Free Saved by Scandal by Bárbara Metzger

gout is not bothering him. I’ll likely have to fight him over the first dance with you. Stop fretting, my dear.”
    Margot couldn’t. He refused to see the truth. She stared at her plate, knowing that the sooner Galen saw reality, the less disappointed he’d be. And the sooner he stopped building air castles, the sooner she’d stop wanting to move into them—with him. “What of your sister?”
    Now there was someone who did need those Wednesday night ordeals. Harriet was due to make her come-out next fall, and Lud knew the hoyden would have a hard enough time attracting an eligible parti on her own. The thought of having Harriet on his hands for the rest of her days was enough to make Galen reach for his wineglass.
    Margot stopped his hand. “You see? You know her chances will he hurt by association with me.”
    “I cannot lie to you, Harriet is liable to be labeled fast with or without your company. The chit’s been without a mother too long, and my father cannot say nay to her. Why, it would be just like her to waltz at our party without being approved. Zeus, she’s never even been presented. And I fear there are those who would blame you, so no, she will not be invited to our party. I was thinking of asking Aunt Matty to leave Bath to chaperone the brat after the summer.”
    “I…I see.”
    “Do you? I was hoping you’d agree to stay in the country with me, avoiding the whole mare’s nest of Harriet’s Season. Not because I don’t think you could be a sterling example to her, or that you’d hinder her chances of making a decent match, but she would run you ragged, and I prefer to have you to myself. Besides, I want to spend more time with my horses and the estate. My father is not as young as he thinks, and I would relieve him of some of his duties, as well as cataloguing the family’s art collection. Then there is the land and cottage I inherited from an uncle, which I seldom get to visit. I thought you might enjoy helping me redecorate it.”
    “A home in the country? That sounds heavenly.”
    “We’d come to Town for Harriet’s come-out ball, of course, and to refurbish our wardrobes, see the latest plays, and such. But I am tired of the City and its empty entertainments. Besides, the country is much more healthy for children.”
    “Children? But I thought—”
    “Your brother.”
    “Of course.”
    Then Skippy came to their table. Closed doors meant little to him, in his altitudes. He’d been celebrating the wedding and his winnings since Margot’s announcement, and now he was literally overflowing with good spirits. Neither Galen nor Margot objected, since so many awkward subjects lay between them like so many untouched dishes.
    Skippy pulled up a chair at their table and proceeded to finish the asparagus Margot hadn’t cared for, the poached salmon, and the rest of the rolls. “Skipped dinner, don’t you know.”
    When his hunger was slaked—that is, when the table was empty—Skippy raised a glass, Galen’s, for yet another toast. “To connubial bliss, to betting on a sure thing, and to setting the ton on its collective ear, my dears. You’ve done a bang-up job, I say. No one is speaking of anything else but the love match of the decade. Your performance at the theater was inspired, madam. Your singing too, of course. And you, Woodbridge, had the females all berating their lovers for not being half so romantical. I knew you two were perfect together. Told everyone, I did.” He raised Galen’s glass again. “To love and marriage, which so seldom go hand in hand.”
    In his usual skitter-witted fashion, Skippy must have forgotten that Galen and Margot had met and married on the same day. But if the Polite World wanted to put a polite face on their wedding, Galen would not contradict him.
    “Do they seem disapproving?” Margot wanted to know, vaguely waving her hand to indicate the throngs outside.
    “Not by half! Some of the hostesses are upset that everyone will be leaving for