Chapter SevenFor a moment Lydia felt that she could not have heard what he said correctly. Then she asked in a halting little voice, “D-did you say we – were to be – married?” “Yes, darling,” he answered. “We are going to be married tonight so that there can be no arguments afterwards that you do not belong to me.” “But – Heloise – ?” “Heloise broke our engagement in front of your father and the Wodehouses,” the Earl said. “I accepted it, and, as far as I am concerned, the whole episode is finished.” There was a hard note in his voice, which instinctively made Lydia move nearer to him. Then, as she stared up at him, her eyes wide and a little frightened, he said, “Leave it all to me. Everything is arranged and all you have to remember is that I love you!” As he spoke, she felt as

