Marry in Scandal by Anne Gracie

Author:Anne Gracie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2018-04-03T04:00:00+00:00

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Leaving Edward and Cal to discuss settlements, Lily walked slowly upstairs, dawdling in order to put off the moment when she would have to tell Rose and Emm and George that she’d accepted him. Against all their advice. And wishes.

She was betrothed to Mr. Galbraith—to Edward. She should have been in alt, or over the moon, or any one of the usual states newly betrothed girls were supposed to feel. Instead she felt . . . She didn’t know what she felt.

It had been a very businesslike proposal. He hadn’t even kissed her. Perhaps that was why she felt a little flat. She had to admit she’d been expecting a kiss, at least. And looking forward to it.

Why had he tried so hard to paint himself in such an unfavorable light? Was he trying to put her off, or was he simply trying to be honest with her? It was impossible to know.

He’d admitted that his reason for proposing was the scandal—well, that was no surprise. Before Lily had gone in to receive his offer, Emm had told her that she’d tried to talk Mr. Galbraith out of proposing, just as she’d tried to convince Lily not to marry him.

But he’d chosen to propose. And Lily had chosen to accept.

Was it only his sense of honor that had prompted him to offer marriage to her? Or did he have some other reason, one he hadn’t mentioned?

Lily had. She hadn’t admitted it to anyone except Rose yet: She wanted Edward Galbraith. More than wanted, she loved him.

At least she thought she did. Rose said it wasn’t love, that she was confusing love with the gratitude she felt for her rescuer, and Lily did feel grateful. But when Edward had kissed her in the dark woods and held her in his arms, it wasn’t gratitude she felt.

When she’d told Rose and George about the kiss, Rose’s view was that Lily was too inexperienced to tell. Galbraith was a rake; it stood to reason he would know how to kiss. What Lily needed, Rose said, was to be kissed by a lot of other men. Then she’d know what value to put on Mr. Galbraith’s kisses.

Except Lily didn’t want to kiss a lot of other men. She only wanted one man to kiss—Edward.

George had said that Lily didn’t need to kiss anyone else, that any man who shared his kisses around like Mr. Galbraith was reputed to do wasn’t worth having.

There was sense in their opinions, both of them. But Lily wanted Edward with a desperate yearning. She thought of him constantly, and even dreamed of him. Was that love? She didn’t know.

Emm had suggested Lily was perhaps a little infatuated—which was understandable given the dreadful situation he’d rescued her from. It was also understandable, Emm said, that she was attracted to him; he was an attractive man and could be quite charming—when he wanted to be.

But he was so much older than Lily—nearly twenty-eight to Lily’s eighteen—and so much more experienced.

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