Izzy turned a page.
“She was a whore.” Milly sounded part shocked, part gleeful.
Izzy gave her a hard look. She hated it when women were called whores, no matter what the reason.
“Well, it’s true, Mama told me,” Milly retorted defensively. “Lady Salcott was notorious, utterly shameless—the scandal of the ton. Mama said she took lover after lover, even running off to Italy with an Italian portrait painter—and worse. Half the nobility of Europe were said to have known her—and you know what I mean by ‘know’ don’t you? It’s in the Bible.”
Izzy didn’t respond.
“Naturally her poor husband was utterly mortified—he became a recluse, Mama said. The poor man was devastated, destroyed by a whor—” Catching Izzy’s eye she broke off, then said, “Destroyed by an immoral woman. And of course so was her son.” She waited for Izzy to react.
Izzy turned a page, pretending to be engrossed in her book, but her mind was spinning. Was that why he’d been so quick to condemn her mother? No, any respectable gentleman would, she knew, whether his mother had been a pillar of virtue or the opposite. It was the way of the world: the woman was always to blame.
Milly waited a moment, then went on, as if Izzy had begged her to continue. “So of course, now that Lord Salcott is looking for the next Lady Salcott, he will only consider a woman of the highest morality, a girl without a stain on her character.” She gave a smug smile, preening herself. “A girl whom no breath of scandal has ever touched.”
Izzy turned another page. It didn’t surprise her. It waswhat most men of the ton expected: regardless of their own morality, their brides must be pure and innocent. Hypocrites.
“And naturally he has his position as an earl to consider, so he won’t be looking at anobody,no matter how pretty she might be. Only a girl of noble heritage will do for him.” Milly curled one of her ringlets around her finger and added coyly, “Have I mentioned that Mama is second cousin to a duke?”
Izzy’s mouth tasted of ashes. “Sorry, did you say something, Milly? Only this book is so entertaining I quite forgot you were here.” She turned her head. “Oh. Isn’t that your mama calling? You’d better run along now.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” Milly said sulkily. Not surprising, since Izzy had made it up.
Izzy shrugged indifferently and returned to her book. “Suit yourself. I thought your mama fretted whenever you were off the leash.” Milly glared at her, made a frustrated noise and hurried away.
Izzy tried to return to her book, to no avail. It all made sense now. If his mother had been a byword for scandal and infidelity, of course Lord Salcott would wish to distance himself from someone of Izzy’s background. The minute he realized she was attracted to him.
You obviously do have hopes...
It was mortifying to reflect that she had, for a short while at least. Despite all common sense.
Had she been obvious and ill-bred? Normally she would ignore anything Milly and her mama said, but... obviously she’d revealed... something.
Mama Harrington had certainly thought so.
A few kisses, the slow stroke of a finger down her cheek and a waltz. What a fool she’d been. A nobody who built castles in the air deserved all the disillusionment she would get.
And one who made her feelings plain was setting herself up to be an object of gossip and spite. Even a laughingstock.
A cold lump lodged in Izzy’s throat. What had she been thinking? He was an earl. Anearl! And she was a nobody. An illegitimate nobody to boot. A hopeless case who apparently couldn’t even disguise her hopes.
She knew now why he’d canceled their second waltz so abruptly. He’d seen that she’d been more affected by the dance than he was comfortable with. Of course he’d walked away.
Izzy gazed out at the garden, watching as the breeze set the leaves dancing. A tiny jenny wren hopped about in the freshly turned earth, trilling happily as she hunted for worms. Ensuring her survival, feeding her babies...
Before they came to London, before they’d even met Lord Salcott, Izzy had resolved to make a practical marriage. A girl with nothing to her name had to be practical, she knew. And act quickly because it would be her only chance to make a respectable marriage.
The minute society gentlemen discovered her background, Izzy knew the kind of offers she’d get: she’d be following in her mother’s footsteps. And she refused to let that happen.
She couldn’t afford the luxury of hanging out for a love match.
She’d never owned anything, never had a home where she truly belonged, a place where nobody could toss her out on her ear. She wanted that, so much. And she wanted a family of her own, children who would grow up knowing they were loved. And that they belonged.
She’d jeopardized that dream, reading more into Lord Salcott’s behavior than he’d intended. She’d let herself be distracted. Lord Salcott wasn’t seriously interested in her. He was just flirting. As society gentlemen were wont to do. And she’d been... foolish.
The warning had come in time.
She might be “a nobody” as far as the ton was concerned but, bastard or not, she wasn’t going to let it stop her fromhaving the best life she could. She refused to be branded by her mother’s misfortunes. She didn’t need a man with a title; she didn’t even need him to be rich—just not poor. She wanted to be a wife and a mother, and she was going to find a kind man to love and live a happy life with—no matter what.
