Page 111 of A Troublesome Circumstance

And he had a future. Politics. Influence. A life that did not deserve to be shackled to her scandal.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice trembling. “I won’t marry you.”

Jude’s face shuttered, his wounded pride flaring. “You would choose ruination over me?”

“No,” she breathed. “I choose you over ruination.”

Confusion etched his features. “I don’t understand.”

Josephine leaned forward, imploring him. “I could marry you and it would be easier. But it wouldn’t be fair to you. You deserve a wife without scandal. The perfect countess.”

“Is that what you think I need?” he demanded.

“I do.”

He slid forward on the bench, closing the distance between them. His voice lowered, intense. “I do not want the perfect countess, Josie. I want you.”

Her heart clenched. “You say that now⁠—”

“Just marry me,” he said, his voice rising with desperation. “Why are you making this so difficult?”

“I am not trying to be difficult.”

He scoffed in disbelief. “Your actions suggest otherwise. I am an earl, for heaven’s sake. Most women would love to marry me.”

Her back went rigid. “Yes, they would. Why don’t you go find one of them to marry and stop pestering me?”

His eyes widened, but before he could reply, the carriage lurched to a stop in front of her townhouse.

Josephine realized then just how close they had drifted when his breath ghosted across her cheek. Their faces mere inches apart. Too close. Far too close for what she needed to do.

“You are being utterly stubborn,” he said.

“As are you,” she returned, forcing her voice steady. “At least I am being sensible about this.”

His brows shot up. “You, sensible?”

Before she could retort, a liveried footman approached, placing the step and opening the door. “My lady,” he said, offering his hand.

Josephine drew herself up. “Goodbye, Jude.”

“This isn’t goodbye,” he asserted. “You will eventually agree to marry me.”

She refused to let her expression crack. Instead, she slipped her hand into the footman’s and allowed him to help her down. She didn’t look back.

She couldn’t.

Her spine stiffened as she walked up the steps. Dupree waited with the door open. He shut it behind her with a decisive thud.

And then everything inside her shattered.

“Mother!” Josephine cried, her voice echoing through the entry hall.

A moment later, Lady Redden rushed from the drawing room, alarm etched across her face. “What is the matter?”

Josephine let out a wrenching sob. “I am ruined!”

Her mother darted forward, gripping her arms. “What happened?”