Chapter Nine
Charles cleared his throat. Maybe that hadn’t come out as well as he’d thought. “I said, I’d be honored if you would—”
“You are proposing to me? Because our names have been linked,” she clarified.
“Because your reputation has been harmed due to my…” He couldn’t say it was his fault; all he’d done was escort her to her carriage.
“Because of the idiocy of others who see what they want to see, not what actually occurred,” she said, with a touch of anger to her voice. He didn’t blame her one bit for being angry about it.
“Well, yes, but there it is. Your reputation has been damaged and I’m proposing to—”
“Fix it by marrying me,” she finished for him, sounding even more angry.
“I believe such things are common enough, my lady,” Charles offered. He couldn’t understand why she
