What a Reckless Rogue Needs (The Sinful Scoundrels, #2)(44)

“My mother was suspicious, but my father thought Brentmoor’s honesty about his faults showed his character wasn’t all bad. Thereafter, he would seek out my father at entertainments.”

“He was scheming,” Colin said.

“Oh, yes, but we did not know it then. He discovered my father loved to play chess, and my father invited him to call. Afterward, he regularly came to our town house to play with my father.”

“He is an opportunist,” Colin said.

“My first inkling of doubt came from Penny’s reaction. She left the drawing room every time Brentmoor called. She is especially sensitive. When I asked her about it, she said his eyes lied. I thought it strange and let it go. I should have paid attention.

“Then one night after we’d danced, he told me that he was in danger of falling in love with me, but of course he was undeserving. Deep down, I knew that something wasn’t quite right, but I persuaded myself that I was in love, because I feared being a spinster. He admitted to my father that he was in debt. His father was a known drunkard, and he said that he gambled because his father was almost bankrupt. I did not know it then, but my father loaned him money.”

“The devil,” Colin said.

“My friend Charlotte tried to counsel me to be wary of him. She was very worried, because her husband had told her that I was making a bad mistake. I was a little angry at her presumption. At every point, I ignored the warning signs, because I feared that I would end up a spinster. Oh, God, if I had only known.”

“He duped your father. Do not blame yourself.”

“How can I not blame myself? I had doubts. I knew something wasn’t right.”

“There are men who are experts at deceiving others. They sense other’s vulnerabilities and take advantage. When doubts come to the forefront, they manage to ease them.”

“You describe his character well. I feel like a fool.”

“You should not.”

“He proposed, and I accepted. By then, he’d said all the right things to my father, who approved. My parents had a row over it. Like Penny, my mother saw through him. I pleaded with her. Brentmoor was trying to turn his life around, and he’d not had a good father to guide him. My own father agreed, and the contracts were duly signed. It was at that point his true character emerged.”


“What happened?”

“One night at a ball, Brentmoor took me aside and complained he was frustrated. He said he feared I was a prude and wanted me to prove myself, but I refused to allow him liberties until we were married.”

“Good for you,” Colin said. Privately, he was relieved. It would have been a nightmare if the scoundrel had gotten her with child.

“He was determined. At another ball, he pointed out the lanterns in a garden and the other guests walking about. He assured me there was no impropriety. At first, all was well, but then he took me away from the lanterns. When I chided him, he managed to make me feel guilty for denying him. We were engaged, so I let him kiss me. I believed he would behave like a gentleman, but when a group of men came near, he gave me a lascivious kiss and plastered himself against me. I could tell it excited him for others to see us, but I was mortified.”

“You ought to have slapped him.”

“In front of others? I dared not create a scene.”

“I never thought about how a woman might be entrapped that way.”

“Of course you would not, because you would never do such a thing. I knew in my heart that the way he was treating me was wrong. I should have called off the engagement at that moment.”

“Why did you not?” Colin asked.

“Because I knew if I broke the engagement that it would hurt my reputation.” She shook her head. “I should have consulted my parents, but they were in disagreement over my engagement, and that alone should have decided me.”

“Angeline, I suspect that he twisted matters and caused you to question your judgment.”

“He did,” she said. “He was very persuasive—he had to be or my father would never have let him step over the threshold. He concentrated all of his charm on my father and me. But he ignored Penny and Mama. They saw through him.”

“When your father thanked Brentmoor for rescuing you at that ball, he’d given Brentmoor the opening he needed. He concentrated on you and your father because you were the decision-makers. In order to get what he wanted—your fortune—he needed to make you believe he was a gentleman who had experienced undeserved misfortune at the hands of his father. Similarly, he needed to persuade your father that he was seeking parental guidance. He gulled you and your father. When your father spoke well of him, you believed Brentmoor was a gentleman. Similarly, when you mentioned Brentmoor’s wish to improve his character, your father believed him worthy of consideration, particularly because he was so humble. In essence he played the two of you simultaneously. What finally prompted you to end the engagement?”

“One evening, Brentmoor made plans to meet a friend at White’s. I was glad for the reprieve. To be honest, I felt I needed to think carefully about the step I was about to make. I was starting to feel a little panicked. If he really loved me, he would have respected my decision to wait for marriage and not press me constantly. I had so many doubts and wish now that I had listened to my own heart.

“That very night, my friend Charlotte invited me to accompany her to a ball, because her husband was out of town. I welcomed the invitation, and her younger brother escorted us. I never thought anything could possibly go wrong at a respectable entertainment.