A Scandalous Portrait (The Rose Room Rogues #1) - Callie Hutton Page 0,36

for a late supper after the theater.”

“Then I shall rest on the small bed here in the room.” Marguerite had her own room one floor above, but on the evenings Diana expected to be late, the girl slept on the cot so she could help her mistress out of her clothing and then retire to her own room.

Deciding a sherry would be welcomed while waiting for Hunt, she made her way to the drawing room. Since she was supposedly ‘betrothed’ she no longer found it necessary to have Mrs. Strickland accompany her everywhere.

Not wanting to leave the poor—but annoying—woman without employment, Diana had arranged for her to be companion to elderly Lady Winborne, a long-time friend of Diana’s grandmama.

She downed the last of her sherry when the door knocker sounded, and she heard Hunt’s voice. She closed her eyes at the sliver of anticipation that glided over her. This was ridiculous. She would not allow herself to be affected by the man.

With a shaky hand—blast it—she placed the sherry glass on the table and smiled as he entered the room.

Men like the Earl of Huntington should be against the law. Uncommonly handsome, his deep brown eyes twinkled with mirth as he viewed her. Did she look so very amusing then?

His well-tailored suit fit him like a comfortable soft leather glove. His silk pure white ascot set off the warmth of his skin. He approached her with his hand extended. She raised her hand, and he took it, turned her hand to place a kiss with his warm lips on the sensitive skin of her wrist. Whyever hadn’t she put her gloves on already?

She curled her hand and cursed the rush of heat that rose to her face. “Would you care for a drink, my lord?”

Hunt laughed softly.

Refusing to allow him to view her as unsettled by his presence, she raised her chin. “A drink?”

“Yes, sweetheart. I will pour myself a brandy. We have some time. Why don’t you sit and I will bring you another”—he looked at her glass—"sherry?”

“Yes.”

Taking a deep breath, she settled on the most uncomfortable piece of furniture in the room, a red flowered settee that had been a favorite of grandmama. Perhaps the discomfort would keep her sharp so she didn’t make a fool of herself.

Hunt sat next to her and took a sip of his brandy, then removed the glass of sherry from her hand and placed it on the table next to his. “I have something for you.”

Again her heart began to race. “What is it?” She licked her dry lips.

He withdrew a beautiful black onyx ring with over a dozen small diamonds surrounding it from his pocket. She regarded him with raised eyebrows.

“A betrothal ring from the Huntington family jewel collection.”

14

Hunt’s stomach dropped as Diana continued to stare at the ring as if it possessed the power to destroy her. “Is something wrong?”

She jumped up. “I thought the plan was to court for a while and then discuss a betrothal.”

He reached up and pulled her back down alongside him. “Diana, you have been compromised. Again. And what of my honor? When the situation happened with Lord Stratford last year you escaped to Italy, but he was shunned for quite a while for not doing the honorable thing.”

“Why? He tried to get me to marry him, but since that was his plan all along—to compromise me—I refused. But he did offer, so he should not have been shunned.”

“It matters not, Diana. You were both involved in the scandal and, although the man’s part in it is never as serious as the woman’s they still feel the brunt of the ton turning their backs on them.”

“I see.” She stiffened and glared at him. “First it was a necessity for us to marry, and now it’s about your honor. Quite romantic. I’m afraid you need lessons, my lord, in how to woo a young lady.”

Hunt slumped and ran his fingers through his hair. He replayed in his mind why he had decided Diana was the best woman for him. It was inevitable. From the time he first rescued her from a tree with a dog snapping at her heels, to stealing the portrait, he’d known deep inside that despite his desire to have a biddable, demure, never-a-scandal wife, Diana was the one who had always held his heart.

However, given the circumstances in which they found themselves, she would never believe it. The simple fact was she didn’t trust him and, given his attitude toward her, she