Free Every Scandalous Secret by Gayle Callen

was regarded as fast, her reputation quite ruined. And once it was discovered that her dowry was insubstantial, she had nothing else to recommend her.”
    Susanna swallowed. “So she is unmarried still?” A spinster like me, she thought.
    “Ahem,” he said, looking down to his toes. “No, she was lucky enough to find a man who married her, regardless of her . . . situation.”
    “Oh.”
    “But not before she had to lower herself by working as a companion to an elderly lady,” he added, frowning.
    “Thank you so much for your words of caution, Lord Greenwich,” she said solemnly. “Have no fear. I know what kind of man Mr. Wade is.”
    “Excellent. I was worried that a woman of your . . .” He trailed off, his face reddening.
    She tilted her head, tempted to make him explain. Her age? Her bluestocking proclivities? But she resisted the impulse, saying, “My unmarried situation?”
    “Yes, yes, I was simply worried that an innocent woman such as yourself wouldn’t understand a man like Wade.”
    “Thank you for your concern, my lord, since my own father is not here to advise me.”
    “Do give the professor my regards,” he said, bowing before leaving her.
    Susanna took another glass of champagne from a passing waiter. She was feeling warm and a bit giddy, and although she knew it was the alcohol, she didn’t mind. Lord Greenwich wasn’t telling her anything she hadn’t heard whispered about, but the fact that he knew an actual woman so harmed by Mr. Wade was troubling. Did the man really care so little for whom he might hurt? Had he been lying when he told her he didn’t harm debutantes? Or was this young woman older—and presumably wiser—and that was how he’d justified his behavior? Her gaze searched him out and saw him standing near Miss Norton, smiling down at her in that rakish way of his.
    Just like he smiled at Susanna. But she would not be easily misled. They played a game between them, and she found herself too eager to win.
    She turned away and went to the window. The moon was full, a small cloud scudding through the dark sky near its bright surface.
    “Susanna?”
    She turned to Caroline with a smile.
    “You’ve been much in demand,” Caroline said.
    Susanna leaned her shoulder against the window frame. “It is an unusual feeling. I tend to prefer being the wallflower.”
    “I remember. But not anymore?”
    “I promised my brother I would do my best to find a husband,” she said quietly, then took another sip of champagne. “Oh, he is not insisting—he wants my happiness. I do as well, for I was never one to meekly obey my brother.”
    Caroline laughed.
    Wearing a rueful smile, Susanna said, “It is much harder than I imagined, trying to be what a man might want, especially at my age.”
    Caroline nodded. “I think it’s that way for most women.”
    “Some days I simply want to retreat into my art and think of nothing but light and shadow and how best to represent what I feel in my soul.”
    “Beautifully said,” Caroline murmured, regarding her thoughtfully. Then she glanced over her shoulder at her parents, who were talking to the Randolphs. “What about tonight?”
    Susanna straightened. “What do you mean?”
    “You spoke to us about capturing a night scene when you sketch or paint—why not tonight?” Caroline hiccuped just as she tried to take a sip of champagne, then covered her mouth on a giggle.
    Susanna found herself wanting to giggle, too. “You and I would sneak away?”
    “No, no, we’ll wait until everyone is abed, then you and I and the rest of the girls will meet in the . . . where would it be best to sketch at night?”
    Susanna felt invigorated at the thought of being daring yet still doing what she loved. “The gallery! There are high windows there to let in the moonlight—although we’ll still have candles, of course—and there are statues that we can draw.”
    “As if we’re sketching people,” Caroline breathed. “It always seemed so