Page 17 of The Lady Loves A Scandal

“I will meet you—“

“No, I will come to your house.”

“You cannot.” Gideon vehemently shook his head. It was too risky for Sybil to be seen at his home—scandal notwithstanding. What if the impressment hunters had tracked Charles and Gideon to London? What if the Admiralty Court sided against Charles and came to collect Gideon as a treasonous man?

“Why ever not?” she demanded, her annoyance flaring once more.

Bloody hell but he’d missed her, far more than even he realized. She challenged him, pushed him to the limits of society’s edicts, and had him questioning even his own decisions. How could he turn her away?

“Please, Sybil.” Gideon closed his eyes to banish the images of Sybil arriving after nightfall on his stoop. She’d ask to enter, and he’d be helpless to refuse. “Things are not what they once were. We are no longer a courted pair. All of London is abuzz with news of your coming betrothal to another.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say the man’s name aloud.

“It was not my decision to encourage Garwood’s interest.” Sybil pushed past Gideon toward the trail leading back to the walking path. “Nor will I entertain the courtship any further, my lord.”

Without another word, Sybil started down the path, using her parasol as a walking stick as she jabbed the pointed tip into the ground, matching the stomp of her booted feet. Gideon might have been amused with her display of irritation, perhaps even called her back to make things right; however, it was not within his power to right anything.

He could not confess where he’d been all these months.

He could not tell her why she could not come to his home as she’d done so many times before.

He could do nothing but promise his love for her, and pray that one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, he would be free to explain everything.

The upward tilt of her chin as she marched out of view sent a shiver of unease coursing down Gideon’s back. If there was one thing he’d learned about Lady Sybil Anson, it was that when she set her mind to something, her determination knew no bounds.

Gideon counted the long seconds until half an hour had passed since Sybil fled.

No matter what Sybil said, Gideon was aware that Lord Litchfield had an aversion to scandal, and if Gideon sought to court Sybil once more, it would serve him well to keep both his name and Sybil’s above reproach.

Sybil had courted scandal more times than she’d had suitors.

But her ruination would not come by his hand.

Chapter 5

30 March 1816

The lady loves a scandal. I assure you, my dearest readers, nothing can be closer to the truth about the Earl of Lichfield’s sister. Many say it can only be attributed to her upbringing in France. After all, the French certainly have a way with theatrical wiles. Why ever would Lady Sybil put an end to the Duke of Garwood’s courtship unless she had hopes of Lord Galway coming to heel?

~Lady X

You cannot do this, Silas,” Sybil shouted, the windowpanes rattling in their casing. “You are a brute, a scoundrel, a beetled-headed buffoon!”

“Sybil,” Lady Lichfield hissed, setting her wine goblet on the table next to her. “That is not necessary.”

Despite her sister-in-law’s admonishment, Sybil kept her narrowed stare pinned on her eldest brother where he sat behind his desk, a fortunate place for him to rest else Sybil was likely to throw a punch at his perfectly sculpted jaw. The room spun around her, the warmth of the hearth heating her skin as the pungent aroma of cigars burned her nose.

Silas scrubbed at this face before lifting his stare to hers, his expression mirroring Sybil’s narrowed glare. “You gave me no other option.”

“France, truly?” Sybil demanded.

“We will be coming with you,” Mallory insisted. “It will be a family adventure. My first trip to Paris. And I think Slade is amenable to the journey, as well.”

“Only because his mounting gambling debts will see him in debtor’s prison before the year is out.” Sybil could not believe anything that had happened since she returned from Hyde Park. Determined to speak with Silas, she’d gone immediately to his study, only to have her path blocked by her sister-in-law. “Slade can do whatever he pleases, but when I desire something, I am reprimanded and sent away.”

“You are not being sent away, Sybil.” Mallory stood, moving toward her, but Sybil sidestepped the woman’s touch. The last thing she needed was her sister-in-law getting one of her premonitions and sending Silas into a fit once more. “We will travel to Paris to visit your mother. Do you not miss her?”

“Missing my mother has nothing to do with this, and you both rightly know it.” When Silas arched one brow high, Sybil knew she would let Silas win if she didn’t get control of her anger. With a deep breath, Sybil calmed herself and started once more, “As I was saying, it is not my fault that Garwood has cried off. There was no official announcement, and the lord was a stuffy braggadocio anyways. He was more interested in hearing himself talk than listening to anything I had to say.”