Saved by a Rake Read Online Free PDF

unwanted fondling, though that would be bad enough.
    A member of the House of Lords had raped his friend ’s sister.
    How would he feel if his sister, Elizabeth, had been sullied in that way? One look at Eversley ’s dark stare and Daniel knew how he would feel—murderous.
    “ And now he’s telling people that she is a light skirt. How dare he? I will rip him limb from limb when I catch up with him. Rebecca is ruined. She will have to return to the country and will more than likely live out her life there as an old maid.”
    “ Surely most people will dismiss it as idle gossip.”
    “ Did you?”
    Daniel had to think about that. He did not know Rebecca and so had believed this morning ’s gossip—at least in part.
    “ No. I must confess that I did not. How is your sister—in herself?”
    “ I really cannot tell. She looked…haunted this morning but when I told her that my mother wants to take her to the country, she was belligerent. Refusing to go, I tell you. Stating that she had done nothing wrong. Then demanding that Mother reinstate the maid who caused it all. It is all a terrible mess.”
    “ She had a maid with her?”
    “ Yes, but Newthorpe dismissed her. So my mother decided to dismiss the girl permanently. However, Rebecca is having none of it.”
    “ Well, the maid was only following orders. If we dismissed a maid, we would expect her to obey, would we not?”
    “ I suppose we would. Though someone has to be held to account.” James sat back and ran his fingers through his blond curls. “I have to avenge her. I have to take on Newthorpe. But not now. Let him think he has got away with it. There was no honour in what he did to my sister. There will be no honour in my revenge.”
    James ’s voice was low and menacing. So different from the usually cheerful, womanising rake whom Daniel knew so well. If he had been Newthorpe, he would have been very worried.
    ****
    “Mama, I will not go to the country. I will stay here and face them.” Part of her wanted to leave London, never to return and never to face the knowing looks in the drawing rooms of the ladies of the Ton again. And part of her—the belligerent part—wanted to stay. She had done nothing wrong, except allow that man to dismiss Betty.
    “ Rebecca, it is the sensible thing to do. Everyone will be talking about you and the Earl of Newthorpe. Heaven alone knows what reasons they have dreamed up for the failure of your courtship.” Her mother paced the comfortable parlour, decorated in light green shades, as she tried to reason with her only daughter. It disconcerted Rebecca that her mother’s hair had been rolled into a neat bun, rather than her usual elaborate coiffure. Was the countess in mourning for her daughter’s lost innocence?
    “ I care not for the gossipmongers among the Ton , Mama. I care about the truth.”
    “ The truth can never be spoken, Rebecca. You know that. It is bad enough that I had to inform your father and your brother. The very fact your courtship to an eligible bachelor has ended has effectively ruined you. How much more if they were to find out that you have lost your innocence? I so wished for you to be respectfully married and for you to have children, but alas, I now believe that will never be part of your future. You will have a good settlement in your father’s will, so fear not. Besides, I doubt James would leave you destitute.”
    “ No, I do not suppose that he would. However, I refuse to flee from London as if I were the one in the wrong. I did not lose my innocence, Mama. It was taken from me.” God, she hated this. She wanted to scream and cry, but if she did that, then her mama would definitely force her to go to Chapelbrooke Park. She took a deep breath and drove the frustration from her mind. “The Ton will gossip, for that is what they do best, and by the end of the Season, some other scandal will have piqued their interest. My chances of finding a husband may be much reduced, though they