Читать книгу Scandalising the Ton - Diane Gaston - Страница 2
Оглавление‘Do you need money?’
His hand swept the room. ‘You light fi res only for show. You have no flowers. And there is the matter of your servants…’
Would he tell the creditors and reporters? If word of her true situation escaped, all of England would know the shocking state of her fi nances.
‘I don’t need money.’ Lydia felt her cheeks heat. ‘Would that not mean I was in your keeping? Do not mistresses accept money from their…patrons?’
‘I offer it without obligation.’
Adrian said this so sincerely she almost believed him. It made no sense that a near stranger, a known rake, would offer her money without expecting something in return.
For a moment he looked as if he would cross the room to her, but instead he turned and walked to the door. She twisted away, not wishing to watch him disappear out of her life.
His voice came from behind her. ‘I am your friend, Lydia. Remember that.’
She spun back around, but he had gone.