Days Of Rakes And Roses. Anna Campbell

sorry, Lydia. More sorry than I can say.”

      Hostility was easier to bear than pity. She couldn’t endure this sense that he saw into her soul to all the loneliness and longing and rage there. She blinked to clear the mist of tears from her eyes and forced a cheerful reply. “It’s all for the best, anyway.”

      “Is it?” he asked and a shiver ran through her at the dangerous rawness in his question. After a bristling silence, he went on, his voice returning to lightness. “Whatever your marital plans, I assumed that after I’d led you into such a compromising situation, you’d never want to speak to me again.”

      “I didn’t.” Yet another lie. She paused and went on with a bitter edge and perfect sincerity. “I don’t.”

      His hand tightened around her waist and he drew her closer. She tensed to prevent her body meeting his. The gossip she’d heard over the years about his wildness indicated that he wouldn’t balk at creating a public fracas to break her engagement.