Bargaining With a Rake (A Whisper of Scandal Novel) Read Free

lot of Englishmen would be far too worried marriage to
the daughters of a man suspected of murder would taint their bloodlines with
some unseen insanity. And if the men weren’t worried, their mothers would certainly
be concerned enough to not allow any such match.
    Gillian gazed across the faces of the
women who composed the line of wallflowers. The proof of her belief was in the
line of beautiful women. Nothing was wrong with their looks. One of them had a
drunkard for a father. One had a brother with a gambling problem. One had a
sister who had lowered herself by marrying outside of the ton . And Lady
Emma’s father was a merchant. The horror ! Her heart twisted when she got
to Whitney.
    She raised her hand and waved to get Whitney’s
attention. Her face lit up when her eyes met Gillian’s. She rushed away from
the other women with a backward glance. Gillian braced herself against
displaying her worries or concerns. Whitney was blissfully unaware of the
threatening note, and if Gillian could help it, her sister would remain
unharmed by the foolish notions of the ton .
    Whitney reached Gillian within
seconds and clutched her arm. “Have you been dancing?”
    Gillian fingered the crumpled dance
card in her hand. “No. More importantly, have you?”
    “Not yet.” Whitney bit her lip. “Do
you think it’s this dress?”
    She eyed her sister’s white lacy
confection. She looked perfect, like innocence on the verge of allure. Not
the dress, for certain . It was their name, and it always would be. “You look
lovely.”
    “If I look lovely, why not one
request for a dance?”
    “Because you are so breathtaking they
are afraid to approach you,” she assured Whitney. Finding their aunt was a
priority. Surely she had enough sway to get at least one gentleman to dance with
Whitney. Gillian wanted to skin all Englishmen. If she’d had any doubts about
meeting and seducing Mr. Sutherland, they evaporated as Whitney’s eyes filled
with tears.
    “Don’t cry like a goose. I had no
idea you pined to dance so.”
    Whitney sniffed and dried her eyes.
“Don’t you?”
    The only thing she pined for was a one-way
ticket out of England for herself and Whitney. If a dance could reduce her
sister to tears, what would social ruination and the ugly truth do to her? She
smiled indulgently. “Of course, I pine to dance,” she lied.
    “Gillie, there’s an angry-looking
woman headed towards us.”
    Gillian quickly turned and faced the
crowd behind her. The redhead who’d been talking to the pompous Englishman
stalked toward her. By the twisted look on the woman’s face, her temper matched
the color of her hair.
    Gilliangave
Whitney a little shove toward the refreshment table. “I’m feeling faint. Will
you get me some lemonade?”
    “I knew you were acting odd. I’ll be
right back.” At least Whitney would be safe from the taint of a scene if it
came to that. Surely the woman didn’t think Gillian had set her cap on the
Englishman.
    The woman stopped directly in front
of Gillian, spearing her with a slanted green gaze. “I thought I recognized you.
You can’t imagine the gossip your family’s reappearance into Society has caused.”
    She could imagine quite a lot of
things at this moment, but none of them were very ladylike. She pasted a smile
on her face, though she doubted she looked friendly. “I’m afraid you have me at
a disadvantage, as you know me, but I do not know you.”
    “I’m Lady Staunton. You no doubt
recognize my name.”
    “I’m afraid not. But I haven’t been
in Society in a very long time. I am surprised, though, that the ton so
lacks for entertainment they are reduced to speculating about age-old rumors regarding
my family.” That she professed the lie without so much as a quiver in her voice
was an immense relief.
    Lady Staunton smiled falsely. “But
the mystery was never solved, now, was it? So the rumors are still delicious,
and I hear you’ve the exact look of your mother. I’ve seen