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The door shook confirming its locked state. “Give me a minute to find the key,” Somerton said as his footsteps faded away.
Matthew glanced back at her, his face dark with emotions she couldn’t read. Finally, Somerton’s footsteps grew louder.
She stared down the steps as the door creaked open. She prayed he was alone and hadn’t brought her brother with him. The door opened fully, revealing the ta
ll form of Viscount Somerton. With his shorter-than-normal hair and arrogant smile, he looked far more like a devil than her savior.
“Well, well, what naughty mess have I caught you both in?” Somerton asked with a chuckle. Looking up at her, he said, “Good God, the Selby family does make my life interesting.”
“Is anyone with you?” Matthew demanded.
“No, but you must hurry. Lady Aston is all atwitter because she is certain that something horrific must have happened to Lady Jennette. I overheard her speaking with her maid but it won’t be long before she brings this to the Dowager Lady Selby or Selby himself.”
“Lady Aston,” she said, shaking her head. She had been right all along.
Matthew glanced up at her and nodded. “Are you ready to leave?”
“Well, that all depends,” Somerton said before Jennette could even answer.
“On what?” Matthew asked.
Somerton crossed his arms over his chest and stared at them both with prying eyes. “Do you plan to marry each other?”
“Yes.”
“No,” Jennette replied at the same time as Matthew.
Matthew turned toward her, anger burning in his gray eyes. “Why not?”
Staring at his handsome face, she knew she had to tell him the truth. “Because I won’t marry a gambler who will squander my inheritance at the gaming hells.”
Matthew’s face turned pale. “You think I’m a gambler?” he whispered.
“Very well, then,” Somerton said. “She stays locked in here.”
“What?” Matthew and Jennette exclaimed together.
“If Lady Aston did this, then she is going to expect someone to be up here. So,” Somerton said, looking up at Jennette, “you will be here…alone.”
“Why are you helping me?” Jennette asked. Somerton took his reputation as a serious scoundrel to heart. He never seemed the hero to her.
Somerton tilted his head and smirked at her. “As I said, you Selbys make my life interesting. If you marry this poor sod that will stop.”
“Very well, in the continued interest of making your life exciting, I shall stay here,” Jennette said, smiling at the rogue.
Matthew walked back up to her. “Are you certain?”
“Yes. It is for the best.” If Somerton’s plan worked, there would be no need for a forced wedding. Certainly, this was for the best. She pressed her lips together and hoped he wouldn’t notice the tears stinging her eyes.
“Come along, Blackburn. We don’t have much time.”
He stared at her a moment longer. Their gaze held and she felt as if he could read her soul.
“Very well,” he said tightly. He walked down the steps and stopped at the threshold. “But you should know that the only thing I’ve ever gambled on was you…and I lost.”
She clenched her fists so hard her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands. She had done the right thing. Now he wouldn’t be disgraced because of her again. He wouldn’t be forced to marry a woman who wasn’t good enough for him.
She walked to the window and watched as he and Somerton jumped on their horses and raced down the path away from the house. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Her heart ached with the pain of letting him go. She knew it was the right thing to do but the ache in her heart hurt so dreadfully.
