A Marriage Most Scandalous (Scandalous Ballroom Encounters Book 2) by Victoria Vale Page A

she would never have guessed someone would see and recognize her.
    What had begun as a desire to breathe life into her monotonous marriage now threatened everything. Sheridan would be furious when he learned of the gossip making the rounds. He would blame her for the position he was now in. His peers would shun him, and his voice in the House of Lords had now been discredited. His father, the viscount, would not take this lightly. It would be just like him to cut off Sheridan’s funds over such a scandal, leaving them in dire straits. Her dowry could only go so far.
    Yes, she felt sure he would blame her, and could not fault him for that. She had ruined absolutely everything.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Their townhouse was in an uproar when Sheridan and Cecily returned home. Annoyance and confusion gripped him when he found a large, over-embellished coach with the Perth crest waiting out front, and the vestibule filled with their trunks. It became exacerbated when he spied his father, standing with one foot propped on the bottom stair, observing his timepiece and pretending not to notice their entrance.
    “Sheridan?” Cecily called, voice quivering.
    “Go upstairs,” he said. “I will determine what this is all about.”
    She seemed reluctant, but did what he asked, walking silently to the staircase and retaining the dignified set to her shoulders as she breezed past his father.
    There hadn’t been time for them to discuss what had happened at the Morley’s ball, and now, it would have to wait even longer. When the viscount demanded an audience, he was not to be ignored.
    Baldwin Cranfield III, Viscount of Perth, appeared like a mirror image of Sheridan, with only a little gray hair and the lines of age to distinguish him. He cut an imposing figure in his evening attire, his expression even sourer than usual. Unlike his son, he did not possess an easygoing nature. The viscount liked to control everyone and everything around him—including his adult son and his wife. Thus, the reason for his visit and the packed bags.
    “You will depart for Edenwhite,” he said in a clipped tone that warned he would tolerate no argument.
    Sheridan bit back a scathing retort. He knew he walked a tightrope with his father, who had the power to cripple him financially.
    “There is no need,” he replied, clasping his hands behind his back. “The rumors about Cecily aren’t true. If we remain and present a united front, the tongue-wagging will cease. If we don’t give them anything more to talk about, they’ll latch on to some new bit of nonsense and forget about my wife.”
    “Your wife .” Baldwin shook his head, nostrils flaring as he seemed to fight to control his own anger. “It would seem we were mistaken about her. However, milk spilled cannot be put back in the bottle. We must weather this until it has passed.”
    He clenched his hands into fists at his sides, his fingernails biting into his palms. “Cecily is innocent here. I’ll thank you not to speak ill of my wife while standing inside of my house.”
    “A house my money pays for,” the viscount reminded him, arching one blond eyebrow. “If you’d disciplined your wife as I taught you—”
    “You seem to have forgotten, I am no longer a child,” he interrupted. “You might have forced me to do your bidding when I was young, but how I treat my wife is not subject to your approval, or your dictates.”
    “No,” the viscount agreed. “But where you live is. You will remain at Edenwhite through the season. Perhaps when you return next year, you’ll have sired a brat on the chit. That should keep her occupied.”
    Sheridan gritted his teeth, but couldn’t bite the words back quick enough. “No.”
    His father straightened, tension squaring his shoulders. “No?”
    “You heard me. I said no. Cecily and I will remain here for the season, and thank you to keep your nose out of our affairs.”
    Baldwin crossed his arms over his chest and gave his son a derisive