Page 42 of A Promising Little Scandal (Sensual Scandals)

Chapter Fifteen

Sebastian didn’t know when he’d passed such a lovely morning. He laughed so hard that it was difficult to tread water, and he knew it was the same for Calliope. Between surprise dunking attacks and splashing around throwing water at each other like a couple of children, it truly was one of the most memorable days he’d ever had.

Although his grandfather had returned to the sea and watched from a respectable distance, Sebastian didn’t miss the disgusted glares he sent their way. But there was little that could mar such a remarkable day. He was quite sure that Calliope felt the same as well, because when he walked her toward her bathing machine, her green eyes were twinkling merrily.

“I hope that look means you had fun.”

“Oh, yes!” she exclaimed with a brilliant smile that nearly took his breath away. “Olivia and I used to embark on several adventures when we were younger.” Some of the merriment faded from her gaze. “I daresay those days are gone now. I miss her terribly, but I know she is content with Miles.”

In an effort to lighten the mood, he offered a broad grin and said, “Thank goodness we aren’t prepared to make the same mistakes.”

“Indeed, not,” she returned confidently. “Today was proof that neither of us would ever be prepared to embark on a path as serious as matrimony.”

He leaned close to whisper, “It certainly is a good thing we have both eschewed those detestable vows.”

Sebastian took his leave of her as she returned to the shore. He took his time rejoining the marquess, taking long, easy strokes through the gentle waves. At one point he even decided to float on his back part of the way, just because he didn’t want his grandfather’s lovely demeanor to spoil the brilliant sun shining down on him.

Of course, everything seemed improved when Lady Calliope was around. From the first moment he’d spied her at the opera with her sisters, he’d been struck with Cupid’s arrow. Or the devil’s own lust, he wasn’t exactly sure which.

“Are you done mooning over that Bevelstroke gel?”

Sebastian sighed and went back to treading water when he faced the marquess. “I don’t moon over anyone. We were just having a bit of fun.”

His grandfather snorted. “You can deny it all you want, but I could be blind and still determine that you’re besotted.”

He rolled his eyes in return, and yet, there was a part of Sebastian that told him deep down that his grandfather was spot on. It was a bit unnerving to be sure, but not nearly so much as he imagined it might have been at one time. Perhaps maturity had made him realize that having someone to call your own and spend the rest of your days with wasn’t so terrible after all. He could certainly stand to wake up next to Calliope every day. Then again, all he had to do was recall the way his parents had died, and he was set against the matrimonial state once again.

“Even if I were,” Sebastian returned carefully. “You know that nothing would come of it.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” the marquess stated firmly. “She would not be acceptable as your viscountess.”

Seb wasn’t about to get into another argument about remaining a bachelor, but neither would he allow any further slights against the lady. “I would disagree. Her father was a duke, no matter your unfounded opinions about the man himself.”

“They are not unfounded,” he returned firmly. He kept ranting as he made his way back to the bathing machine. “I have it on good authority that he ensured he wasn’t with anyone for long. At least, no more than the time it took to turn suspicion away from his direction. But eventually, most foul deeds are uncovered.” He climbed into the box and Sebastian reluctantly joined him, taking the bench on the opposing side as the door was shut and they waited to be pulled back to shore.

“Gossip rags can hardly be considered ‘good authority,’” Seb noted dryly.

The marquess donned his shirt and paused to set his hands on his knees as he gave Seb a hard glare. “He wasn’t called ‘The Black Widower’ without due provocation.” He sniffed. “And it wasn’t any sort of print that gave me cause to doubt Marlington’s claims. It was his first wife’s sister, Lady Andrea Kontayne, that confided in your grandmother. After the demise of the duchess, she came to the house in quite a distressed state. She had been friends with Lucille for a number of years and confessed that she believed her sister hadn’t broken her neck from a fall from her horse as the duke had claimed. She said that the duchess had been an exemplary horsewoman and it just wouldn’t have happened unless something had caused the horse to react in a certain way, such as a burr in the saddle, which would have been thoroughly checked before she’d even mounted the animal.” He lifted his bushy brows. “Unless, of course, there was motive for doing so.”

For a moment, Sebastian just stared at his grandfather, and then he shook his head. “Lady Kontayne is a spinster who was always eager to spread conjecture without proper evidence to support her claims. You don’t think that grief over her sister’s death and her own desire to spread rumors to ruin the duke’s good name might not have been enough motive for her to make up these lies?”

“You call them lies,” his grandfather countered hotly, as he finished donning his clothes. “But I have no need to doubt them when Marlington buried four women within the span of a decade, who all had sizeable dowries to fill his failing coffers.”

As they rolled to a stop and the door opened onto the shoreline, the marquess took his leave. Sebastian was a bit slower to don his clothes and depart. He still didn’t feel as though the duke’s questionable past should cast any sort of dark shadow over Calliope, or any of her siblings.

And yet, why was he feeling so unnerved by what he’d been told?

Calliope decided that since she had some extra time that afternoon, she would take a walk along the Cobb. The wind was whipping, and she had only made it about halfway across the stone seawall. She had to keep one hand on her skirts and one on her bonnet at nearly all times, but it was worth it for the view she was able to gain from the journey’s end.

She made her way up the steep stone steps that the locals referred to as ‘Granny’s Teeth’ and walked along the highest point until she reached the furthest point. More than once the sea was eager to greet her with its spray, making her glad she’d kept her bathing dress on. She removed her slippers and kept them in her grasp as she sat down on the edge and let her feet dangle over the side.

She lifted her face to the calming warmth of the sun and found a slight smile had lifted her lips. She knew what it was from, of course. Although she had told herself what she’d shared with Sebastian would be a one-time occurrence, she had allowed her attraction to interfere with her common sense a second time. She was being dangerous, playing with fire, but this newfound independence as a true woman was also so wonderfully… freeing. In London, she had so many strictures placed upon her, that she had almost forgotten what it had been like to dare and try something new. She couldn’t take chances there, because there were people around every corner eager to ruin a lady’s good reputation.

But not here.

Lyme Regis had become her salvation. Between the despondency of losing not one, but two beloved sisters in quick succession, Calliope had started to feel the chains of responsibility beginning to chafe her skin. It wasn’t until boredom had chased her to the Egyptian Hall that she’d had an epiphany and decided that searching for fossils wasn’t just a way to make a name for herself, it was a way to escape. She loved Isadora as much as Minty and Livy, but the fact was they had very little in common. Isa enjoyed the outdoors and had a brilliant mind when it came to business and balancing the ledgers of household expenses. Calliope despised both. While she did like being outside, she yearned to do it with the same sort of passion that she did everything else, whereas Isa preferred the solitude to dig in a garden full of flowers and herbs and walk only to stimulate her health.

Although Calliope hated herself for thinking that she would surely wither away with only her eldest sister for companionship, she knew it would be true. She’d had to get away and she’d discovered the cure in this seaside village.

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