“Y—no, well, not exactly. It’s just, girls are raised differently and not taught about—I mean, there’s no blame—” He was getting more and more tangled. “It’s not what I believe, but it is how the world sees it.”
The idea that only she could call off the betrothal because women were regarded as indecisive ninnyhammers was insulting. But she didn’t have to like it. There were many aspects of society she didn’t like. “So what you’re saying is that once our betrothal is announced, I can call it off, but you can’t?”
“Exactly.”
There was a short silence while she thought it over. “You’d be taking a big risk, wouldn’t you? What if I didn’t call it off?”
“I’d be relying on your sense of honor.” His eyes glinted with wry humor. “Not to mention your well-known antipathy to marrying a lord.”
This suggestion of his, coming out of the blue, on the one hand seemed like a clear and simple solution. On the other, it worried her.
All the time she’d known Lord Thornton, they’d been at daggers drawn. But tonight, not only had he gone out of his way to apologize—and she was sure that didn’t come easily to a man of his pride—now he was proposing. All right, so it was only a pretend betrothal, but just days ago he’d been certain she was in league with her blackmailing father. And now he was relying on her so-called honor not to trap him into marriage? She didn’t trust such an instant about-face.
“Why would you do such a thing? Be willing to put yourself in my hands?”
He met her gaze squarely. “Aunt Alice was very good to me as a child. She’s my favorite relative. My parents have done nothing to help her since her husband died. Now she’s in trouble, and I’m determined to help her however I can.”
He sounded sincere. She was inclined to believe him. Almost.
The idea was tempting. A public betrothal to a viscount who was also heir to an earldom might just bring Papa out of the woodwork. And save Alice from any further distress.
“And you would trust me to break the betrothal?”
“I would. But I should also warn you that if you did, there might be unpleasant repercussions for you. You’d need to be prepared for that.”
She knew it. Because people would be furious that a girl of no background had played fast and loose with the son of an earl. “I don’t care. I never set out to hook a husband in the first place. It was all Papa’s idea.”
He frowned. “The idea of social disgrace doesn’t worry you?”
She shrugged. “They’re not my people.” She’d never belonged anywhere, so being pushed out of the ton would be nothing new. She’d miss Alice, though, and Lord Tarrant’s little girls. And Penny Peplowe and some of the other friends she’d made. Thinking about it, it occurred to her that she’d made more friends than she’d realized.
Oh well, it was a risk she’d have to take. No matter what society believed, women did have honor, and she owed it to Alice to free her from Papa’s entrapment.
Emerging from her reflections, she looked up to see Lord Thornton regarding her with a curious expression. “Who are your people?”
“Gypsies, who do you think?” She had no “people.” Only Papa.
He eyed her shrewdly, but all he said was, “So, do you agree that a false betrothal is the solution to our problems?”
She took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll do it. And there’s no need to worry—I promise you that I won’t hold you to it. If you can believe the promises of a blackmailer’s daughter, that is.”
“I have every faith in your honor,” he said softly, and for some reason she felt herself tearing up. She turned away, blinking furiously.
He went on in a brisk voice. “I’ll put notices in the Morning Post and the Gazette. Shall we keep it quiet until then, or would you like me to arrange an announcement tonight, at this ball?”
His mother was at the ball, Lucy recalled. She’d be bound to make a horrid fuss—a public fuss—and she’d blame Alice. “No, let’s keep it secret until the announcement in the papers.”
He nodded. “Just don’t tell Alice it’s a false betrothal.”
“But—”
“I’m very fond of Alice, but she’s a hopeless liar. She’d hate having to keep it a secret—and she’d probably botch it. Which would upset her very much.”
He was right. “Very well,” she agreed. “We’ll tell nobody the betrothal is a stratagem.”
Inside the ballroom the waltz was just finishing. “I’d better go in,” she said, rising to her feet. “I promised Mr. Grimswade I’d take supper with him.”
“Just one more thing.” Lord Thornton reached out and detained her with a light touch. “This agreement between us, there won’t be any kind of document to sign.”
“No, of course not.”
“So we’d better seal it in the time-honored way.”
“What time-honored—mmph!”
His mouth came down on hers, firm, warm and possessive. She was so surprised she couldn’t move or even think. She gasped and his tongue entered her mouth, hot, spicy and demanding.
By the time her brain had recovered from the shock, her body was pressing itself against him, her arms were twined around his neck, and she was kissing him back. He cupped her face in his hands, angling her mouth the better to explore her, to taste her.
Heat streaked through her in waves, pooling deep within her body.
Without warning he released her abruptly. She staggered back, struggling to gather her scrambled wits. It wasn’t the first time she’d been kissed, but she’d never experienced anything like . . . like that.
Her whole body was tingling. She was panting, as if she’d run a mile instead of standing in a secluded corner.
His chest was heaving, too, she noticed. At least she wasn’t the only one.
Had he felt what she did? There was no way of knowing. His eyes were in shadow, dark, intense and unreadable. Her gaze dropped to the firm, unsmiling masculine mouth. Who knew that he could kiss like that?
As the silence between them stretched, broken only by their heavy breathing and the distant hum of people talking in the ballroom, all Lucy’s old insecurities came surging to the fore. Before tonight—even an hour ago—she would have sworn this man, this lord, disliked her. Only days ago he’d accused her of plotting against Alice. Then suddenly, tonight, he was talking false betrothals and trusting her. And now this?
A kiss too far?