Page 77 of The Lyon Whisperer
He paid her no heed.
Something told her when her husband advised her to behave with the utmost discretion, he did not have a private tete-a-tete between her and his close friend on a remote terrace in mind. She attempted to dig in her slippers, but the soft leather soles made no purchase on the polished marble.
He wrapped one strong hand around her upper arm and pulled her outside into the moonlit night. Once there, he released her but blocked her path back inside.
“How dare you, sir.” She rubbed the aggrieved skin. “Kindly step aside.”
“Aren’t you the least bit interested in what I wish to say?”
“No, I am not.”
“I beg of you. Indulge me, madame? I have only your best interest at heart.”
She glanced around her. Unless she wanted to leap the railing and scramble through hedges to reach the lawn, she had no real choice in the matter.
“Very well. Go on, but do be quick about it.” She made no effort to hide her irritation.
He sent her a slow smile and edged closer.
She stepped back.
He took her hands in both of his. “First, my sympathies.” He held fast to her fingers when she would have snatched her hands free.
“I beg your pardon, sir?”
“I know it cannot have been your fondest aspiration to marry Culver.”
Anger snapped through her and, with effort, she pulled her hands from his grasp. “If this is your idea of a joke, I must tell you, I do not find it funny.”
“Not at all. I know it’s going about that the two of you had a long courtship, but I know that to be patently untrue.”
“You opinion is entirely your prerogative, sir,” she said coolly.
“If you’d endured his presence for months on end, his true nature would surely have driven you off. You see, I know your husband very well. As I said, we attended school together, both Eton and Oxford.”
“A moment ago, you claimed friendship.”
“A small stretch of the truth. However, my wife and hewereclose friends. Did you know the two planned to wed? At least that is what Culver led her to believe.”
“I do not know what you are trying to imply. I do know it was you who married her, quite without warning as I understand.”
He smiled. “Ah. Good. It comforts me to know you have your eyes open and seek to know the truth ofLord Culver.” He finished on a sneer.
“Lord Tully, I will not stand here and listen to you slander my husband. Kindly return me to my friends. I expect my father has joined the group and will be searching for me.” She had no reason to think so but felt saying so strengthened her position.
His green-gold eyes glittered with intense emotion. “Not until you hear me out. Yes, as you say, I married Culver’s intended, but I did it because of the predicament your husband put her in.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“She was an innocent. Culver seduced her by convincing her he loved her, then afterward cast her aside. She came to me, distraught. I spoke to Culver on her behalf. I told him he should do the right thing by her. He refused.”
“I see. At which time, you stepped in and married her yourself?”
“Someone had to do the honorable thing.”
“Even if that’s true, what good does telling me now do?”
He sent her a beseeching look. “I merely wanted you to understand my stake in this. There’s more I need to tell you.”
