Page 26 of The Rake's Daughter
“I do.”
“Then why are you trying to ruin her chance of making a good marriage?”
She frowned. “I’m not. It is my dearest wish that she find a husband who will love and care for her.”
“She won’t if you’re with her all the time.”
She shook her head. “Despite the impression you may have gained of her, Clarissa is very shy, particularly in large groups of people. Having me with her will—”
“Will distract all attention away from her onto you.”
“Because of my irregular birth, you mean?”
“Yes, but as if that isn’t enough of a disadvantage, there’s also the way you look.”
Izzy bristled and glanced down at her dress. “What’s wrong with the way I look?”
His eyes turned to slits of steel. “There’s nothing wrong,” he grated. “Except that no man will look at Miss Studley if he sees you first. She’s not precisely an antidote, but—”
“How dare you! Clarissa isnotan antidote!”
“I never said she was, but she’ll give the impression of one if you’re standing next to her. Come, come,” he said impatiently. “Enough of this false modesty. You must know that you outshine her in every way. And even without your irregular birth, if you appeared in public with her, Miss Studley wouldn’t stand a chance of attracting an eligible connection.”
Izzy frowned, racked with sudden doubt. Could thatpossibly be true? No, she would not think so negatively. “You seem to forget that Clarissa is an heiress. Even apart from that, you might not think she has any beauty, but she has—and she also has a loyal and loving heart, which is worth more than physical beauty, which is only skin deep after all. And the right man will see that. The right man will not care about her fortune one way or the other.”
“Don’t pretend to be so naive. You know as well as I do that her fortune is her only real asset.”
“Only to men like you, who cannot see past the nose on your face.”
He snorted. Through the nose on his face.
She glared at him. “I intend to see that my sister marries a man who truly loves her, not some fellow who will marry her for her money and not appreciate her finer qualities.”
“Oh, that’s your purported reasoning, is it? And of course there is nothing in it for you,” he said sardonically.
“Are you stupid? Of course there’s something in it for me. I want my sister to be happy, but I also want that for myself. Why wouldn’t I? Whyshouldn’tI?”
He simply looked at her, as expressionless as a rock. “What are you angling for?”
“Angling for?”
His voice was hard; his eyes were harder. “You know exactly what I mean; what is it you want to achieve by entering society? Access to rich men? To find a protector? You don’t need to enter the ton for that.”
Izzy was shocked and then furious, so furious that for a moment she couldn’t speak. “ ‘A protector’? You think I want to set myself up as acourtesan?”
She itched to slap him, but she wasn’t going to let him goad her into it. She managed to draw a deep breath and say with some semblance of composure, though her voice shook with anger, “No, Lord Salcott, I amnotlooking for a protector.”
There was a long silence. He watched her with narrowed eyes, then said, “I see I was mistaken.”
“You most certainly were.” She waited for an apology, but it didn’t come.
“Nevertheless...” He rose abruptly. “I’ve made my position clear. I was warned about who pulls the strings in this relationship, so it’s up to you now. If you care for your half sister at all, you will convince her to make the right decision. Think it over, Miss Burton. I will speak to you both again in an hour. My aunt should have finished her nap by then. I have an announcement to make that affects you all.” And with that he marched away, his boots crunching on the crushed limestone pathway.
“MissStudley!” she called after him. She’d beenchristenedthat, curse his stubbornness.
She glared after him, fuming. He was smug, self-satisfied, arrogant and wrong!
Imagining she wanted to set up as a courtesan! The nerve of the man!
