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Olivia’s jaw tightened. “Indeed, as well as the lies he told me only recently.” She shifted her focus to the duke. “Isn’t that right,Mr. Stone? Should I tell them about your fabricated position as the ‘estate manager’ at Marlington Hall?” She gestured to the earl. “Perhaps Lord Somers can clear up the matter since you had claimed to work for—”
“That’s enough.” He didn’t need to raise his voice, the menace in those two words made everyone’s eyes widen.
“What’s going on here?” Araminta whispered, as if she was afraid to do so.
Olivia merely waited. Finally, the duke’s intent gaze lit on her. “Perhaps we should all retire to the study, as this will not be a simple conversation.” With that, he spun on his heel and left, while the sisters exchanged a curious glance at one another—and then turned to Olivia.
She sniffed. “Well, let’s not keep His Grace waiting, shall we?”
She led the charge to battle.
* * *
Miles tossed backa tumbler of brandy and hissed through his teeth at the burn that slid down his throat and settled in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t used to imbibing that often, had eschewed spirits when he had been recuperating, for swallowing anything was excruciating, and then he was afraid that he would be dependent on it afterward.
But he figured that, at the moment, he needed the liquid courage to get through this, as no doubt Olivia would do her best to thrust him into an unfavorable light. She wouldn’t know that the disdain on her face cut him to the quick. That look wounded him more deeply than any enemy’s sword ever could.
No one spoke as they all filed into the study. Lord Somers was the only one who sat down, taking a position in front of the desk and making himself at home. Miles couldn’t help but snort. “I see you have no problem settling in, Lord Somers.”
He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I have the feeling this is going to be quite interesting.”
“Indeed,” Miles retorted dryly.
Somers nodded toward the decanter in Miles’s hand. “Would you mind pouring me one of those?”
Without a word, Miles poured two fingers worth of the amber liquid and carried it over to the earl, who accepted it graciously. He took a sip and murmured, “Very nice.”
Miles took a drink, and then met Olivia’s gave once more. “After you, my lady.”
Olivia stepped to the middle of the room, as if she was about to offer a grand revelation, but he supposed that’s how she viewed it all. He had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the dramatics as she began to speak.
She started with the moment they had met on the road during the wicked snowstorm, their extended stay at the inn in Gillingham, and to their arrival at the estate and the subsequent manner in which Olivia had learned the truth of his identity. As suspected, she turned him into an unrepentant scoundrel, but then, he supposed he should be grateful that she hadn’t mentioned the library or the conservatory.
When she was finished, she turned to him with a lift of her light brow. “Have I missed anything?”
He offered a mocking grin. “No, I believe you have it all covered.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing as she turned back to her siblings, who had yet to weigh in on what she’d said.
Calliope was the first to shrug. “Honestly, I think the rescue was rather gallant, but I’m particularly more interested by the inn where you shared a single room…”
She let her voice trail off, as if she knew how to engage Olivia’s attention. It worked, for she gasped. “I told you thatnothinghappened!”
Miles wouldn’t necessarily agree with that, but he wasn’t about to contradict her if she wanted to believe it.
“It doesn’t really matter, dearest,” Isadora said gently. “If word were to reach the gossips of London, your reputation would be in tatters. You would be considered a loose woman without morals. Some might even speculate that you intended to run off together to engage in a torrid affair.”
Miles considered that. He hadn’t thought society would come to that conclusion, but if word got around that they had left at the same time on the same night… It wouldn’t be so farfetched as he imagined.
“It doesn’t matter since I don’t ever intend to marry,” Olivia retorted firmly. “And I don’t plan on returning to London.Thisis my home.”
Araminta walked forward and by the look on her face, Miles knew what was coming, and he hated that it had to be like this, but there was no way around it. “Dearest, I know how much you adore Marlington Hall, but itisn’tyour home any longer. It’s why Isa and I insisted on going to London, because we knew we couldn’t remain here with father’s heir assuming the title. That also includes the estate since it’s entailed. I know it pains you, but Marlington Hall belongs to the duke, and someday he will wed and bring his wife here and set up a nursery. He can’t have another woman underfoot. The duchess will likely not accept your presence here.”
He could almost see the wheels turning in Olivia’s head as she tried to come up with a solution. “Then perhaps the dowager cottage? Or he could draw up some form of document that gives me the right to stay on even after—”
Her sister was already shaking her head. “It’s not possible. You must be rational about this, Livy. The dowager cottage is in a sad shape of disrepair as father had no need of it. It isn’t fit for anyone to live in. You must come back to London with us and put this foolish endeavor behind you. We all know this estate no longer belongs to us. Or you.”
Olivia backed up a step. “You think that this place, the single thing we have left of our father isfoolish?”
