Free His Scandalous Kiss: Secrets at Thorncliff Manor: 6 by Sophie Barnes Page A

that you are referring to a lady?”
    “Well, you are hardly going to form an attachment by remaining in your bedchamber all the time, and with a mask—”
    “We have discussed this many times before,” Richard said, annoyed by Spencer’s insistence.
    Spencer stared at him for a long moment. Picking up his glass, he drained it in one long gulp. “You cannot stay dead forever.”
    Richard clenched his jaw. “It is best this way.”
    “Best for whom?” Rising, Spencer went to the sideboard and set down his glass on the tray there. “You will not let Mama or
     our sisters see you, yet you expect them to carry on this farce on your behalf.”
    “I have never asked them to lie for me. People made their own assumptions when I failed to put in a public appearance after
     the war was over. It was commonly known that I was missing in action. All I asked was that nobody celebrate my return when
     I finally managed to make my way home.”
    “It is dishonest.”
    “To some degree perhaps, but I believe that Mama and our sisters preferred to go along with it rather than having to answer
     an endless amount of intrusive questions.”
    “They respect your decision because they love you, Richard. That is not the same as agreeing with it, and it certainly does
     not make it right.”
    Richard knew that there was a great deal of truth to this. Unfortunately, he couldn’t give in. Not now when he was so close
     to exacting his revenge on the man who’d once betrayed him. “It has been five years. I am sure most people have forgotten
     about me. To make an appearance now would make no sense unless I was planning to live a normal life, but we both know that
     doing so will be impossible.”
    “Richard—”
    “I look the way I do, Spencer. There is no changing that, so even if I were to meet a woman who appealed to me—one with whom
     I might imagine spending my future . . .” He saw Lady Eleanor’s kind eyes within the confines of his mind, her pretty mouth
     curving as she smiled up at him. “There is very little chance that she would agree to become my wife, least of all when I
     am not even in possession of a title.”
    Spencer’s left eyebrow went up a notch. “You have a fine fortune, thanks to those clever investments that you have made with
     your secretary’s assistance.”
    Richard nodded. “Mr. Collister is, without a doubt, invaluable. But money will not be enough. Not when it comes to capturing
     a young lady’s heart.”
    “Clearly you have forgotten the way in which Society operates.” Pouring himself another glass of brandy, Spencer returned
     to his seat. “There are plenty of young ladies among our set who would not give a damn about what you look like as long as
     you are rich enough to supply them with new gowns and fripperies every Season.”
    Richard felt his forehead strain beneath a frown. “If you think that I would have any interest in those sorts of women, then you do not know me at all. I despise superficiality and greed.”
    A hint of a smile touched Spencer’s lips. “The thing of it is, Richard, if you do happen to find a lady who is not in it for
     the money, chances are that she will not care about your appearance either. Such a woman—a selfless and kind woman—will want
     you for you , in which case your scars will not make any difference.” Placing the rim of his glass to his lips, he took a sip, his eyes
     bright with the satisfaction of knowing he was right.
    Needing distance, Richard rose and walked back to the window where he looked out at the black sky. Fragments of the conversations
     he’d shared with Lady Eleanor spilled through his mind. She’d enjoyed his company, but she hadn’t known who he was or what
     he looked like. “Do you suppose that if the right woman were given the chance to get to know me properly, that she might be
     able to develop some degree of fondness for me? Even if I did not allow her to see my face?”
    “I think that you would have to