Never Surrender to a Scoundrel by Lily Dalton Page A

those things, a wastrel, a drunk, and a gambler, but he had agreed to marry her, and what other choice did she have? Wolverton hadn’t exactly presented her with any other options, and she couldn’t very well place a sign in front of the house asking for more desirable volunteers.
     “He’s insufferable. Irreformable.”  Daphne rolled from the bed, taking up her robe and pulling the garment onto her arms. “Don’t pretend otherwise. We were all quite relieved at hearing he would at last be gone from our lives. I knew there had to be a reason he didn’t look more disappointed at learning he wasn’t our relation—and it was because he’d already seduced Clarissa.”
    “That’s not true. Please, just stop,” Clarissa begged. “There was no plan to seduce me. I assure you with the utmost sincerity that Mr. Kincraig is no villain. He can be very charming and kind. If only you will try to see past all the rest.”
    The words, even to her own ears, sounded forced, not because her future husband had no redeeming qualities but because she ought not to have to defend Mr. Kincraig. He did not even belong in this story, other than by unfortunate chance.
    Daphne peered at her, her eyes damp. “So help me, by all that is holy and good, if he was not the father of your child I would tear him apart with my own hands for the shame he has brought upon you. I shall despise him always for what he has done. Oh, fig! Christmas is ruined forever.”
    A wave of misery enveloped Clarissa. Christmas! Where would life find her and Mr. Kincraig then, when she could hardly see past the shock of this morning?
    “Now you’re being cruel,” Sophia rebuked.
    “I don’t mean to be.” Daphne’s pale hair glinted brightly, touched by a beam of morning sunlight. She swiped her hands at the tears in her eyes. Her demeanor softened then, as did her voice. “It’s just that I’m so very worried about grandfather and our dear mother, both of whom I came two inches from scandalizing just weeks ago with all my carrying on with Raikes. And not least of all, I am concerned for my sister, whom I love very much and want to be happy.”
    In two steps Daphne threw her arms around Clarissa, embracing her tight. “I’m sorry for speaking harshly about the man you love.”
    Sophia watched them, a sideways smile on her lips. “She doesn’t love him. You missed that all-important revelation when you were asleep.”
    Daphne pulled back and looked at Clarissa, her expression baffled. “Then how did this happen?”
    With both of them looking at her in sympathy and puzzlement, a confession welled up from deep inside Clarissa’s chest, threatening to burst from her lips.
    But even if she went against her grandfather’s wishes and told them the truth, they could do nothing to repair her situation. At least if she held her silence, they would believe she was marrying the father of her child and someone whom she respected enough to defend. If they knew about Lord Quinn’s betrayal they would only pity her more, and she didn’t want to live with that inglorious badge for the rest of her life, being poor Clarissa, the reckless little fool living a lie. She didn’t want to live a lie. She must embrace this new reality.
    She inhaled her sister’s comforting scent, that of lilacs and sleep.
    “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I have hurt everyone with my impulsive choice.” She gently withdrew from Daphne’s embrace and stepped back, straightening her shoulders and holding her head high. “But it is all my doing, and I must live with the consequences. Thank you both for passing this long night with me, but I think I’d like to be alone now.”
    Her sisters looked at her, looking more traumatized than she felt in their sleeping gowns and rumpled hair and emotion-flushed faces.
    “I am a terrible sister!” Daphne exclaimed, reaching for her again. “I shouldn’t have said all those things. I’ve only made you feel worse when I should have just