Page 95 of The Scoundrel's Daughter
“Perhaps, but not if they’re gentlemen. I should have said a gentleman cannothonorablybreak his word. A gentleman’s promise—his word of honor—is the foundation of his status as a gentleman.” Seeing her skepticism, he continued, “That’s why gambling debts between gentlemen are called ‘debts of honor’—and are paid before any other kind of debt. It’s also why being caught cheating at cards will result in a gentleman being expelled from his club, disgraced in society and, in some cases, banished by their family to another country.”
“What about ladies? Isn’t a lady’s word of honor just as important?”
“No, ladies aren’t expected to keep promises. Being the weaker sex, it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.”
She bristled. She hated that term, the “weaker sex”, but she’d struggled with enough lustful lords to know it was true enough, physically, at least. It had been her brains and agility that had kept her safe, not her physical strength, not to mention her willingness to kick a man in his cods—a strategy taught to her by the father planning his absence. “You’re saying that women have no sense of honor?”
“Y—no, well, not exactly. It’s just, girls are raised differently and not taught about—I mean, there’s no blame—” He was getting more and more tangled. “It’s not what I believe, but it is how the world sees it.”
The idea that only she could call off the betrothal because women were regarded as indecisive ninnyhammers was insulting. But she didn’t have to like it. There weremany aspects of society she didn’t like. “So what you’re saying is that once our betrothal is announced, I can call it off, but you can’t?”
“Exactly.”
There was a short silence while she thought it over. “You’d be taking a big risk, wouldn’t you? What if I didn’t call it off?”
“I’d be relying on your sense of honor.” His eyes glinted with wry humor. “Not to mention your well-known antipathy to marrying a lord.”
This suggestion of his, coming out of the blue, on the one hand seemed like a clear and simple solution. On the other, it worried her.
All the time she’d known Lord Thornton, they’d been at daggers drawn. But tonight, not only had he gone out of his way to apologize—and she was sure that didn’t come easily to a man of his pride—now he was proposing. All right, so it was only a pretend betrothal, but just days ago he’d been certain she was in league with her blackmailing father. And now he was relying on her so-called honor not to trap him into marriage? She didn’t trust such an instant about-face.
“Why would you do such a thing? Be willing to put yourself in my hands?”
He met her gaze squarely. “Aunt Alice was very good to me as a child. She’s my favorite relative. My parents have done nothing to help her since her husband died. Now she’s in trouble, and I’m determined to help her however I can.”
He sounded sincere. She was inclined to believe him. Almost.
The idea was tempting. A public betrothal to a viscount who was also heir to an earldom might just bring Papa out of the woodwork. And save Alice from any further distress.
“And you would trust me to break the betrothal?”
“I would. But I should also warn you that if you did, there might be unpleasant repercussions for you. You’d need to be prepared for that.”
She knew it. Because people would be furious that a girl of no background had played fast and loose with the son of an earl. “I don’t care. I never set out to hook a husband in the first place. It was all Papa’s idea.”
He frowned. “The idea of social disgrace doesn’t worry you?”
She shrugged. “They’re not my people.” She’d never belonged anywhere, so being pushed out of the ton would be nothing new. She’d miss Alice, though, and Lord Tarrant’s little girls. And Penny Peplowe and some of the other friends she’d made. Thinking about it, it occurred to her that she’d made more friends than she’d realized.
Oh well, it was a risk she’d have to take. No matter what society believed, women did have honor, and she owed it to Alice to free her from Papa’s entrapment.
Emerging from her reflections, she looked up to see Lord Thornton regarding her with a curious expression. “Who are your people?”
“Gypsies, who do you think?” She had no “people.” Only Papa.
He eyed her shrewdly, but all he said was, “So, do you agree that a false betrothal is the solution to our problems?”
She took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll do it. And there’s no need to worry—I promise you that I won’t hold you to it. If you can believe the promises of a blackmailer’s daughter, that is.”
“I have every faith in your honor,” he said softly, and for some reason she felt herself tearing up. She turned away, blinking furiously.
He went on in a brisk voice. “I’ll put notices in theMorning Postand theGazette. Shall we keep it quiet until then, or would you like me to arrange an announcement tonight, at this ball?”
His mother was at the ball, Lucy recalled. She’d be bound to make a horrid fuss—a public fuss—and she’dblame Alice. “No, let’s keep it secret until the announcement in the papers.”
He nodded. “Just don’t tell Alice it’s a false betrothal.”
“But—”
