Nothing But Scandal by Allegra Gray Page B

Elizabeth’s offer that morning in Hyde Park.
    Now that he knew her better, it was a promise he was seriously coming to regret.
    Alex poured himself a brandy. Hell, what was one more broken promise after a lifetime of sins?
    If anything, he was beginning to think Lord Medford, in a weird and twisted way, had been onto something when he’d tried to thrust Alex and Elizabeth together.
    A gruff, cynical laugh escaped him. He must be losing it, if he was beginning to trust Lord Medford’s judgment. He tossed the brandy back, savored the slow burn as he swallowed.
    He’d once considered Medford a close acquaintance, perhaps even a friend. But that was before he’d learned the man’s true nature.
    They’d gambled together, with Alex assuming the baron could cover his mounting losses. Eventually, Alex had mentioned something about payment, not liking to leave things lingering too long. Medford had stalled, which had tipped off Alex that all was not as it seemed. Finally, the man had approached him, with an apology and a proposal so vile, Alex still had trouble believing it.
     
    Lord Medford had met Alex at White’s that evening, then waited until Alex’s fellow card players had all abandoned the table and the servants were out of earshot.
    “This is a hard thing for a man to say,” Medford had muttered, not meeting Alex’s eye, “but I simply can’t cover those debts right now. It’s a bad time.” He laid down his cards.
    Alex briefly felt sorry for the older man. Irritated, certainly, but also sympathetic, as he assumed the problem was temporary. “How long do you need?”
    “Well, that’s the problem. I simply can’t say.” He looked up. “But I thought perhaps there was another way we could even the score.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “You may have my eldest daughter in marriage.”
    “What!” Alex shook his head to clear his ears.
    “I thought if we joined families, then the debt wouldn’t matter. And Elizabeth is an attractive girl.”
    “See here, Medford, your thinking is awry.” Alex forced the words through a clenched jaw. “For one, the days of the man paying a bride-price are over. They were over centuries ago. But that is what you’re essentially asking me to do. Generally, it works the other way around. Women come with a dowry, which makes them more attractive to a man.” Alex didn’t need any woman’s dowry, but that didn’t change the principle of the matter.
    “But Elizabeth is special,” Medford said. And Alex hated the desperation in his voice.
    “I don’t even know the chit!” Not only did he not know her, he had no intention of marrying anyone in the near future.
    “Does that matter for a ton marriage?”
    “Medford, you disgust me. You’re trying to turn your losses into profit. Just think—you’d be out of debt, you’d have an unwed daughter off your hands, and, to top it all off, you’d have an alliance with one of the premier families in England. Exactly how do you see this as a way to, as you put it, ‘even the score’?”
    Medford twisted a playing card in his hands and remained silent.
    “Now, perhaps if she were willing to work off your debt in other ways…” He spoke with deliberate crudeness, wanting to see Medford, weasel that he was, squirm a bit. But though Alex was no stranger to debauchery, he had no intention of dragging an innocent girl into this matter.
    “Now see here,” Medford bleakly replied, his face pale, “Elizabeth is a respectable girl. She ought to marry. You, Your Grace, must be thinking of an heir.”
    Unbelievable what the man thought he could get away with. There was no way Alex was marrying a woman he’d never met. “That’s not your concern.”
    “No.” The baron swallowed. “I’m sorry.” He began muttering to himself.
    Alex picked out a few phrases, including “wouldn’t be the end of the world,” “figured it would come to this,” and “after it was said and done, could still marry her off to an older man who