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Dammit!
What was I to do?
Would she speak of this to anyone?
Or, worse, would she use it to hurt Theodore?
The fear rose in me until she spoke.
“Has he taken advantage of you?” she asked lowly. “You must tell me honestly. I cannot save you if you do not.”
Save me? “I need no saving from him.”
“You may not—”
“He has done nothing except help me, be kind to me, and care for me. Nothing beyond what you saw has taken place.”
“What I saw was already far too much. How could he—”
I stopped and glared at her. “You do not know him. He’s warned me a great many times that I ought to be careful, and he always tries to distance himself. It was I who took his hand and asked him to come with me. Please do not cause any trouble. Please.”
She looked at me with surprise.
“Verity!”
I turned to see Damon and his valet calling out to me. Again, I looked at her and begged, “Please.”
“Verity, are you all right? We lost sight of you before the rain,” Damon exclaimed as he reached me.
“Yes, I do believe that was my fault. I wished to speak with her, and then we were caught in the rain.” Lady Whitmear smiled as she looked at him. “Do tell your mother I apologize for any fear her absence may have caused.”
“Thank you for seeing to her, Lady…” his voice trailed off, as he clearly did not know her.
“Lady Whitmear,” she said, and his eyes widened.
“Of course, forgive me.” He bowed his head and then looked at me and offered his arm. “Thank you, once more.”
“Thank you, your ladyship.” I curtsied, only now remembering my manners.
“Do take care, Lady Verity,” she said, and it only made the dread in my heart increase. Theodore had not followed us, and I could only imagine what his feelings were. If someone had caused my stepmother to have unimpeachable evidence against me, I would want to fall into a hole and never return.
Verity, you idiot!
20
Theodore
“What happened?” Henry asked, coming up beside me.
“Nothing I need to—”
“Bullshit,” he snapped, getting in front of me. “I saw—it’s Lady Verity? Is she the one you—”
I grabbed his arm tightly. “You followed us in the rain?”
“I was not following you,” he replied as he yanked back. “I was following Sir Grisham, who was following you.”
“Fuck!” I hollered. Had all the world come to witness this moment?
“Calm yourself. I stopped him,” Henry said. “He did not see. I only went to fetch you both before anyone else did. However, by the time I reached where I thought you had gone, I saw Lady Whitmear with her instead.”
It brought little relief to me. She had seen too much…for we had done and gone too far. I had known it was only a matter of time before we were caught. And yet even still I had not stopped myself.
“What will you do?”
“I do not know yet, but I have to speak to Lady Whitmear.” More like I had to grovel as if my life depended on it because Verity’s life did.
“I shall meet you at the inn later.”
I said not a word and walked to her carriage. I knew the one, as it had my father’s family crest upon it. I did not know what to feel, but I was not thinking of myself. Whatever she wanted of me, I would do it. I would do anything so long as she did not damage Verity’s reputation in any way. That was my biggest fear. She was not at all to blame. She was merely reveling in her newfound feelings. I was the older party, so I was the one who should have known better. This was my fault.
“Theodore.”
I glanced up to see Lady Whitmear as she arrived before bowing my head once again. “Your ladyship.”
“Ride with me,” she said as her coachman moved to open the door.
I waited for her to enter before following. It was only when the doors closed again that the words all but spilled out of me.
“I beg of you, say nothing of it to anyone. Not for my sake, but hers. I cannot have her reputation—”
“Clearly you knew the risks, and still, you did not stop?” she snapped at me. “Have I been mistaken in your character this whole time? Are you so devious as to plot to ruin this young woman?”
“It was no plot!”
“Then what could ever make you think to act this way? To…to embrace in a public manner, during the day, no less. Any number of people could have seen you both! You could have destroyed that girl’s whole future in an instant. What were you thinking of if not to ruin her?”
“I was not thinking!” I snapped in return. “I can hardly ever think around her. You are right. I knew the risk. I wished to abide by propriety, and yet I find myself before her always! For once, I wanted…”
