Page 75 of How to Start a Scandal

‘That’s luckier than most,’ Hollingston grumbled. ‘What did she say?’

‘“She”, my lord?’

Hollingston’s bushy brows drew together. ‘Violet. I’m assuming you’ve already asked her.’

Seth opened his mouth, ready to say she’d agreed, but then recalled the night before. When Lady Dalton and Seth had done most of the speaking as Violet’s life was planned out for her.

Hollingston scoffed. ‘I’ll give you the same answer I gave you when you asked permission to court her: if she says yes, then that is my answer as well.’

‘Is she available that I might speak with her?’ Seth rose from the damnable seat.

‘I’ll see to it that she is.’ Hollingston rang for a servant. ‘You can wait for her in the drawing room.’

Silence fell over them as they waited on the servant to arrive. In that time, Hollingston openly appraised Seth. ‘My wife informed me what you said to her before you left last night.’

Seth’s mouth tightened, a hint of his rage returning anew at what the Countess had said to Violet. Seth’s mother might have been indifferent to him for the better part of his life, but Violet’s mother was downright cruel to her. He’d hated leaving Violet at her mercy the night before. Had it been up to him, he would have wed Violet on the spot and brought her home with him to Dalton Place.

Seth set his jaw. ‘I won’t apologise for it. I don’t condone what she said to Violet, nor do her words hold any truth.’

The lines around Lord Hollingston’s eyes crinkled deeper. ‘You’ve grown into a man of conviction, Lord Dalton.’ His mouth lifted in a half-smile. ‘I find myself hoping my daughter says yes to you.’

‘As do I.’ Seth inclined his head graciously towards the Earl as a servant entered.

Seth followed the servant to the yellow drawing room. The lingering scents of breakfast hovered in the room, steeped tea with a sweet note of jam and a briny hint of ham.

He was directed to a matching sunny-coloured sofa, which he sat on for a moment before his nerves overcame him.

He rose to his feet, prepared to pace when the double doors opened and Lady Violet entered.

She wore a white-muslin day dress, virginal and lovely. Her hair was bound back in a knot that was less intricate than the styles he’d seen her wear. There was a quiet intimacy to it and he couldn’t help but wonder if she wore her hair in such a manner at breakfast with the family where things were less formal—before house calls and social functions required a more put-together appearance.

He liked seeing her thus. It made him think of informal breakfasts with her and a quiet, happy life together, one where he could trade nightmares of the past for dreams of the future.

But first, she had to agree to marry him.

Chapter Twenty-One

Violet knew precisely why she’d been summoned to the drawing room. That suspicion was confirmed when she walked in to find Seth waiting for her.

Apprehension gripped her and the exhaustion of a night without sleep left her thoughts spinning. No doubt he was there to speak to her about what had happened, to confirm their marriage.

He came to her in two strides. ‘Violet, forgive me for what transpired last night. I... I should have refrained from kissing you.’

They’d done more than kiss, of course, and his words brought back a hot tingling sensation throughout her body. His fingers had moved against her most intimate place, stroking her to a state of such exquisite pleasure.

‘I enjoyed our kisses,’ she replied. ‘I am as much at fault.’

He reached up and gently caressed her face. ‘You are always so gracious.’ The corners of his mouth ticked downward. ‘I should have been more in control of myself.’

Violet’s stomach clenched. Would he still feel the same way once he knew the truth?

She had to tell him. Now. She drew in a breath to speak, but he rushed on. ‘I realised this morning that the decision to wed was made not between you and me, but your mother and me.’ He reached for Violet’s hand, cradling it in his large one, and gazed deeply into her eyes so she felt as though she’d tipped headlong into the depths of his soul. ‘Lady Violet, will you do me the immense honour of agreeing to marry me?’

She hesitated, unprepared to be given a choice at all in the matter. Nor was she prepared for how the question would make her emotions soar.

How wonderful it would be to say yes, to agree without caveat. Without having to confess such an awful truth.

‘Seth.’ She opened her mouth to speak and fear shuddered through her. She could lose him. She probably would lose him.