A Scandalous Deception Read Online Free Page B

things.” In fact, the oh-so-proper
Fin was the perfect candidate to pose as Bella’s fiancé, now that
Lissy thought about it. Handsome, wealthy, powerful. Chatham
couldn’t possibly find fault with Fin. “Do you—”
    “As your brother’s guardian, I believe I’m
granted some leeway in regard to my correspondence with you, my
lady.”
    “Oh?” Lissy blinked up at him. “Has something
happened with Edmund?”
    Fin’s eyes darted from Lissy to Bella and
back again. “Might I have a word with you alone?”
    He wouldn’t leave until she gave it to him,
that much was evident from his stance. There was nothing else for
it. “Very well.” Lissy heaved a sigh as she pushed off the bench.
“I’ll be back in a moment, Bella.”
    Fin offered his arm to Lissy, which she
regarded with the warmth one might welcome an approaching asp.
Begrudgingly, she took his arm anyway. It was, after all, the
proper thing to do.
    “What is it?” she grumbled once they were out
of earshot from Bella. “Pray tell, Fin, what reprimand do you have
prepared for me today? Let’s get it over with, shall we?”

    Fin closed his hand over Lissy’s fingers on
his arm and directed her towards a copse of trees, not far away.
Her delicate hand clutching the crook of his arm reminded him at
once of the way Georgie had always held on to him, and that memory
echoed though his soul, warming him from the inside out. Good God!
What the devil was wrong with him? “You make it sound as though I’m
forever reprimanding you.”
    “Because you forever are,” she returned, not
even bothering to look up at him.
    A slight pain twisted Fin’s heart. He didn’t
enjoy chastising her, but… Well, someone needed to rein her in, to
keep her from destroying her own future. She’d received very little
direction from her late father, and though Georgie had tried her
best with Felicity, the flaxen haired imp had always possessed a
stubborn streak and a mind of her own. A mind that he didn’t
understand the workings of in the least, and one he wasn’t certain
she used or heeded all the time. Lissy raced headfirst into one
thing after another with very little, if any, thought to her
actions. An impromptu trip across the Atlantic to visit her late
mother’s family, a hasty marriage to a man her sisters had never
met nor approved of, and now cavorting with blackguards like
Haversham. “I just want what’s best for you,” he said softly as he
drew her to a stop and spun her to face him.
    Lissy scoffed, but she did at least raise her
cerulean gaze to meet his. “I am perfectly capable of taking care
of myself, Phineas Granard.”
    That he wasn’t so certain of. She might be a
widow who’d seen more of the world than others of her age, but
Lissy was still young and still rather flighty. “Perhaps,” he
agreed, just to appease her. “But all the same, it’s not a good
idea for you to be in London all alone.”
    “I’m not alone. I—”
    “No, you’re not.” He squeezed her fingers.
“You have me to look out for you.”
    “I don’t need you to look out for me.”
    The one thing all three St. Claire women
possessed was an unfortunate stubbornness they could have only
inherited from their father. “Lissy,” he pleaded, hoping she could
see reason. “Be sensible. If Beckford and Juliet were in Town, I’m
certain he’d see to your escort. Had things turned out differently,
I’d be your brother, the same as he is. Besides, you’re Edmund’s
sister. I just want to make certain you’re safe.”
    Her pretty eyes softened, but just for a
moment. “I am perfectly safe, Fin. I know you think I’m a ninny,
but there’s more to me than what you give me credit for.”
    “I don’t think you’re a ninny.” Well, not all
the time, though only a fool would say such words aloud. Fin shook
his head, hoping to stress upon her the dangerous position she’d
put herself in. “Did you even notice the way Haversham looked at
you last night?”
    Her brow