Page 82 of How to Start a Scandal

‘Yes, William. My brother.’ The weight in his soul lightened with a thread of hope. ‘Was the man not William?’ he asked slowly.

‘No,’ she said softly. ‘He was...’ She scrunched her eyes shut. ‘Lord Fordson.’

Fordson.

Seth knew something of the man. He was a year younger than himself, a foppish profligate who was far too pretty for his own good with a silver tongue that’d eased his passage under many skirts. It did not strike Seth as uncharacteristic that Fordson would stoop to debauch an earl’s daughter.

‘Why would you not say?’ Seth asked.

‘I told you why,’ Violet cried. ‘It was hard enough to be honest with you about the one moment I ruined my entire life. To give you details—it felt so sordid. It made me feel too exposed. Too vulnerable.’

‘I’m apparently a complete fool.’ He leaned his head back in frustration at himself. ‘I assumed it was William since he would have been in such close proximity to you and with his penchant for debauching ladies...’

Violet cast him an incredulous stare. ‘Your brother? Truly?’

‘He had syphilis,’ Seth explained. He didn’t stop there, he detailed the whole of it. William being placed in an institution to protect women and even what happened with Mr Pattinson and the jewels. ‘It is why I asked you questions about it,’ he concluded. ‘Please do forgive me.’

Violet nodded slowly. ‘I had no idea.’

‘My mother...’ Seth sighed. ‘She tried to tell me something about William and you. I thought...’ He ran his hand through his hair with irritation at himself.

‘William tried to flirt with me on several occasions,’ Violet confessed. ‘But he was not the brother I wanted.’

‘Wanted.’ Seth lifted his brows. ‘Still want?’

Violet looked down, not with anger, but with a shy demur. His heart skipped a beat. Seth took her hand in his and loosened her arm from its tight grip around her torso. ‘I am not perfect. I have not led a perfect life. And clearly I have a penchant for speaking before I think. I don’t deserve you, Violet, but I hope to God you are willing to take me anyway.’

She bit her lip. ‘Are you...?’

‘Proposing? Yes.’ He sank to his knees before her. ‘I love you, Violet. I was too daft to realise it before I very nearly lost you. But, looking back, I’ve always felt this way. The reason I never said goodbye to you before joining the army, the reason I never danced with you the night of your debut, was because I was a coward. I loved you and it scared me witless.’ He took her hand in his. ‘The only thing that frightens me now is the possibility of losing you.’

Tears swam in her eyes.

‘Marry me, Violet.’ He kissed the back of her hand. ‘Please.’

She put her free hand to her mouth and gave a little sob. He hoped it was one of joy.

‘You do deserve me,’ she whispered. ‘You see imperfection in yourself and find so much wanting. But I see you as you are, Seth. You are brave and you are strong, far more so than I think you’ll ever realise.’

Seth swallowed hard. She wouldn’t say these things to him if she didn’t believe him. She’d never been a woman for idle talk. If she saw these things in him, he would not contradict her. But he would spend a lifetime proving her right.

‘Do you mean...?’ He lifted his brows, wanting her to say it.

She nodded. ‘Yes. Yes, I will marry you.’

Yes.

Had ever so small a word held such visceral impact?

He leapt up and swept her into his arms. Lady Violet Lavell, soon-to-be Violet Dalton, his wife.

Even as he held her to him, even as he longed for nothing more than to kiss her and touch her, he swore to himself he would not be alone with her until they were wed. He had abused her trust and would do anything to get it back, for it was not lost on him that she had not returned his sentiments of love.

The hollowness inside his chest filled that moment with a promise—to himself and to her: to spend every day being the man she thought him to be. To be fully and completely worthy of her love.

Chapter Twenty-Three

A special licence was procured to minimise the wait for marrying and to allow them to wed in Violet’s home. The morning of their wedding had arrived in the blink of an eye only days later.