Page 9 of The Seduction of an English Scoundrel

As did a rather disconcerting self-assurance.

“What do you want to see Jane for?” demanded the darker-haired sister.

The other added, “She is hardly in the mood for a social call, considering what your cousin did to her today.”

“I understand that,” he said smoothly.

“I doubt she will see you,” the brunette said.

Grayson shrugged. He had a feeling she was mistaken. “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

“Your appearance here is bad timing, Sedgecroft,” Lord Belshire said irritably. “Perhaps you could make your apologies to her at a later date.”

“When one falls off a horse,” Grayson said guardedly. “one is best advised to remount immediately.”

Lady Belshire plunked her sherry glass down on the side table, her eyes glittering with interest. “What sort of remounting are we discussing, Sedgecroft?”

Grayson hesitated, choosing his words with care lest his offer be misinterpreted. “The worst thing your daughter can do is to remove herself from Society. In the event Nigel is not brought around, she will want to attract another husband.” Preferably, he thought, one with half a brain to appreciate what his cousin had so mysteriously discarded.

“Are you offering to marry my sister?” the taller of the two other women asked in a tone halfway between hope and horror.

“No,” he said quickly, horrified himself at the thought. “I am not. It is my intention to help relaunch her back into Society as soon as possible. The longer she waits, the harder it will be to make her return.”

“He does have a point, Howard,” Lady Belshire murmured. “If Jane withdraws indefinitely, she will drift into spinsterhood and eventually cease to exist. And Sedgecroft is well considered in Society.”

The earl clapped his vinegar cloth back onto his forehead. “Oh, what the devil, Sedgecroft. Do what you can to help her. Jane hasn’t spoken a civil word to me in months. She expressed doubts about marrying Nigel, but did I listen? I thought they secretly adored each other. You young people today are entirely too—oh, blast. What do I know of love?”

“What does anyone know?” Grayson murmured, turning to find the two sisters gazing at him as if he had suddenly sprouted horns and a forked tail.

“How long do you think this . . . relaunching will take?” Lady Belshire asked.

Grayson shrugged his broad shoulders. “Not long. I intend to squire Jane around town only until she begins to attract the serious interest of a few acceptable suitors. In time, I would hope she would recover enough to return to her previous life.”

“The fact that a marquess finds her desirable will certainly pique the ton’s interest,” Athena said with a thoughtful frown. “I do see potential in this, Sedgecroft. It is decent of you to consider her future. Without help, Jane is likely to become a lost cause.”

“I mean to set an example for the rest of my family,” he replied. Although God knew that such self-sacrifice did not come naturally to him. Nor did the complications of even a superficial courtship. “I might not have ever asked a woman to meet me at the altar,” he said, “but I have never left one standing there either. I am not utterly without morals, as a few people seem to believe.”

Lord Belshire cracked open one eye. “Setting an example is all well and good, my friend, but I do have one minor reservation. You have a bit of a rake’s reputation.”

“A bit?” both sisters cried in unison.

“Which could make him all the more attractive a suitor for Jane,” Lady Belshire said thoughtfully. “Only a woman of considerable charm can attract the attention of a man like Sedgecroft. It might not hurt your poor sister to be thought of in such terms. Perhaps it would even raise her social value, which has sunk to an appalling low after today.”

Lord Belshire pursed his lips. “And how does being squired around by a rake—excuse me again, Sedgecroft—enhance Jane’s reputation?”

His wife shook her head in resignation. “I do not know that her reputation can ever be repaired. Our only hope is that in time she will meet a young man to whom her scandal does not matter.”

Grayson smiled at her. “Precisely my thought. We cannot undo what has been done.”

Athena smiled back at him. “But we can detract from it.”

Lord Belshire grunted. “What does my opinion matter? Ask her yourself, Sedgecroft. She’s languishing in the Red Gallery with all those hideous Roman statues. But do not be surprised if she refuses your offer. She’s a strong-minded minx.”

Grayson turned to the door, smiling to himself at the warning. Of course he would be surprised if she refused. No female had ever turned down a Boscastle male when he set his mind on her. After all, he was making a gesture that would benefit both of them. What could be the harm in that?

Chapter 4

The gallery stretched across the second floor, a vast sunlit room decorated with red silk hangings and a collection of priceless Italian statues. An entire wall boasted an ornately carved marble chimneypiece, beneath which sat a fireplace large enough to house a family of four. No fire had been lit within. Several shredded letters had been tossed onto the grate, apparently ready to burn.