Free Secrets of a Scandalous Bride by Sophia Nash

she murmured.
    “I’d as soon lie as you, my dear.”
     
    The door to the chamber opened again before Elizabeth could form a retort. Her breath caught. She hadn’t known how much she longed to see one of the familiar faces of her group of friends from Portman Square. With a clatter, she released the crockery she’d just grasped and rushed to Michael, the Earl of Wallace as he strode into the dining chamber. She stopped a foot away from him.
    “Oh, my lord.”
    “What? In a week’s time you’ve forgotten my given name, Elizabeth?”
    She swallowed. “I wasn’t sure if…oh, I’m so happy to see you, Michael.”
    He opened his arms and she rushed to accept the warmth and comfort they offered.
    “Are you all right?” he whispered into her hair. “He hasn’t harmed you, has he? I told Lefroy—”
    Elizabeth heard the long squeal of a chair drawn back in a deliberate manner. “No, of course not,” she replied quietly, looking directly into his concerned gaze.
    “Sorry to interrupt this tender little reunion, but I’ve the matter of a hundred things to attend to,” Rowland Manning drawled. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Brother dear?”
    Elizabeth studied the Earl of Wallace as he advanced toward his half brother. She had thought the earl taller than Rowland, but she realized she had been wrong. While Michael carried the most brawn, it was Rowland who had the advantage in height. Where Michael was a man in his prime, Rowland was gaunt of frame. His cheekbones and jaw were more prominent, his flesh a deeper bronze from the sun.Rowland was sinewy, harsh splendor to Michael’s rugged brute strength.
    “Your welcome never fails to amaze, Rowland,” Michael said, with a smile just a hint less than it should have been.
    “Already tired of playing the bridegroom, are you? Or perhaps you’ve come to your elder for advice on how to keep your bride happy?”
    “Grace sends her compliments,” Michael ground out, ignoring him. “And her thanks for aiding one of the dowager’s widows.”
    Elizabeth endured the cool silence of Rowland Manning, surprised he didn’t immediately divulge the secret she had just revealed. “It’s all right, Mr. Manning. The earl knows the truth; I suspect he just wasn’t sure if you did.”
    Michael’s astute gaze traveled from her to Rowland and back again. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, for what you have suffered. But we are determined to help you. I was chosen to come to you for there are officers keeping watch at Portman Square, and following all of us. Indeed, there are two outside, but—”
    She started.
    “No, no. You’re not to worry. They assume I’m here to see my brother for a horse, most likely. And in fact, I shall decamp to the yards before I leave.”
    “So kind of you to pay your respects. Perhaps you could shoe one or two while you’re here,” Rowland said sourly.
    Elizabeth had been as shocked as the rest of her friends to learn that Michael had apprenticed as a smithy for Rowland when he’d been just a boy on the run from his aristocratic, disaster-filled past.
    Again, Michael ignored the jibe. There was much animosity between the two men—each jostling the other in the soft underbelly of his pride. “Rowland, you are to take part in helping Miss Ashburton and Mrs. Winters depart London.”
    Rowland half smiled and cocked a brow. “ Miss Ashburton? No secret cruel husband, then? Just an imaginary spouse? Hmmm. Too bad. I was so counting on another dose of gothic drama. So if you’re not a spy or a runaway bride, my guess is you’re just a lady in need of a rich nob to pay your gaming debts. Surprised your cooking skills haven’t enticed more candidates.”
    “I knew you liked the fish.” Elizabeth smiled smugly as his cool expression changed to a scowl.
    Michael darted a glance at her. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. “I thought he knew—”
    “No. It’s all right,” she insisted.
    “And I take it Ashburton is your real name since Michael is using