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Later, she would attribute her blunt "It’s you," to the emotional turbulence of the day

And she would attribute his wide grin, elaborate bow, and subsequent "So it is," to his notorious, long-standing arrogance

She clutched his boot closer to her chest "What did you do?" She lifted her chin to the second floor of the house "To deserve defenestration?"

His brows rose "To deserve what?"

She sighed "Defenestration The tossing of an object fro linen strips weaving to and fro For a moment she was distracted by the fact that he did not seelass And then he spoke "First, I wasn’t tossed I left of my own volition And second, any woent enough to divine what I was doing before I exited the building"

He was everything he was purported to be Scandalous Sinful An utter scoundrel Everything Society vilified, even as it celebrated it Just like her brother-in-law And any number of other men and women of the British aristocracy A fine example of the worst of this world into which he’d been born And into which she’d been dragged

She loathed him instantly

He reached for the boot She stepped backward, out of reach "So, what the gossip pages say about you is true"

He tilted his head "I uarantee that whatever they say about es"

He straightened his sleeves "False I don’t touch married women"

At that moment, a lady’s coiffed head popped out of theabove "He’s headed down!"

The warning that his opponent was co to face him spurred the marquess to motion "’Tis my cue" He extended one hand to Sophie "As lovely as this has been, my lady, I require my boot"

Sophie clutched the boot closer to her chest, staring up at the lady "That’s Marcella Latham"

The Earl of Newsom’s fiancée--now forer--waved happily "Thank you, Eversley!"

He turned up and winked "My pleasure, darling Enjoy"

"I hope you don’tfrom theht the entire exchange rather bizarre andcollegialfor two people caught in a co situation by her rich, titled future husband

"My lady," the Marquess of Eversley proe"

"Their engagement, really" He extended his hand "I require footwear, poppet Please"

She ignored the gesture "So, you only touch betrothed women"

"Precisely"

"Very different, I suppose" Was there not a single ? "You’re a scoundrel"

"So I aue"

"That’s what they say," he said, watching over her shoulder intently

"Unscrupulous in every way"

An idea began to for to notice her for the first tih you’ve coe insect"