Page 62 of A Cinderella to Redeem the Earl

‘What else can there be to know? You are an excellent cook. You have a fondness for animals, dogs anyway, and you are a very intelligent woman.’

She turned slightly to face him, looking doubtful. ‘You think I am intelligent?’

‘Indubitably. Indeed, far more so than many of my male acquaintances.’

‘You are very kind. But I think if you really knew me, you would think I am foolish in the extreme.’ She gazed down into her glass for a moment and then tossed back the remains of her drink and set the glass aside.

Regret filled her face.

He took her hand. ‘What troubles you? If you do not like the games rooms, then we will do away with them.’

‘Oh, no. It is not that.’

‘Then what?’

Pink stained her cheeks. ‘It was my reaction to what I saw, if I must be truthful. I felt remarkably...’ She shook her head as if unable to describe what she felt. ‘You must think me...naive.’

He had the feeling that was not the word she had been about to use. Intriguing, indeed. He brought her small hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. ‘You do yourself an injustice. Your lack of experience is only to be expected.’

She gave a bitter-sounding laugh.

He frowned ‘Has some man taken advantage of you?’

A faint sigh left her lips. ‘If that were true, I would feel less stupid.’ She shook her head. ‘I was engaged to a very nice young man. A soldier. We planned to marry as soon as he received his promotion. Both of our families were happy about the match. Indeed, it had been planned between them since we were children. So I was not as circumspect as I should have been. We were going to be wed, after all.’

Unexpected anger surged through him. ‘He did not marry you?’

Her hand convulsed in his. ‘He could not. You see, there was an accident during an exercise. A gun carriage broke free. It killed him instantly.’

‘Oh, my dear. I am so sorry.’

‘He was such a nice boy. Very sweet. Much too good for me.’

He frowned at the sadness in her voice. ‘Why would you say such a thing?’

‘My father would have been so disappointed in me.’

Her father had no right to be disappointed in anyone.

‘So that is why you hired yourself out as a cook.’

‘When Mother married again, she decided the only way to be comfortable again was for me to make a good match. She and her new husband had already picked out a groom. How could I tell her? I felt so ashamed.’

So, Pamela Lamb, was no innocent maid after all. Her journey to ruin had started long before Damian came along. She had simply managed to keep it a secret.

Now he would bring it to its natural conclusion. A twinge of guilt twisted in his gut. A feeling of pity hollowed his gut. He could, if he wished, set her free of the trap he had wrought. Let her walk away. He would still have his revenge on the other family.

Yet it was her father who had been the ringleader of the plot to defraud his father of his fortune, he who had turned his back on his father’s pleas for help. Now her mother lived at the apex of society, queening it over lesser mortals, while his mother lay in a pauper’s grave.

No. Pity had no place in his heart. He had vowed at his father’s grave to take revenge on those who had caused his mother’s death if he ever had the chance.

He would not turn away from his sworn duty because of a pretty face, a sweet smile and delicious kisses.

Pamela could not believe she was telling Damian her innermost secret. Perhaps it was because she had been unable to tell anyone else all these years.

Despite that he did not seem particularly shocked, he must now think her the worst sort of woman. The sort of woman who had so little respect for herself that she would lay with a man to sate her desires, without any thought of the consequences, for herself or her family.

A selfish, pleasure-seeking wanton.