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He had never been the sort to act in such a way, not with anyone. He was not a rake, and if anything, she had almost seemed to want the ruin. She was going to take him down with her, and he was more than happy to allow her to. It was all well and good until she was gone again, and he realized that he would not be salvageable if he did not make a conscious effort to change.

Drowning his sorrows in whiskey was not a change, not in the slightest, but it was something. He needed to forget about her, no matter the consequences, even if those consequences entailed finding some drunkard slurring his speech and offering to marry his daughter. The gentleman did not ask him for a rank or title, and Colin certainly did not offer it to him. If anything would turn a father away from marrying his daughter off, it would be a man with scandal such as his own hanging over him.

At least whoever the poor young lady was, becoming a duchess would be better than being her father’s daughter. Then he would be a husband, and he would have no choice but to stay on the straight and narrow. It was as infallible as a plan can be.

Thenshewas in front of him again.

“You,” he said, fortunately quietly.

“Girls,” the father said, “this is… My sincerest apologies, Sir.”

“The Duke of Abaddon,” Colin answered for him, bowing and greeting the two of them.

Both ladies had a very different reaction to him. The older one, Lady Diana, scowled at him, making him feel most unwelcome, although he could hardly blame her. He was not a welcome visitor in her home and given the circumstances, he understood such a position. Lady Samantha, however, seemed to cower, as if afraid of him.

Clearly, one of the sisters had heard about his reputation.

“Go on, Samantha,” her father pressured her. “You know what to do.”

“Hello, Your Grace,” Samantha said, eyeing her sister. “My name is Lady Samantha Winston. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

It was not a pleasure, of course, and Colin was well aware of that, but he was grateful to her for at least trying.

“There. That was not so difficult, was it? Tea will be served momentarily.”

“Father, might I have a word?” Lady Diana asked, and her father looked straight past her.

“But we are celebrating, Diana.”

“And we can celebrate with them soon enough. For now, I require a word.”

Colin quickly realized two things. The first was that the youngest of the sisters had been trained impeccably well, as she served him his tea and then managed to ignore her sister and father, which went along with the second thing he learned—Lady Diana had a few choice words for her father, and she did not care who knew it.

“How could you do this?” she demanded, speaking in what was quite possibly the loudest whisper that he had ever heard. “You are marrying off Samantha to that man? You do not know the first thing about him.”

“You do not know the first thing about how society works.”

“And you do?”

“How is your tea, Your Grace?” Lady Samantha asked.

“It is wonderful, thank you. I do apologize for all of this, I know that it is not what you want, but?—”

“It is perfectly fine. I know that it is not exactly ideal, but there are worse fates that can befall a young lady.”

“If you are not happy, it is perfectly alright. You can tell me.”

“I am very much content.”

He knew that she was not. No person could sit with knuckles as white as hers and a face as drawn as hers and be happy. But she was not going to argue with him, and so there was no use in forcing the issue. She was certainly not like her sister, that was for sure.

“So, have you been in the city long?” she asked, before shaking her head. “You need not answer that, I already know.”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

Judging by the way her face fell, he knew exactly how she had come to know about it.

“Well, I have not seen you before, and I did not know who you were at all, and I am quite good at remembering faces.”