Page 56 of Under the Seductive Ladys Charm
There was only one thing that bothered Graham more than thoughts of Miss Browne and Lord Stanhope. That was how to tell his sister, who was set upon Lord Stanhope herself, that the man was not what he seemed. As much as Graham was satisfied to learn he was exactly as he had thought him, convincing Amanda was a completely different problem.
Amanda had a good chance at finding a suitable match, but she seemed wholly fixated on the degenerate Lord Stanford. Graham wished for once his sister would see reason and abandon her quest just this once.
A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. “Come in,” he called as he drew himself out of his revelry.
Amanda entered all flashy eyes and flushed cheeks. “What is this I hear of you manhandling Lord Stanhope? The maids are all atwitter about it. They say you threatened him!”
Her voice rose with every word and Graham lifted his hand to halt his sister’s onslaught. Amanda fell silent but her hands were balled into fists, as if the act took considerable will to do so.
Graham cleared his throat. “The maids are correct in that I had to have Lord Stanhope removed from the house. He was drunk and quite belligerent.”
“You probably fed him too much brandy to make him act so horribly.” Amanda stared Graham down.
Graham shrugged. “You may feel how you wish about it. I simply could not stand by and allow him to insult you and Miss Browne.”
“Insult me? And why on earth would he care about Charlotte?” Amanda’s nose flared with her words.
Graham knew she was furious with him, but he continued calmly. “He made use of the rumour and implied that he would take her as a mistress. It was insulting to you both, Amanda. He did not speak kindly.”
“And no doubt you had no hand in making him make such declarations?” Amanda folded her arms and paced back and forth.
Graham sighed and leaned back in his chair. “No one ever makes Lord Stanhope do anything. You should know that having been around him. Why would I try to make him insult you?”
“He did not insult me. He insulted Charlotte,” Amanda howled. “She put herself into that situation, Graham.”
Graham shook his head at Amanda. “I put her in that situation as I was the one who insisted that we rest for the night. I should have the scandal upon me, Amanda, not the other way around.”
“That is so typical of you, Graham.” Amanda raised her arms in exasperation. “I will admit that I do not like the idea of a husband of mine taking on a mistress, but you know as well as I do that men do that sort of thing.”
Graham hit the desk with his palm. “Not to my sister! I would not do such a thing to a wife of mine, and I will not suffer a brother-in-law of mine to do so either.”
“And there it is,” Amanda declared grandly. “There is the reason I shall forever be doomed to be alone. No one will ever live up to your impossible standards, Brother.”
Graham knew that Amanda was going to be hard-headed, but she was proving herself even more stubborn than Graham had thought. “I should think that you would be more mindful of your reputation, Amanda, since you are so stern with Miss Browne over her indiscretion. A man who would talk so openly about mistresses before he even weds you certainly cannot have your best interest at heart.”
“Anyone can make a mistake while deep in their drink. I do not hold such indiscretions against him.” Amanda held her chin up high. “You should not look down on others so. You proclaim that you made a mistake with Miss Browne, but you did so quite sober, Graham. Can you not show some leniency?”
The set of Amanda’s jaw told Graham that he may not be able to escape from telling her of the story Miss Browne had relayed to him. Graham grimaced as he began, “There is more that I had hoped to spare you. However, since you seem unwilling to believe my statements on their own, you have left me little choice.” Graham drew in a breath and folded his hands on top of his desk. “Miss Browne came by here earlier to inform you out of a sense of friendship that Lord Stanhope had come to her and proposed marriage.”
Amanda’s mouth dropped open. “Surely you do not believe her,” Amanda said haughtily. “She is clearly vengeful after my rebuke of her at Lord Stanhope’s tea party.”
“Is it really so hard to imagine that men such as Lord Stanhope might lie about affections if it benefitted them?” Graham sighed at his obstinate sister. “Please try to be reasonable.
The tears welled up in her eyes and Amanda turned away momentarily. When she turned back she exclaimed through clenched teeth. “He did not lie. His affections for me were genuine!”
“I cannot convince you otherwise?” Graham had known Amanda might be bull-headed over it, but to take such a hard stance did not seem logical. Perhaps Amanda held more fascination for the young man than Graham had thought.
Amanda shook her head. “Save your words, Brother. I will listen to no more from you. Lord Stanhope and I will run away together, and you can rot here with your high ideals!” Amanda spun on her heel and was out of the room before Graham could say anything else.
Graham stared at the door for a long moment before he rubbed his face. “Fine mess I made of that,” he grumbled.
*
Amanda dashed down the steps of the manor. She fumed at the audacity of her brother. Did he think that her emotions were so easily swayed?
Was it a test of her strength of character? Amanda shoved the idea away. Not even Graham was that much of an imbecile. Besides, she knew that Lord Stanhope would never betray her. He loved her. He had told her so. She gathered her skirts and walked toward the stables. “Boy,” she called.
One of the stable lads appeared at the door and peered at her as if he had gone dull in the head. “Yes, Miss?”
