tipping her head to the side as she studied Tilly, “I wonder if perhaps hate is not precisely what he feels for you. Oliver teased me mercilessly. I always thought he was being cruel, but it turns out, he was flirting.” She shook her head and smiled. “Stupid man. It could be the same with Sullivan.”
Tilly released an unladylike snort. “I assure you it is not. Furthermore, marriage seems unnecessary considering my virtue is still intact.”
“Virtuous or not, your reputation is in tatters,” Agnes said. “Sullivan compromised you; it is his duty to marry you. He’ll make you a good husband.”
“He will not,” Tilly said. “We are entirely unsuited.”
Harriet smiled. “He’s very handsome.”
However, that, Tilly couldn’t deny.
Tilly thought back to his arousal, how long and thick and hard it had felt beneath her hand, with only his blanket between their flesh. But he’d made it quite clear it hadn’t been because of her and instead something that just happened on occasion.
“We don’t care for each other. And surely you have not forgotten, Agnes, that you told us that he had no desire to ever marry. He is trying to be honorable, and I will give him credit for that. But in the end, no one will care if my reputation is intact.” Her own parents didn’t even seem overly concerned. They weren’t forcing Sullivan’s hand; no, they were ready to send her off to be forgotten. Pain rippled through her, though she tried to ignore the tightening of her heart and the prickling of her eyes. She’d learned long ago not to count on anyone, especially her family.
“Don’t be so hasty,” Harriet said. “Marriages built from compromise can be quite beneficial.”
“You say that now, but only because your husband adores you,” Tilly said. She knew Harriet had been devastated when Lord Davenport had intentionally compromised her to force their union. But now the couple was blissfully married and very much in love. Tilly ignored the tinge of envy that poked at her. Regardless of whether she ended up married to Sullivan or not, a union between the two of them would never be a love match.
Harriet did nothing to hide her glowing smile. “True, but not initially.”
“That point is debatable,” Agnes said. “I say he already loved you, he was merely too foolish to recognize it.” Then she turned her pretty blue eyes back to Tilly. “Your mother’s advice is possibly as bad as my own, though. You cannot simply hide away in the country until the gossip passes.”
“Yes,” Harriet said, nudging Tilly with her elbow. “Agnes’s mother suggested she should marry one man and have an affair with another.”
Agnes’s mother was a famed beauty and known for her flagrant affairs about London. Yet another example of how deceiving a pretty package can be.
Agnes glared at Harriet. “Yes, well, we all know my mother is not conventional by any definition.” She paused a breath before continuing. “Let me ask you this, Tilly, what is it you want to do? Do you want to go off and hide in the countryside?”
“Well, no, of course not. The estate in question is so far up north, it is practically in Scotland, and it is always cold and dreary up there. You know I much prefer London. Plus, there’s the Ladies of Virtue to consider. We can’t be on suspension permanently. Eventually, something about the mysterious Lady X will be discovered and we’ll be free to return to our business.” Not only that, but she had those orphans to consider. She felt certain she could help them, if only she could uncover the truth about who was forcing their hands.
“I think it will be sooner than we’d been hoping, too,” Agnes said.
Harriet smiled broadly. “Truly?”
Agnes nodded. “I know my brother had a meeting with both Lord and Lady Somersby after he returned to London, and I believe his trip had something to do with Lady X.”
That news alone had Tilly feeling a bit lighter, more encouraged. “Then I most assuredly do not want to hide out in the countryside,” she said. “I would be miserable there, unable to assist the rest of you with our duties. We made pledges to Lady Somersby.”
“Then you must marry Sullivan,” Agnes said.
“Yes,” Harriet said with a clap of her hands. “Marry him and then you shall be able to stay in London. With us.”
Tilly’s heart clenched. Was that such a terrible notion? Theirs wouldn’t be a marriage like her friends’ unions.
Agnes reached over and squeezed Tilly’s hand. “Tilly,