Fallen Read Free Page A

her head and gave him a wry smile. "You needn't fear for my reputation, my lord. I haven't one, you know."
    "Ahem. Yes. Quite." Oh God, he sounded like his father. He began again.
    "I came here today, Miss Temple—"
    "Izzy."
    "What?" Startled, he wondered if she was barmy, as well, spouting out nonsense words at odd intervals.
    "My name, Lord Blackworth, is Izzy."
    Surely not. He blinked.
    "Izzy?"
    "Izzy."
    Then she chuckled at his baffled look. It was a marvelous sound. It was an absolute confection of a sound. He wanted to hear it again.
    "Izzy?"
    "Utterly," she replied, and laughed outright.
    Quite disarmed, he smiled at her in wonderment.
    Her eyes widened. "Oh, my. Oh, you are quite devastating when you smile." Her hands fluttered dramatically, fanning her face. "Do stop. I cannot think when you do that."
    Now he laughed, shaking his head in amazement. How could such a wit be hiding in that gown, under that cap? Intrigued, he gestured for her to sit, and took a seat beside her on the ornate, gilded settee.
    "Well, Utterly Izzy, we must discuss our situation."
    "Our situation, my lord? What would that be?"
    "Well, to begin, perhaps you could tell me why you…"
Lied
. "Ah, invented our relationship."
    "Don't you know? Oh, I suppose you did more or less sleep through it all." Her eyes widened. "Oh, dear. How is your head, my lord? Pray forgive me. You must understand, I was quite frightened at the time." Leaning forward, she looked him over for obvious damage.
    Forgive her? He had burst into her room in the dead of night and jumped into her bed in a drunken mistake, and she was asking for his forgiveness? What an extraordinary response.
    But wait. He eyed her suspiciously.
    "Miss Temple, I should like for you to tell me what happened. I don't really know, you see. That is, I know, yet…"
    "Do not worry, my lord. It was not as bad as you think. You were about to stop. When I struck you, I mean. You knew it was not who you expected the moment you, ah…" Gesturing bosomward, Izzy looked away for a moment. "So you
were
stopping, I am convinced of it. I needn't have struck you at all. But I was quite beside myself, for I was—well, my nightgown was tear—" She blushed and stopped.
    He had torn her gown? Dear God, it was worse than he thought. He had well-nigh raped her.
    Perhaps he did belong in jail.
    For the first time it occurred to him to wonder how it had been for her to wake under such an assault. He felt his stomach shrivel at the thought. Although he had meant no harm, and she was not frightened of him now, guilt twisted within him. She must have been so frightened, so helpless.
    Well, not entirely helpless, his sometimes still-throbbing head told him. She had thwarted him quite neatly, thank God. He smiled at her now in relief.
    "Miss Temple, you amaze me. Perhaps this marriage will do after all."
    "Marriage?" she asked faintly.
    "Miss Temple? You must see that we… That is, my father insists… Miss Temple?"
    When she erupted into rippling peals of laughter, he was offended. True, it had not been much of a proposal, but it was the first of his life and meant a great deal to him. Then her infectious laugh grabbed him and pulled him in to laugh along with her.
    What was it about this girl?
    "Oh, dear. I am sorry. I had this picture in my mind. I do that, you see. And, well, I can just see your face… when he told you that you were getting
married
!"
    Shoulders shaking, she collapsed back on the settee. "Did he… did he do that… that fish thing? What did he call you, a mad despoiler of… of innocence?"
    She grinned up at him, stunning him with the sweetness of her smile. Her small, even white teeth gleamed and the tiny suggestion of a dimple appeared in one cheek, giving her a charming off-center look.
    Then her words sank in and he stared.
    "What fish thing?"
    Sobering, she sat up.
    "I am sorry, my lord. I have overstepped, of course."
    "Explain yourself." He narrowed his eyes at her.
    Oh bother, now she had