Free The Marrying Season by Candace Camp Page A

already know?”
    “I don’t know, but—” Alec glanced up and saw Genevieve. He sprang to his feet. “Ah, Genevieve, good morning.”
    Lady Rawdon hastily folded the sheet of newsprint, handing it to one of the footmen. “Here. Take this and throw it away.”
    “You are reading The Onlooker, I presume,” Genevieve said, coming forward.
    The countess’s lips tightened. “It’s a scurrilous rag. Someone should shut it down. I believe I shall speak to Caswell about it; the government should be good for something, I would think.”
    “What did they say this time?” Genevieve was pleasedthat her voice was even, not betraying the nervous roiling of her stomach.
    “Oh, they were crowing that they had predicted the little contretemps last night. Ridiculous, of course. But it is nothing you need worry about. Sit down and have a bite to eat. The berries are delicious.”
    “I am not hungry.” Genevieve remained standing, her hands laced together in front of her. “I wanted to speak with both of you.”
    “Of course.” Alec gestured to the servants to leave.
    “I would like to apologize for last night,” Genevieve began when the men had gone. “I bitterly regret that I embroiled our family in a scandal.”
    “Genny, dear girl. You did nothing wrong,” Alec assured her. “Langdon is beneath contempt. And Dursbury needs a lesson in how to behave like a gentleman.”
    “Alec . . .” Lady Rawdon said warningly.
    “No, no, Grandmother, you may rest easy. I have promised I will do nothing to him, and I won’t.”
    “I never meant to—to besmirch the name Stafford,” Genevieve went on, feeling as though she had not adequately expressed her remorse. That everyone was being nice to her only increased her sense of shame.
    “Of course you didn’t,” Alec said. “I don’t care about the scandal. And you’ve done nothing to taint our name.”
    “And, thank God, Sir Myles stepped up and asked for your hand,” the countess added.
    “Grandmama . . . I told Myles last night that I would not marry him.”
    “Sir Myles knows you were distraught. I believe he intends to call on you again this afternoon.”
    “Because you told him to, no doubt.” Genevieve’s eyes flashed.
    “Of course I did. Someone had to think of your future. It was clear that you were not capable of it.”
    “Genevieve does not have to marry if she doesn’t wish,” Alec interrupted. “You know that, don’t you, Genny? I will always take care of you.”
    “I know. Oh, Alec—” Genevieve turned away in agitation and began to pace the room.
    “All that’s important is for you to be happy.”
    Lady Rawdon gave a delicate snort. “Really, Rawdon, what pap. Genevieve, do sit down. You are making me dizzy.”
    Genevieve stopped, her hands balling up into fists at her sides, but she walked back to the table and sat down in her place.
    “Now.” Lady Rawdon turned to her granddaughter. “Listen to me. Sir Myles offered you a respectable way out of your dilemma. It is a perfect solution, and you would be foolish in the extreme if you did not take it. You said you would not take Mr. Langdon or Lord Dursbury even if Alec could force them to offer for you.”
    “I assure you I can,” Alec stuck in.
    “I understand your unwillingness to marry either of them,” his grandmother went on, ignoring him. “Mr. Langdon is a cad, and Lord Dursbury is obviously as shallow as he is boring. However, Sir Myles is an entirelyacceptable suitor, possessed of a good name and a respectable fortune. You are not likely to receive a better offer.”
    “I know that. I didn’t turn him down for my sake. There is no reason Myles should sacrifice his whole life just because he is a kind man. It would be wicked of me to take advantage of him.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” Lady Rawdon said. “Sir Myles is not ‘sacrificing’ his life, as you put it. He is making an advantageous marriage. His family and fortune are respectable, but he would not