Page 68 of A Scandal for the Beastly Earl

"That's better," Lucien said with satisfaction.

"You planned this. The distraction, the revelation, all of it."

"I may have, slightly."

"Slightly?"

"Fine. Julian and I spent two hours this morning discussing tactics."

"Two hours?"

"He had charts."

She laughed again, and this time he smiled—a real, genuine smile that transformed his face completely. Around them, she heard the tone of the whispers change. No longer scandalized or pitying, but something else. Envious, perhaps?

The dance ended to polite applause, and immediately they were surrounded by curious guests. Arabella found herself separated from Lucien as various ladies descended, all eager to examine the woman who'd captured the Beast.

"Lady Blackthorn," a woman in puce silk gushed, "we're all simply eager to know how you met."

"In a lake," Arabella said, deciding honesty might derail their gossip.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I was rescuing my dog. Lord Blackthorn assisted."

"You... rescued a dog?"

"Well, he wasn't actually drowning, as it turned out. But I didn't know that at the time."

The ladies exchanged glances that suggested this was even better than they'd hoped.

"How... unusual," one ventured.

"Yes, I suppose it was. But then, I've never been particularly usual."

"And Lord Blackthorn simply... jumped in after you?"

"Well, he walked in rather purposefully, actually. Very heroic. Though he did tell me to stop helping halfway through the rescue."

"Stop helping?"

"Apparently, I was making the drowning worse with my efforts to not drown."

"But you weren't actually drowning?"

"That's a matter of some debate. I maintain I was in distress. My husband insists I was simply over-complicated by fabric."

"Your husband," one of the ladies, Lady Worthington, if Arabella remembered correctly, said with barely concealed curiosity. "He seems quite... devoted."

"Does he?"

"The way he looks at you. It's rather intense."

Arabella glanced across the room where Lucien stood surrounded by gentlemen, his gaze finding hers even through the crowd. The look he gave her sent heat through her entire body.

"Yes," she agreed. "He can be rather intense."

"It must be frightening sometimes," another lady suggested. "His reputation..."