“Lord Rohan?” Lydia said, walking away from him. Her earlier approval had vanished with his release of Elinor. Clearly she’d mistaken his interest. “I take leave to doubt that. ”
“He has an honor of his own. He’ll see to it that she has enough money to return to England and live there. ”
“That’s a high price for a short-term whore,” she said bitterly.
“You shouldn’t call your sister names. ”
“It’s not my sister’s fault. And you, you’re part and parcel of this. Did you take your turn at her as well?”
The ice had built up in his eyes again, and his expression was blank. “Hardly,” he said.
“Oh, that’s right, the Revels were in full swing. You probably had half a dozen other women to service. ”
He looked at her long and hard, and then a light came into his eyes. “No,” he said simply.
“No? Don’t tell me you’ve reformed?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. But I lost interest in whores long ago, I’m afraid. ”
“How noble. ” She didn’t know her voice could sound so harsh. “And what do you do instead?”
“Fall in love with unsuitable young ladies. ”
That silenced her for a moment. And then she rallied. “How many?”
“How many what?”
“Unsuitable young ladies have you fallen in love with?”
“Only one. ”
She was halfway across the room from him, the settee in between them. She liked it that way; he wouldn’t see that her knees were trembling. “And what do you intend to do about it?”
He turned, so she could see only the ruined side of his face. He did so deliberately, the foolish man, not realizing that she loved both halves of him. The whole of him. “I thought I’d be stupid enough to see if she would marry me anyway, instead of the wealthy doctor and heir to a title. She’d be a fool to do so, and I don’t think she’s a fool, but something Francis said convinced me that I couldn’t possibly be as stupid as he’s planning to be and turn my back on my heart’s desire. ”
She took a deep breath. “So we’ve established that she’d be a fool to have you, and you’d be a fool not to have her. How in the world do you reconcile such a dilemma?” She kept her face sober and concerned, while inside her heart was singing.
“I would think I’d have to ask her, just to make certain I’d done everything I could. But I’d warn her. I have no money, no prospects, an exceedingly ugly face, and my dearest friend is the King of Hell. ”
“You think that would stop her?”
“I have no idea. Would it, Lydia?”
She looked into his eyes, the eyes she could never read, and shock washed over her. Of course she hadn’t been able to read the look in his eyes. She was used to admiration, lust, flirtation, acquisitiveness. She’d simply never seen love before.
“Nothing would stop her, if she loved you,” she said. “And she does, Charles. She loves your pretty face and your scarred face. She loves your past and your present and she most especially loves your future. Just ask. ”
“Marr
y me, Lydia. ”
Nanny Maude would have been most distressed. Lydia leaped over the low-backed settee and threw herself at him. He caught her, quite handily, and kissed her, more thoroughly than she’d ever been kissed, with such tender longing that she wanted to weep. When he lifted his head to look down into her eyes she knew they were swimming with tears.
“I’m sorry I’m fool enough to want you, dearest,” she said, looking up at him. “But since you’ve suddenly become so wise you’ll have to instruct me. ”
He kissed her again, and no instruction was needed.
Her cousin’s carriage was warm and well-sprung, though a far cry from the elegance of Rohan’s equipage. The coach took off immediately once they were inside, and within moments they were far away from Maison de Giverney. Away from Rohan, with his cold, cold words.