Love in the Time of Scandal Read Online Free PDF

thoughts of Miss Lockwood, his potential bride, had been driven out of his head by the infuriating woman at his side, with her gleaming blue eyes and secretive smile that always rattled his equilibrium. He scrambled to control his thoughts and say something sensible. “Her warm and kind spirit.”
    Penelope nodded. “Of course. She’s inclined to see the best in people, even when it’s not warranted.”
    By only the thinnest of margins did Benedict not ask if that explained her fondness for Penelope. She was trying to provoke him. He should have been prepared for that. Her delight in needling him had been amusing at first, but he was growing tired of it—and unlike before, when he had brushed it aside, there was something very real at stake this time. If she decided to poison Miss Lockwood against him, he wasn’t sure he could tolerate it with good grace.
    “That is surely the mark of a true lady,” he said softly, “to be the sort of woman everyone admires and likes.”
    The barb struck home, he could see it in her eyes. For the briefest moment they darkened as if in hurt, but then the sparkle was back—and this time they glittered like the finest sapphires. “Indeed! What a revelation, sir. I have always thought gentlemen were far more interested in a woman’s other attributes.”
    Without thinking his gaze dropped. Penelope wasn’t as slender as Miss Lockwood, and she had been skipping about in the dance. Her bosom rose and fell against her exquisitely cut bodice of blue silk in a very tempting display. Her skin was flushed a perfect pale peach, and her locket had nestled right between the swells of her breasts. Benedict had meant to set her back on her heels, and instead found himself almost mesmerized. “One must consider every part of a woman.”
    “Some parts more closely than others, I see,” she shot back furiously as she turned away in the dance.
    He cursed inside his head as they performed the next several steps. What about this woman always caught him wrong-footed? Benedict barely remembered going through the rest of the dance. It felt as though little jolts of lightning coursed along his nerves, his every sense as sharp as a razor and focused solely on Penelope Weston. From the smoldering look she gave him, he wasn’t the only one who felt the tension. Before he knew it, the music was ending and she was beside him again. He offered his arm to escort her from the floor, and she took it with a hand that trembled.
    He didn’t think it was upset. He had a feeling it was fury. To be honest, the same feeling had a strong grip on him. The temptation to pull her into a quiet room and have a proper blazing row was overwhelming. For a moment his steps strayed unconsciously toward the door before he caught himself.
    Damn. This was not going as planned.
    “Miss Weston,” he said as they made their way through the crowd, “I asked you to dance in the hope of rediscovering the easy companionship we felt at Hampton Court last summer. I would very much like for us to be friendly once more.” In spite of himself a note of warning crept into his tone. “I’ve grown very fond of your friend. If I manage to secure her regard, I hope you would wish us both well.”
    She stopped and faced him. For a moment she simply studied him, all coyness gone. “You say you’re very fond of her, but is it merely fondness? Is fondness enough for marriage?” She noticed his faint start at the last word. “Miss Lockwood anticipates a proposal any day now. Is that what you intend? Do you really love her enough to pledge your troth to her from now until death?”
    “That must be between me and Miss Lockwood,” he replied coolly.
    “So you say,” she retorted. “But she’s my friend. Do you think I won’t hear of it if she’s unhappy?”
    Benedict’s jaw tightened. He could hardly swear to make Miss Lockwood happy at all times; it wasn’t possible. Marriage wasn’t designed for happiness but for security, status,