The Dangerous Lord by Sabrina Jeffries Page A

dislike hearing your character maligned so unfairly.”
    It was all Ian could do not to curse aloud. Now Miss Taylor would think him a bigger liar than before. Which, in a way, he was. “As I recall, I asked you to keep that story to yourselves to protect my friend’s privacy.”
    Emily cast him a sidelong glance. “And we’ll do so. Sara merely wanted to help. You have been looking for a wife, after all. It’s important that eligible women know your true character.”
    â€œWomen like Miss Taylor, I suppose?”
    â€œOf course.” Emily batted her fan a few times. “Surely you won’t balk at marrying a respectable woman simply because she has no great claim to fortune or birth. If you’re looking for a wife, Miss Taylor wouldn’t be a bad choice.”
    He wanted to laugh. Marriage to Miss Taylor would be sheer disaster. With her loose tongue, penchant for diggingup secrets, and delight in skewering men of rank, in less than a week—no, a day—after the wedding she’d be nosing into his affairs.
    Besides, she’d never agree to marry him. The little he’d gleaned about her indicated that her father had left her a substantial inheritance, so money was no incentive. And since she thought him a profligate and a town rake, a man who lived to debauch women and humiliate his fiancée, the usual attractions of marriage wouldn’t tempt her.
    Still, marriage to Miss Taylor would be as entertaining as it would be maddening.
    No , he reproached himself. That doesn’t even bear contemplation . “You seem to have a very favorable opinion of the woman. Yet you hardly know her.”
    â€œTrue. But I liked her as soon as Sara introduced us. She’s adorable—funny and intelligent and direct. You must admit you’re far too somber these days, and certainly too secretive. You need a woman like her to bring you out of yourself. And if, like so many men, you want a wife with a spotless reputation, she has that, too.”
    He snorted. “Spotless? I seriously doubt it.”
    â€œOh?” Emily looked at him with interest. “Do you know something about Miss Taylor the rest of us don’t?”
    A pity he couldn’t tell Emily that Miss Taylor was Lord X. It would serve the loose-tongued creature right to be exposed. But he wasn’t ready for open war—yet. “I merely meant that she isn’t what she appears.”
    â€œThen you’re the only one to think so,” Emily retorted, obviously disappointed by his refusal to reveal more. “No one ever speaks ill of her.”
    That was precisely why Miss Taylor moved with impunity through society. She needn’t be a member of Almack’s. Championed by those of Lady Brumley’s ilk, she need only be the daughter of the dashing Algernon Taylor to gain access to prestigious routs and balls and thus to all the gossip she required for her column.
    Secure in her anonymity, she dug up old gossip, then passed judgment without ever suffering society’s censure. If she’d once been the subject of speculation herself, he doubted she’d be so bloody self-righteous.
    Ian stilled. What an intriguing thought—Miss Taylor, the subject of gossip. The strains of a waltz reached his ears, and he began to smile. Perhaps it was time the self-righteous Miss Taylor learned firsthand how easily a situation could be misconstrued.
    Without giving himself a chance to question his motives, he excused himself to Emily, then strode purposefully across the room. Ah, yes, he knew exactly how to teach Miss Taylor a much-needed lesson in humility, especially if her reputation was as “spotless” as Emily implied.
    As soon as Felicity saw Lord St. Clair heading toward her, she braced herself for trouble. Devil take Katherine! Felicity had risked discovery to prevent her friend from marrying a degenerate, and the woman had run off with her family’s steward