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She blushed further. “And you look very handsome.”

He snorted. “Doubtful. But it is nice to hear. Now…” Again, he turned her around so that they were looking in the mirror. “Are you ready for tonight?”

“Are you?”

“The ton believes that we are a most dishonest pair, hateful and spiteful and will likely be at one another’s throats all evening. It is time that we prove them wrong.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Sounds like a marriage.”

She laughed. “Some, perhaps. Certainly not ours.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The whispers started as soon as they walked into the ballroom.

“Is that the Duke of Northwick? No.”

“His Grace?”

“And the Duchess of Northwick. Hiswife.”

“I thought they hated one another.”

“I heard that she lived in a separate estate.”

“I was told that they slept in separate rooms and did not even sup together.”

“It looks as if they do more than simply sup together. Much more…”

They were coming from every direction, the words spoken so loudly and clearly. Eyes followed them. Hands did not even bother covering mouths—no attempts to soften what was said. Many simply gaped as they stepped aside to let the happy couple pass, confusion writ large on their faces because they were too shocked to hide it.

Selina beamed as she walked. She had worried before tonight that she might feel nervous or embarrassed by those who were sure to speak about her. That she would spend the night looking down at her feet, shrinking in on herself, even hiding behind her husband’s large frame so that she might not be seen.

She knew what people said about her husband. She knew what theythoughtabout him. And while her status was concerned, those thoughts would surely vacillate between pity and disbelief. How could she be with someone like him? And what must he have threatened her with to make her act this way?

As things turned out, nothing could have been further from the truth.

“You would think that they would not be so obvious about it,” she spoke out the side of her mouth as she and Benedict walked deeper into the ballroom.

“I am surprised they are being as subtle as they are.”

She laughed and squeezed his hand. “What were you expecting? That they might tar and feather you on sight?”

“At least that way, we would know where we stand.” His eyes darted about nervously—he was clearly having a harder time of this than she was.

“Oh, I know where we stand.”

He frowned. “Care to share it with me? Or do I need to guess?”

She looked at him, her smile as warm as it was genuine. “They are jealous, Benedict. Look at them…” She nodded her head in the direction of a group of ladies who stood huddled together, staring and whispering and sneering. “They cannot believe what we have and are now wondering why they do not have it also.”

“What we have?” He cleared his throat. “You mean… what we are pretending to have.”

“Yes,” she said a little too quickly, cursing under her breath, as she had not given herself a chance to suggest anything else. “Of course, that is what I meant. But they do not need to know it. As far as they are concerned, our marriage is real, and their lives, by comparison, are less than worth living.”

He laughed, seeming to relax. “We do seem to have them fooled, don’t we?”