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“Forgive me, but what are you talking about?”
“You’re going to deny it now?” Dorothy demanded. “You’re going to tell me that this is a lie?”
“Of course it is. Sure, I have had lovers in the past, but I can count how many women I’ve been with on one hand.”
Dorothy faltered.
“Really?”
“I’m serious about this.” Lucas shook his head. “I have certainly flirted with many, but actually taken to bed? It’s not that big. And I’ve certainly not been with a married woman. I’m not a cad like that.”
She looked as if she wasn’t sure that she should believe him. Lucas hated that she doubted him. Had she believed all these rumours the whole time? It couldn’t have bothered her that much if she had actually agreed to court him.
Did she really think that he had thought of her as another woman?
“I … I don’t know what to say.” Dorothy adjusted her hold on her parasol, her other hand slowly slipping away from Lucas’ arm. “Gabriel said …”
“Why am I not surprised that your ‘friend’ has commented on it?”
“It’s not just him. Lady Marcia was discussing your many conquests when we were at the Marquess of Derbyshire’s house.”
Lucas stared.
“Did you just say that Lady Marcia started the rumours?”
“She was certainly discussing it with Frederica and myself. Well, whenever we were close by to listen, in fact.” Dorothy frowned. “We surmised that she was in love with you and didn’t want any competition for your attention, but what if she was right? What if you’ve done everything that she said?”
“Well, I haven’t. And seeing as you’re not friends, I don’t know why you would take her word for it.” Lucas folded his arms. “Now I know why you made that comment after we kissed back then. You believed the lies and were trying to pass yourself off as another conquest.”
Dorothy didn’t respond immediately, but her cheeks did go a little pink. Lucas felt hurt that she would think that of him.
But she still agreed to your company. She went to bed with you. She must have felt something for you. She’s not the type to do that with just anyone.
Dorothy licked her lips and turned away. The confidence she had possessed the day before seemed to have gone. Now she seemed to be rather nervous around him. Lucas didn’t want that. He wanted the woman he had in his arms the day before. He certainly would have done that if Lady Bedford weren’t just out of earshot with a clear view of them.
“If you believed the rumours, Dorothy, why did you agree to allow me to court you? Why did you and I make this … intimate?”
“If I remember correctly, you’re the one who enlisted my friend to put me in a position where I had to agree to court you,” Dorothy shot back.
“You make it sound like this was against your will.”
“For the most part, it was! I wanted to put distance between us. With all the rumours I had heard and knowing how you had treated me before, I didn’t want to be around you.”
Lucas wanted to reach out and touch her, but Dorothy would have pulled away. He didn’t want her mother to witness this, either.
“But I changed your mind about me, didn’t I? We got to know each other. I enjoyed spending time with you.”
“And I did with you. However, I knew it wouldn’t last.”
“How so?”
Dorothy turned back to him.
“I expected you to seduce me into bed, take my … you know, and then you would walk away. After all, you’ve done it with everyone else, so why wouldn’t you with me? I was prepared for that to happen.” She pursed her lips. “You coming here and wanting to see me after what we did yesterday … I’m really struggling. It’s like you’ve taken all the control and left me with nothing. I don’t like it.”
Lucas felt like an awful person now. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Dorothy at all, but it appeared that she had been hurt anyway. She was expecting him to walk away now he had taken her to bed? As far as Lucas was concerned, that was not happening, and here she was wrapping herself in a cloak to get away from him.
He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.
