Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (166 page)

190

Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

there was no viable explanation. Surely she wouldn't have to return to her uncle's home? She wouldn't be safe there for a moment and all this would have been for naught.

'If Julia and I were engaged,' Paine offered slowly, giving the impression that they were hearing his thoughts the instant he thought them, 'we could say I wanted her to meet my family and get to know them without the bother of commuting between homes, that I wanted her to spend as much time at Dursley House as possible with my Aunt Lily, since Aunt Lily will be handling the

of the wedding plans.'

It wasn't a perfect explanation, but it was all they had and it did make sense. After all, Julia's aunt and uncle didn't move in the same lofty circles as the Earl of Dursley. Commuting between the grand town house of the earl and the shabby, only marginally acceptable neighbourhood occupied by Julia's family could be viewed as commuting between levels in the social hier-archy and that was awkward for everyone in the
ton.

'Julia's presence at Dursley House suggests that my marriage has my brother's full support and, by consequence, that Julia has my brother's full support,' Paine said, his conviction growing as his thoughts came together.

'Well,' Beth said hesitantly, 'it might work, but people will still look askance at the speed of such a declaration.'

'If they do, I doubt they'd dare to speak such a thing out loud. Peyton here will burn their reputation to a cinder,'

Paine said

but knowing very well that Peyton

held power amongst the
ton
and few dared to cross him.

Scott

'I believe Paine is right in this case, Beth. If people believe I support the match, they might question in private, but won't dare to breathe a scandalous word in public,' Peyton averred. 'Now that's settled, I think we should proceed to dinner and celebrate an engagement.'

'It's just pretend,' Julia blurted out.

'Don't let anyone hear you say that. Our success depends on our believability,' Paine scolded and Julia sensed the scold was not a tease. He was in dead earnest, as they all were.

That decided it. She had to put a stop to these mad schemes. They risked too much for her and she was cognisant of it to the extreme.

'I cannot let you all do this. It is too much to ask and it is not your concern, not really. I never meant for this to go so far.' Julia turned to Paine. 'Paine, you are chivalrous to a fault and for that, I relieve you of all obligation with my thanks.'

She saw his jaw tighten as she swept past him to the door, but to his credit he did not explode. To her surprise, he actually let her leave the library and make it up to her room. It was disappointing, but for the best. She'd expected him to rant or at the very least follow her upstairs and make an effort to protest her request. But he did none of those things. Yet. Or, perhaps like her, he would soon realise just how out of control things had got and that severing ties with her was in his better interest.

Fourteen

Julia folded a few gowns back into the tissue paper and placed them in the trunk she'd so recently unpacked. When she'd gone downstairs to give Paine the note, she'd known the missive's contents would dictate their return to London. But she had not planned to so abruptly sever her ties with Paine. Then again, she had not known the full danger of her situation. She bent over the trunk and heard the door open behind her.

'Obligation has nothing to do with it,'

drawled.

'You

relieve me from that which was never a duty.'

Julia turned from the trunk, summoning her resolve.

She couldn't extricate herself from this web, but she could set Paine free. Her growing feelings for him dictated she do as much. 'Don't do this, Paine.'

'Don't do what?' Paine lounged in the doorway, leaning against the white frame and

somewhat

intimidating in his maleness in her feminine abode.

Scott

'Don't confuse reality with fantasies and suppositions,' Julia said meaningfully.

'Perhaps you're the one doing that,' Paine returned, coming to take the clothes she held from her hands. 'The reality is that you are in very real peril from Oswalt in every way possible, both physically and socially. The fantasy is that you think you can go back to London alone and manage to untangle his deceits.'