Free A Scandalous Deception by Ava Stone Page A

character.”
    Fin didn’t think that was true. Lissy wasn’t
quite so cynical. On the contrary, if she trusted less, she’d find
herself in fewer scrapes. “I think for the most part she trusts
me.”
    “You’re family,” Avery replied. “You and Luke
Beckford, she’s different with the two of you. But the rest of the
male of the species?” He shrugged once more. “Well, she keeps
everyone else at arm’s length. Has for as long as I’ve known
her.”
    Lissy kept men at arm’s length? If so, how
had he never noticed? Fin scratched his head. It was true, Lissy
hadn’t seemed anxious to replace Pierce, but neither had he been so
inclined to replace Georgie. He’d loved her too much to consider
another woman.
    “Phoebe says Lissy’s marriage wasn’t a happy
one,” Avery continued. “That probably explains her innate
distrust.”
    An unhappy marriage? Fin had never heard
Lissy utter one bad word against Captain Pierce. True, she rarely
spoke of the man; but she had loved her husband, of that he
was certain. Fin had seen the gushing letter she’d sent Georgie
from Boston. Had she been unhappily married? He’d always just taken
her at her word — that she simply didn’t
want to dwell on the past.
    He’d never considered the possibility that
she’d been unhappily married. It didn’t even seen possible. She was
always cheerful…Well, most of the time. She certainly wasn’t happy
with Fin at the moment.
    “She told your wife she was unhappy in her
marriage?”
    “Not in so many words.” The lieutenant
shifted on his bench. “But she offered Phoebe sage advice when she
needed it. Something along the lines of ‘Short of death there’s no
escape from marrying the wrong man.’ Something like that, anyway.”
He sighed. “Honestly, without Felicity, Phoebe might very well be
unhappily married to my brother right now.”
    Short of death, there’s no escape from
marrying the wrong man? Fin’s heart clenched. Dear God, Georgie
might just as easily have muttered those words herself after her
marriage to Teynham. The late marquess had treated his young bride
abominably. And though Georgie’s external bruises had healed, Fin
wasn’t certain her internal ones ever had. It was the reason she’d
refused him over and over. Fear. He remembered how she’d trembled
with fear the first time he’d kissed her.
    Widowhood had freed Georgie from a terrible
existence. It had taken years of him begging and pleading and
showing her time and again that he wasn’t like the old man before
Georgie had finally agreed to marry him.
    Was that what Lissy’d meant? Was this
distrust of men from having witnessed Georgie’s unhappy union, or
had she experienced something awful herself? A pit formed in his
stomach at the thought of anyone mistreating Lissy. The carefree,
albeit flighty, creature had always been so trusting, so warm when
she was younger. Was Avery right? Had someone taken that from
her?

    Marcus Gray, the Marquess of Haversham,
tipped back his whisky glass, closed his eyes and let the raucous
rumble of White’s wash over him. So much more enjoyable than
attending soirees.
    Someone thumped him in the back of the head.
Marc glanced over his shoulder to find his old friend Alexander
Everett, the Duke of Kelfield, standing behind him.
    “What the devil is wrong with you?” Alex
asked as he navigated Marc’s overstuffed leather chair and dropped
into one of his own just a few feet away.
    Marc quirked a grin at his old friend. “Where
would you like for me to begin?”
    “How about Felicity Pierce?” Alex’s brow
lifted expectantly. “Why don’t you begin there?”
    “What does it matter to you?” Marc took
another sip of his whisky.
    “She’s a friend of Olivia’s, one of her
better ones, and at some point I’d like for my wife to actually
tolerate you.”
    At that, Marc tossed back his head and
laughed. He couldn’t help it. The oh-so-prissy Duchess of Kelfield
would never tolerate him. She’d