Free Secrets of a Scandalous Bride by Sophia Nash Page A

it?” Rowland pressed.
    Her face grew warm. “I’m not as creative as you think, Mr. Manning. Of course Ashburton is my name.”
    “Well, any fool would have changed their name if they were hiding from someone.”
    “I’m sorry that my capability for deception does not meet your exacting standards,” she retorted archly, but bit back the real reason she had kept her name. When Sarah and she had arrived in London nearly destitute, they’d immediately paid a visit to the only person either of them knew—Sarah’s mother’s godmother, the Dowager Duchess of Helston. Of course, they’d been forced to use Sarah’s true nameduring the introduction and so it had seemed pointless for Elizabeth to assume a different moniker.
    Michael hardened his expression and cut in. “Rowland, you are to provide an unexceptional carriage for Miss Ashburton the day after tomorrow as well as a suitable man—not you of course—to play the part of her husband. And this”—he pulled an elaborately braided black-haired wig from the portfolio he carried and handed it to Elizabeth—“is for you.”
    She inhaled sharply. “And where am I to—” she began.
    “The Duke of Beaufort’s wedding to our mutual friend, Victoria Givan,” the earl finished.
    “But it’s the last place I should go. Everyone will be there. They’re calling it the wedding of the century!” Her stomach clenched in horror.
    “Who or what the devil is she trying to avoid?” Rowland’s voice was as cold and demanding as a pick hammering at a block of ice.
    A frost of silence shivered the air following his blast. The earl slowly withdrew a pouch from his portfolio and spilled the golden contents onto the gleaming wooden table. “For the carriage…among other things.”

Chapter 5
    I t was far too much money. Elizabeth now truly was ill. She would never be able to repay her friends. She had no doubt that her friends in the widows club—Grace, Georgiana, Rosamunde, or Ata herself, had provided the combination bribe and payment. “No,” she whispered to the earl, “I cannot possibly let you—”
    “Oh, yes, you will, Miss Ashburton. I insist.” With the sweep of his hand, Rowland pocketed the guineas. “Oh, and Michael? I’ll want a second payment in the same amount if this farce plays out without disaster.”
    “Your gallantry knows no bounds,” Michael ground out. “Now, if you will, I require a word with Miss Ashburton. Alone .”
    Rowland’s false smile did not quite reach his mysterious eyes. He finally stood. “Of course. But you shall not dally with Miss Ashburton any longer than ten minutes. As her abigail ,” he drawled with a slight smile curling his lips, “I really cannot allow it.” His cool laughter held something more that just mocking. It almost seemed as if his well-hidden sensibilities were bruised for not being asked to stay.
    His gleaming boot heels clicked against the parquet flooring as he cleared the carpeting and crossed to the door. He turned at the last moment. “How’s that arm healing, Michael?”
    The earl straightened, “About as well as your self-esteem, if I had to hazard a guess. You always were a poor shot. You should’ve stuck to the whip.”
    Elizabeth bit her lower lip at the tension in the chamber.
    Rowland narrowed his eyes. “Seven minutes.” The footman shut the door behind Rowland.
    Michael turned toward her and grasped her hands. Urgency was evident in his expression. “There are soldiers at every road or path leading out of London. This is the only way. Our friend the Duke of Beaufort has a grand equipage arranged for his wedding to Victoria and he has agreed to help you. Victoria is staying at Ellesmere House. On the way to the wedding, Sarah will attempt to slip unnoticed into Beaufort’s own carriage with Victoria while the others enter a myriad of carriages provided by Helston, Ellesmere, and me.”
    A thousand images and questions formed in her mind, but she allowed Michael to