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That was enough for Samantha to stop. She thought for a moment, trying to work out what she could possibly know that would be so bad, and then she remembered what had happened between them.

“There,” he continued. “Now, will you please listen to me?”

“If I have no other choice.”

“Very well. Miss Norton is a very opportunistic girl. She is of minor noble birth, but that has not stopped her from trying to go even further. She sees it as ambition, as does my fool of a brother, but the rest of us see it for what it truly is — greed.”

“Then why is she here? Lord Drowshire does not seem to be the sort of man to keep such company as her.”

“Oliver — Lord Drowshire, told me that he invited her because my brother instructed him to. It was also so that you might have a friend if you thought Lady Penelope was too old.”

“So, it is my fault,” she sighed.

“No, it is nobody’s fault. Why do you always blame yourself?”

“Did you not blame me for things the moment you saw me?”

He seemed to concede that.

“Regardless,” he continued, “if I am correct and she and my brother were the ones to send you that note, it means that they are intending to blackmail us, and that means trouble.”

“Or ruin,” she replied, “which cannot be the worst possible thing to happen to a lady.”

He blinked at her in disbelief, but she had meant every word. The more that she thought about it, the more enticing ruin sounded. No man would ever want her, her father would cast her out, and she would be free at last.

Then she thought about how her father could just as easily take her home and have her married before anyone outside of the party heard about it. It was yet another fruitless possibility.

“You truly do not wish to marry, do you?” he asked.

“No more than you do, no. I have plans far bigger than marriage, but my father is determined that I will marry regardless. He has a gentleman in line for me upon my return, so forgive me if I am not thinking clearly. My fate is already put in place, and there is nothing that I can do about it. Ruin is not the worst thing that could happen to me, though, and I mean that completely.”

“Even so, I would rather it did not happen thanks to involvement on my part. I will do what I can.”

“You do not have to.”

“I do,” he said firmly, stepping closer to her. “I want to help you. It is the least that I can do after what I have accused you of. Let me at least try.”

Samantha wanted to protest and tell him that she would find a way to stop their announcement that evening, but she was distracted by how warm he felt in front of her and how piercing his gaze was as he looked pleadingly into her eyes. He seemed almost desperate to fix everything, and whilst she did not know why, she could not help but believe him.

“Very well,” she whispered, “but do not make it any worse. The last thing I need is for you to threaten a lady.”

“What sort of gentleman do you think I am?” he asked, “Do not answer that, in fact. Instead, simply trust that I would never threaten a lady.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I will do one of my least favorite things in the world and have a discussion with my brother.”

“Will that even do anything? You make him seem impossible to reason with.”

“He is, but I have to at least try,” he explained, “Unless…”

“Unless?”

“I have an idea, but you will hate it completely.”

“You might as well try. It cannot be much worse than my other prospects.”

He seemed to avoid her eyes, and she felt a strange turning in her stomach. Suddenly, she did not want him to speak anymore.