Earl of Exile (Lords of Scandal 3)

Exile closed his mouth to keep the string of curses from falling out. Rage beat at his chest. He didn’t know who the man was, but he was going to kill him slowly.

Granted, Exile had also taken liberties. He knew that. But he had a genuine affection for Diana. A little voice in his head argued that the end result was the same. Only not entirely because he and Diana had stopped well before all the liberties had been had. “Who?”

Diana squirmed a bit and he ignored the tightening of his groin. The time for passion was past. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Minnie will tell me if ye don’t,” he said, giving her a bit of a squeeze. It was true. If the man had been a suitor then any of the Chase women could identify him.

She gasped then pushed at his chest. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would,” he answered. “Tell me the truth. Why are we in this carriage right now?”

She stopped pushing. “I…” She nibbled at her lip

His chest tightened as he resisted the urge to kiss her again. “I’ll make ye a deal,” he said. “Ye tell me what I want to know and I shall do the same for ye.”

Diana paused, her cheek twitching. Finally she answered. “Charles Crusher.”

“That egit?” He knew the man. Yes, he had swagger but no real meat to back all his pomp. “He’s not even a lord.”

She shook her head. “But he is married to a widowed marchioness. One who is rather wealthy.”

Callum growled. “I understand.” The man had tossed Diana over when a fatter purse had presented itself.

She shook her head. “Your turn. What did Jack say?”

Callum grimaced. “Well, that he had an affair with Lady Abernath and he was the man that Daring actually caught in bed with our fair countess.”

“Oh dear.” Diana tapped his shoulder. “That is sticky but doesn’t explain anything about why Lady Abernath is so angry or what she plans.”

He nodded. “He also said that Harry was conceived around the time both Daring and Jack were involved with her.”

Diana stopped tapping. “So Harry could be Jack or Daring’s son?”

Exile winced. He’d agreed to share this information because he’d needed to know that name. Something inside him had to right Diana’s wrongs, but he might have just made a terrible mistake. “Ye can’t tell them. Promise me ye won’t share this information with Minnie or Emily.”

Diana let out a long sigh. “You likely should have made me promise that before you told me.”

“Woman,” he rumbled.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t start. I’ll keep yet another secret. It’s becoming a habit. But you should know, I’m only staying quiet to give Daring and Jack the opportunity to sort this all out before my family is hurt.”

“If it makes ye feel better, Harry’s been claimed by Abernath and he’s the spitting image of Pennington, her fourth lover of that particular time period.”

Diana slumped against him. “That makes me feel much better, actually. And it also explains Lady Abernath’s anger. Both Jack and Darlington left her when she likely felt she needed them.”

Exile shook his head. “She was sleeping with four men at once.”

Diana wrinkled her nose, frowning. “We can’t all be pillars of virtue.”

He blinked. Was she comparing what they had just done to what Lady Abernath had? “What just happened between us is completely different.”

“How?” she asked sitting up higher to stare into his eyes.

He wasn’t sure what to say. It came to mind that he had a real affection for her and yet, the end result was the same. He had a fiancée already. He’d never hated the idea more. “I would never leave ye to fend for yerself if ye were carrying my child.”

She quirked a brow. “I see.” But her frown didn’t relax. “But if I didn’t become pregnant, you’d be comfortable ruining me with a physical relationship?”

His mouth opened and then closed. He tried to speak again but no words came out. “That isnae what I meant.”