A Scandalous Deception by Ava Stone Page B

first, he’d need to get Lissy’s
panic-stricken expression out of his mind. But how to do that? The
fear she wore this morning was worse than the fury she’d sported
the night before, her beautiful face distorted with concern.
    All night long, Lieutenant Avery’s words had
echoed in Fin’s ears. Had Lissy truly been unhappily married? Was
she truly distrustful of men? Well, aside from Beckford and
himself? Had Captain Pierce harmed her somehow during the duration
of their short marriage?
    From the sideboard, Fin poured himself a
generous glass of whisky.
    Drink in hand, Fin dropped into the
overstuffed leather chair behind his desk and took his first sip.
The image of Georgie’s tortured expression whenever the subject of
Teynham arose flashed once more in his mind. Had Lissy endured a
similar marriage? The mere thought of such a thing had him balling
his hand into a fist.
    For as long as he’d known Lissy, she was the
sort who was forever giggling or dancing or enjoying some sort of
merriment. Lighthearted. Carefree. Had the late Captain Pierce
robbed her of that? And had Fin been blind to it all?
    Seeing her so distressed this morning had
torn at his heart. Just the suggestion that there could be
complications with Juliet’s pregnancy had been too much for Lissy.
He’d never seen her look quite so distraught. He’d had the
overwhelming urge to kiss her fears away and vow that all would be
right with the world no matter what. And he had a feeling that were
he to do so, were he to kiss Lissy, that he’d never want to stop,
not for the remainder of his life.
    Damn it all. He’d only ever felt that way
about one woman in all of his life. And now he felt it again,
though slightly different. Had he somehow fallen in love with
Lissy? As the thought entered his mind, a bit of peace settled
across him as though he’d arrived at the correct conclusion. That
peace was swiftly followed by a wave of panic. God in heaven. He’d
fallen in love with Felicity Pierce.
    What the devil was he supposed to do about
that? She was Georgie’s sister, for God’s sake.
    A scratch sounded at his door, breaking him
of his reverie. Fin glanced toward the sound, happy to focus on the
interruption rather than on his plaguing thoughts. “Come,” he
called.
    Ames pushed open the door. “Your coach is
ready, sir.”
    Fin blinked at his butler. “Ready?” He’d
barely had a chance to sit down, to try to put his thoughts in
order. “So quickly?”
    “Quickly?” Ames frowned a bit.
    Fin realized in that moment that his study
was bathed in a warmer light than it had been what seemed only
moments ago, as though the sun had moved lower in the sky. “What
time is it, Ames?”
    “Just past three o’clock, milord.”
    Three o’clock? He’d left Prestwick House just
before noon. What the devil was wrong with him? Fin looked down at
the glass he still had clutched in his hand and realized he’d
somehow downed the contents. Blast and damn! He still had those
missives to write and he’d promised Lissy they’d leave today.
“Thank you, Ames. I’ll be ready to go shortly.”
    After he quickly penned a note to Lord
Liverpool and was in the middle of his note to Lady Staveley,
someone cleared his throat from the threshold. Fin glanced to the
open doorway to find Sebastian lounged against the doorjamb, a
self-satisfied expression on his cousin’s face.
    “Punched the man in the middle of Rotherby’s
drawing room, did you?”
    Fin returned his attention to the note before
him. “I’m headed out, Sebastian.”
    “Yes, Ames told me. Prestwick Chase,
hmm?”
    “What do you want?” Fin asked as he signed
his name to Lady Staveley’s note.
    “Just to see how you’re doing, cousin.”
Sebastian pushed away from the doorway and stepped further into the
study. “Everyone is talking about you this morning. Well, you and
Haversham.”
    “Let them talk.” Fin looked up from his desk,
spearing his cousin with a glare.
    Sebastian chuckled as