A Most Scandalous Proposal Read Online Free PDF Page A

quick about it, there’s no harm done.”
    With a bow, he swept out after the maid.
    Stunned, Sophia stared at Highgate. Could she trusthim? She’d never heard the least insinuation that Highgate was a rake. Quite the opposite, in fact. And William! Why on earth would he have contrived to leave the pair of them alone?
    “What have you done?” she gasped.
    “What have I done? It’s all on that bounder.” Brows lowered, he lurched in the direction of the doorway. But then he glanced at her and paused. “Are you sure you’re feeling quite the thing? You look pale.”
    “I’m not about to faint again, if that’s what you’re hoping,” she replied, unable to keep the tartness out of her tone. The man must think her the greenest girl in London. “Goodness only knows what might happen next.”
    One heavy eyebrow arched above his left eye. “At my age? A young miss like you?”
    At his age, indeed. She could not recall any gossip pinning a precise age on him, but he had to be closer to forty than thirty. Yet his gaze traveled over her figure in slow appraisal. A blush raced back to her cheeks. Had she thought him kind? She would not make that mistake twice.
    She fixed him with a glare. “I hardly think it proper you remain here with me, my lord. I assure you I’m quite well enough to be left alone.”
    “And risk the vagaries of whoever might venture into this room next? Perish the thought. You might find yourself in the presence of a true debaucher.” A line formed between his brows. “Like Ludlowe.”
    She struggled to her feet. “Sir, you are impertinent!”
    Highgate crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. She didn’t like his assessing look, not one bit. It saw too much; it laid her bare. “Nursing a
tendre
for the man, are you?”
    “That is none of your affair. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
    She made to step around him, but his hand shot out and pinned her wrist. “Do not waste your life pining after the likes of Ludlowe. He’d break you within a year.”
    She tugged at her arm, but his grip held firm as an iron band. She wanted out of this room, away from his disturbing perception. As a stranger, he had no business looking into her heart and divining all her private desires and fears.
    More than that, he had no business holding her gaze with such unfathomable eyes. She couldn’t miss them—they lay on a level with hers.
    Only William had a right to capture her attention like this. Except by now William was probably out on the terrace with Eleanor, darling Eleanor, that strumpet, all thought of finding Julia conveniently laid aside.
    Sudden tears welled in her eyes, and she blinked, breaking the spell. Long fingers uncurled from about her wrist, but somehow an impression remained on her skin. She suppressed the urge to rub the spot, as if she could brush away his touch.
    “If you’ll excuse me,” she murmured. The point behind her right eye had begun to pound. Fruitlessly, she pressed the heel of her hand to it. She wanted nothing more than to go home and forget this night had ever happened.
    He inclined his head, and she scurried toward the corridor. On the threshold, she came face-to-face with her mother.
    Mama reached out and rubbed a hand along her arm. “Sophia, dear—”
    With a glance beyond Sophia’s shoulder, Mama stopped short. She gaped for a moment or two, before the fine line between her eyebrows sketched itself more deeply. “What is the meaning of this?” she hissed. “How long have you been alone with this man?”
    “I was not alone,” Sophia protested. “Not completely. Mr. Ludlowe sent a maid to fetch you, but beyond that, both he and the maid were with us the entire time.”
    Behind her, Highgate heaved a sigh, then came to stand at her shoulder. “Madam, the fault is entirely my own.”
    Mama’s nostrils flared as she looked him up and down.
    “Ludlowe thought it best to inform Miss St. Claire’s family of her malaise. But he left us rather abruptly, or