Page 37 of In Compromise with the Earl
“And you have no desire to be with him?” Lady Pandora replied.
“I would like not to be within fifty feet of him,” Aphrodite said. “He mentioned that we could still court for other reasons but for being suited with each other. I cannot abide by that. I want to marry for love and companionship, not for money and status.”
“I must say, you’ve left me in a bind,” Lady Pandora sighed. “I thought you two would reconcile your differences and see how fortunate it would be to marry—but I was wrong.”
“Very,” Aphrodite looked into her tea. “I knew from the first time we met, and I know it ever more now. Anyone who wants to have him, can happily run off to the matrimonial parson with my blessing.”
“Well, you still have a few other matches,” Lady Pandora surmised. “Will you make those work?”
“Maybe it was a mistake coming here,” Aphrodite said. “It seems that the men who want me are not the ones who spark anything inside me, and the one who does is told to keep away. Maybe I am ill-fated in love, or even luck for that matter.”
“No, you are not,” Lady Pandora said. “It might take a while, but you will, we will, find the one for you. I don’t want you to leave until we have.”
“Just give up, Lady Pandora,” Aphrodite sighed while pushing the cup away. “I’m too much of anoriginalto marry into a traditional family and that’s most Lords here.”
“There are many progressive Lords who would love to marry you,” Lady Pandora replied.
“With the scandal attached to my name?” she asked. “I hardly think so.”
“Others have worse scandals but that does not stop them from having a profitable relationship,” Lady Pandora said.
Quirking a brow, Aphrodite asked, “Two scandals make a right match?”
“No, but—” Lady Pandora shook her head. “All I am asking is that you don’t give up on finding a good marriage.”
Rising, Aphrodite said, “I can’t think about this anymore. I need to go rest.”
“Yes,” Lady Pandora replied. “In the meantime, I must speak with His Grace.”
“My best wishes on that,” Aphrodite said on her way out.
Heading to her chamber, she paused at the base of the stairs and looked to the West Wing where the men resided. If worse came to worst, she only had Oswald to help—but with things so undecided between them, would he help?
Chapter Thirteen
Walking into the rarely used library, Oswald happened upon Aphrodite playing a game of chess against herself. He paused and watched as she toppled a Rook with a Bishop and scowled at herself. He saw her mistake—she had left her King open to attack.
A smirk tugged at his lips as she moved her Queen to protect him, putting her other King in peril. He cocked his head and waited for her to decide which King was going to fall first.
“Are you going to stand there all day and smirk at me?” she muttered without looking from the board.
“Who is winning?” Oswald said.
“I cannot tell,” she sighed. “I know me too much to outsmart me.”
After replacing the book, he had borrowed days ago onto a shelf, Oswald said, “You aren’t like other ladies your age.”
Her lashes swept down, and her shoulders sagged. Before he could apologize for insulting her, she said, “I know. I can’t help it.”
“Being different isn’t a bad thing,” he said, taking a seat across from her. There were two sides to her, the bold and daring one, and this one—the vulnerable side—and he liked both aspects. “Being the same is passé.”
She gave him a thin smile. “Would you like a game?”
“Why are you not out with the others?” he asked. “Aren’t there some bonding activities at the lake?”
“I’d ask you the same but watching a Lord row across the lake to fetch a hidden treasure for a Lady is not interesting to me,” she said. “Besides, His Disgrace is there, and I want no interaction with him.”
Oswald’s eyes tightened. “What happened?”
