Escaping His Grace by Kristin Vayden

Author:Kristin Vayden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-11-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Heathcliff was quite certain he was in the seventh circle of hell. Because he was discussing the local eligible bachelors with the sister of the woman he’d, for all intents and purposes, compromised. Granted, the compromising wasn’t complete—pity, that—but it was enough.

Enough to remind him that he was an eligible bachelor.

Enough to tempt him to come up to scratch.

Enough to give him a reason to come up with all the worst character traits in the gentlemen Mrs. Keyes mentioned.

There was no reason he should help his competition.

Not that he was considering them competition.

That would mean he was considering himself as an option—which he wasn’t. No, he may be tempted, but temptation never required action.

As much as many thought the opposite.

Damn, the gambling hell made its market on that very idea.

But he knew better. Or, at least, he thought he knew better. He was growing less confident each moment that passed.

“A lady should aim higher than an untitled gentleman, unless he is of the most impeccable character,” Lady Liliah emphasized, tilting her head as she regarded him. “What exactly do you know about him?”

Heathcliff suppressed his groan of frustration and thought about the man in question. He was young, with enough land to make him respectable in that aspect. It wasn’t common knowledge, but the gentleman had inquired about purchasing a title, which made Heathcliff think he was seeking social promotion. A marriage to a duke’s daughter would certainly be something he’d find tempting.

Damn, there was that word again.

He cleared his throat. “I have reason to believe he is in search of a way to climb the social ladder, as it were.”

“Oh.” Liliah frowned slightly.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Aren’t most men in search of the same thing? It doesn’t necessarily mean his character is flawed,” Lucas interjected; not helpfully, in Heathcliff’s opinion.

“True. I can see that point,” she conceded. “We’ll keep him on the list.” Lady Liliah turned to her sister, and Heathcliff did his very best not to follow her gaze. “Are you in favor of meeting him?”

Heathcliff lifted his teacup, thankful for the distraction it offered, even as he listened intently to her answer.

“Yes. Keep him on the list. I’m not going to disregard a man because he is ambitious. There are worse things,” she murmured the last part.

And he wondered if perhaps the words were directed at him.

But no, he hadn’t indicated anything to her other than a few stolen moments of pleasure. There had been no promises, no talk of commitment. It was simply . . . he had to think about the word that would define the description . . . he failed at fitting the sensations he felt into one simple word. It was too much, yet not ready to be defined at the same time, and confusing as hell.

“Now, then, next on the list is Lord Marrion,” Liliah continued doggedly.

Certainly there was somewhere he needed to be, anywhere, really.

But if he left now, they would ask why. After all, he was the only one who knew the men in question, aside from his housekeeper, that is.

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