Free His Wicked Embrace by Adrienne Basso Page A

you related to the late Countess of Saunders?” Lady Edson questioned Isabella, seating herself in the only available chair at the table, without waiting to be invited. “Your resemblance to Emmeline is quite marked.”
    â€œNo, Lady Edson, I am not a relative of the late countess,” Isabella said tartly. The last thing she wanted was to encourage a conversation with the overly curious Lady Edson. And Isabella was becoming heartily sick of continually being informed of her resemblance to the earl’s deceased wife.
    â€œMiss Browning is the children’s new governess,” Jenkins supplied, obviously attempting to put an end to Lady Edson’s growing interest in Isabella.
    â€œA governess!” Lady Edson looked shocked. “You cannot mean to say you are actually going to live at The Grange, Miss Browning?”
    â€œI believe it is customary for a governess to reside with her charges, Lady Edson,” Isabella said, puzzled at the woman’s odd reaction.
    â€œOh, my dear, I feel compelled to warn you that you are making a dreadful mistake,” Lady Edson insisted dramatically. “No respectable woman would willingly become a member of the earl’s household. Her reputation would be compromised beyond repair.”
    â€œWhy is that, Lady Edson?” Isabella glanced over at Jenkins and saw the annoyed expression in the servant’s eyes.
    â€œ ’Tis common knowledge that the earl cannot be trusted to act with honor when it comes to his dealings with women,” Lady Edson announced with pompous authority.
    Isabella eyed Lady Edson thoughtfully, trying to determine if she was sincere. Jenkins had warned Isabella that the earl’s self-imposed isolation had made him a target of wild rumors concerning his treatment of women, but Jenkins had not elaborated on any of the details.
    â€œI assume you are speaking from personal experience, Lady Edson, when making such a serious charge?”
    â€œNot precisely,” Lady Edson admitted in a reluctant tone. “I have not actually spoken to the earl since his wife’s accident. But I have heard, from a most reliable source, that the earl has seduced several innocent young maids in his household.” Lady Edson leaned towards Isabella and whispered conspiratorially, “ ’Tis said that three of these poor unfortunate girls are now carrying a child.”
    Isabella sputtered loudly, nearly choking on the lukewarm chocolate she was drinking. Her face flamed with embarrassment over the outrageous statements made by Lady Edson. Even given her own biased opinion of the earl, Isabella could not credit such a tale.
    She glanced up at Jenkins. The gleam of fury in the valet’s eyes confirmed that Lady Edson’s accusations were as ridiculous as they sounded. Isabella furrowed her brow in annoyance. All her life she had encountered women like Lady Edson, who relished unsavory and damaging gossip about others and had no compunction in repeating those unverified barbs. Isabella felt ashamed to have listened to such drivel.
    Pushing aside her own doubts about the earl’s character, Isabella felt compelled to put Lady Edson in her place. She gritted her teeth and considered a variety of scathing retorts, the majority of which would have stunned and perhaps embarrassed Jenkins.
    â€œI do thank you, Lady Edson, for warning me of the unfair, unfounded, and clearly untrue rumors circulating about the earl. Since I, like yourself, am a woman of good breeding and impeccable manners, I shall not demean myself by responding to such blatant falsehoods.”
    â€œI don’t believe you understand, Miss Browning.”
    â€œOh, but I do, Lady Edson,” Isabella insisted, rising to her feet. She inclined her head regally, with mocking politeness. “I understand that rumors and innuendo of this nature can actually be believed by individuals who do not possess the brains the good Lord gave them to see