Page 46 of Ironvine

“I do remember your finding my insistence rather irritating once upon a time.”

“I did. But that was because your relentless pursuit of the truth would shed a merciless light on my lies and my vanity.”

“I never meant to be merciless,” she said softly.

“I’m glad you were.” His thumb stroked her soft skin, his gaze landing on those generous lips of hers. Fetching lips. Sensual lips. He let her go.

“Now that William is dead, I wonder how Amanda will react. Of course, she and William must have argued terribly, but she was not her usual poised self when I saw her.”

“How do you mean?”

“She’d had quite a lot to drink, and her face was not only flushed for it but bruised.”

“Bruised?”

“Yes. She was still in her dressing gown, her hair wild. She spoke quite frankly with me about men and marriage. To school me.”

“Bloody hell.”

“When I told her that Hugh and I were engaged and that I was concerned for his and your safety, she became sharp with me. Taunting me in her way. Of course, I quickly realised the reason for the duel was that William had caught her out with one of you, and at first I wasn’t sure which one of you it was.”

“It seems Amanda and Hugh have been carrying on these past weeks.”

“Did you know?”

“No idea. Felt like an utter fool.”

“A jealous fool?”

“God, no, not that. Because I knew nothing about it.”

“She seemed quite taken with him. Will Hugh continue on with her, I wonder?”

“Georgina—”

“It’s all right. I am not shocked. I have no illusions about Hugh. At the ball, I didn’t see him as my dream prince or a great love. He was only my perfect solution in a very handsome package.”

“Not afraid of the sordid truth, Miss Townsend?”

“I prefer the truth, even if it is sordid,” Georgina replied. “Do you think he might want to marry her now? Could he—”

“That is impossible. Before you arrived at Hyde Park, he was quite adamant about preserving your engagement. He didn’t seem attached to her in any way. If even I was unaware of their dalliance, I should hope it was not known.”

“William found out,” she said.

“Now he’s gone.”

“Now Hugh is angry with me.”

“You challenged him with the truth, and he was taken by surprise. You see? Merciless.”

She only laughed softly.

“At that very moment, he had no control over you, and he reacted in a panic.”

“He does like to have full mastery of a situation, does he not?”

“I am certain that once he calms down and you assure him that nothing has changed for you—”

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