to say she had refused him. However, the gossip was he withdrew his proposal once the scandal became known.”
Rufus’s eyebrow rose. “There was a scandal?”
“Oh, yes. A young Arab prince, Sultan Hammed, was visiting here with his lordship. Miss Kerrich struck up quite a friendship with the prince and his sister. On the prince’s return home, he sent her two beautiful Arabian mares. She did not return them. Everyone assumed they were payment for services rendered.”
His pulse quickened at the word scandal . Miss Kerrich might be more experienced than he’d first thought. She might even be open to his seduction. She certainly seemed enthusiastic when he’d kissed her.
He sighed into his glass. He needed to be sure. She was the baron’s sister. He could hardly compromise her if she was indeed a virgin. He did not wish to end up leg shackled—especially to a woman so inappropriate. Restoring the Strathmore good name came first. And when he had achieved that, he wasn’t about to tarnish the image by marrying a woman who acted like a hellion and was surrounded by scandal.
Besides, his bride was already picked out. A demure, respectable woman, Lady Clare Browning, a friend of his sister. Clare’s father, the Marquis of Lee, needed money and he was prepared to overlook the scandal attached to the Strathmore name in order to get it.
Clare was a woman who would not embroil the Strathmore name in further disgrace. Although there was no formal understanding between them, the marquis expected Rufus to offer for her.
His gut clenched at the thought. As with most of his life, due to his father’s treason he was left to pay the price. A marriage to a mouse of a woman who couldn’t even look him in the eye. How he’d ever get her with child he shuddered to think. If he was free to choose a wife, regardless of consequences, she would not be his choice.
Since when had he ever had the luxury of free will?
At the end of dinner, while the men were enjoying their
“How astute of you to notice. Yes, Miss Kerrich, the baron’s sister. She is unwell, I have been told, although I am assured it’s nothing serious.” She focused her gaze on the baron and called, “Daniel, you do promise me your sister is not seriously ill. I am quite sure Christopher would send for the doctor if needed.”
The baron’s face colored. “There is absolutely no need Lady Hale. Rheda is simply indisposed.”
“Well, I shall visit her tomorrow and ensure for myself that all is well.”
Rheda?
Rufus almost choked on his mouthful. Was Rhe short for Rheda? He shook his head and took another sip of his wine, trying to halt his coughing. No, it could not be. But the proof was sitting across the table from him. Why had he not noticed it from the start? The baron’s hair was darker than Rhe—Rheda’s, but the features of his face and the deep green of his eyes gave her identity away.
No wonder Rufus had been unable to find her. He’d been looking in all the wrong places. He cringed at the realization he’d almost seduced a lady. But it added to the puzzle. What on earth had she been doing with that barrel?
Lady Umbridge spitefully added softly in his ear, “I suspect she’s too embarrassed to show her face at Lord Hale’s table in front of polite society. He supposedly proposed to her.”
Rufus wasn’t at all surprised. Miss Kerrich was a beauty any man would desire. Lord Hale wasn’t the brightest pumpkin in the patch, and although handsome, his lack of intelligent conversation and his portly body did not endear him to the ladies. Even with his wealth, he was not inundated with marriage prospects. Keeping his question casual he asked, “But they never married?”
Lady Umbridge smiled conspiratorially, warming to her story. “I believe Lord Hale was gentleman enough to say she had refused him. However, the gossip was he withdrew his proposal once the scandal became known.”
Rufus’s eyebrow rose. “There was a scandal?”
“Oh, yes. A young Arab prince, Sultan Hammed, was visiting here with his lordship. Miss Kerrich struck up quite a friendship with the prince and his sister. On the prince’s return home, he sent her two beautiful Arabian mares. She did not return them. Everyone assumed they were payment for services rendered.”
His pulse quickened at the word scandal . Miss Kerrich might be more experienced than he’d first thought. She might even be open to his seduction. She certainly seemed enthusiastic when he’d kissed her.
He sighed into his glass. He needed to be sure. She was the baron’s sister. He could hardly compromise her if she was indeed a virgin. He did not wish to end up leg shackled—especially to a woman so inappropriate. Restoring the Strathmore good name came first. And when he had achieved that, he wasn’t about to tarnish the image by marrying a woman who acted like a hellion and was surrounded by scandal.
Besides, his bride was already picked out. A demure, respectable woman, Lady Clare Browning, a friend of his sister. Clare’s father, the Marquis of Lee, needed money and he was prepared to overlook the scandal attached to the Strathmore name in order to get it.
Clare was a woman who would not embroil the Strathmore name in further disgrace. Although there was no formal understanding between them, the marquis expected Rufus to offer for her.
His gut clenched at the thought. As with most of his life, due to his father’s treason he was left to pay the price. A marriage to a mouse of a woman who couldn’t even look him in the eye. How he’d ever get her with child he shuddered to think. If he was free to choose a wife, regardless of consequences, she would not be his choice.
Since when had he ever had the luxury of free will?
At the end of dinner, while the men were enjoying their
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