Page 13 of When the Scoundrel Sins

“Considering Belle’s situation, andallthe events that brought her here,” his aunt pressed, not so subtly reminding him of his role in her predicament, “you will be happy to assist us, won’t you, Quinton?” It was not a question.

He held her gaze for a long moment, the pause before he answered so thick with tension that they could have swum in it. “Of course.”

The dowager nodded, pleased at his answer. “Just as Annabelle will be happy to let you help her find a husband.”

Annabelle smiled at the unwitting irony in the viscountess’s words. “Absolutely thrilled.”

Quinn’s sapphire-blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. He recognized her comment for the lie it was, even if he had no idea of the true motive behind it.

“Ah.” Lady Ainsley sighed gratefully when the butler appeared in the doorway. “There’s Ferguson now.”

The butler bowed to the viscountess, then to the room at large. “Dinner is ready, my lady.”

“Very good.” Lady Ainsley put an end to the conversation by offering her arm to Robert to escort her into the dining room, leaving Belle with…

Quinton.

She sucked in a deep breath to steady herself and to keep from saying anything she might regret. It wouldn’t do to chase him away now that he was her last best hope. Having no other choice, she took his arm.

As they followed slowly behind Robert and the viscountess, he leaned down to bring his mouth close to her ear. “What the devil is going on here?”

“Lady Ainsley explained everything,” she whispered, her cheeks heating. “She wants your help in finding me a husband so I can meet the conditions of my inheritance. That’s all.”

His gaze narrowed suspiciously. “You’re lying.”

“I am not.”

He flicked a pointed glance at her blush. “Like a rug.”

She rolled her eyes. Darn that blush, and double darn that responding grin of his! The rascal infuriated her to no end. Yet her silly heart also skittered traitorously at the warm tickle of his breath against her earlobe.

She grimaced at herself. Such a hopeless goose! Even caught red-handed in a lie, with her world ready to crumble around her—even knowing what a scoundrel he was—she couldn’t help the familiar pull of him. The same one from six years ago which had gotten her into this mess in the first place. And if she wasn’t careful, her goose would be good and cooked before it was all over.

As they entered the old banqueting hall turned dining room that soared two stories high from its stone floors to the wooden beams above, he gave a friendly tap of his shoulder against hers. “Tell me the truth,” he cajoled. “Do you really want my help in finding a husband?”

“More than you realize,” she murmured honestly.

He asked bluntly, “Why?”

She certainly couldn’t tell himthat! If he discovered her new plan before she was ready to share it, he might very well leave right now. And then where would she be? So she purposefully misunderstood his question and answered, “Can’t I call on an old friend when I need him?”

With his lips twitching at that blatant evasion, he led her around the table that could accommodate over fifty people to the four settings laid out for them at the far end near the fireplace, where Robert had already seated the viscountess.

“We were a lot of things, Belle,” Quinn admitted sotto voce, the deep sound falling through her like warm summer rain. “But we were neverfriends.”

Her mind filled with the memory of their kiss beneath the rose bower, the solidity of his body pressing against hers, the surprising softness of his warm lips…Fresh heat flashed through her. To think that her future now lay in this rascal’s hands— She hated that she’d sunk so low that she had to ask for help fromhim.

Yet there was something sweetly fitting that the man who broke her heart and made her swear off men and their insincere charms should now be the only one who could save her.

“I’ll explain everything later,” she murmured. “I promise.”

He slid her a disbelieving look, yet acquiesced. “All right. I’ll leave it alone.”

Relief poured through her. “Thank—”

“For now.”

He pulled out her chair for her. She shot him an aggravated grimace before slipping into her seat.