Читать книгу Tarnished Amongst the Ton - Louise Allen - Страница 3

Colour rose over Miss Hurst’s bosom and up her throat to stain her cheeks. It was delicious, Ashe thought, like the flush of pomegranate juice over iced sherbet on a hot day.

She was no wide-eyed innocent if she took the meaning of his glance and words so promptly. But then she was obviously no sheltered Society miss.

How old was she? Twenty-five? Twenty-six? Attractive, bright, stylish but not married. Why not? he wondered. Something to do with her secret lives, no doubt.

‘I would very much appreciate it if you did not mention that we had met before this evening, my lord.’

‘Members of the ton are not expected to be shopkeepers, I assume?’

‘Precisely.’

‘Hmm. Pity my maternal grandfather was a nabob, then.’ He was unconcerned what people thought of his ancestry, but he was interested in how she reacted.

‘If he was indecently rich, and is now dead, there is absolutely nothing for the heir to a marquisate to worry about. Society is curiously accommodating in its prejudices.’ Her expression was bleak. ‘At least as far as gentlemen are concerned. Ladies are another matter altogether.’

‘So I could ruin you with this piece of gossip?’

‘Yes—as you know perfectly well…’