Love with a Scandalous Lord

What happened last night could not be repeated. Not at Harrington, not with Rhys. While he’d claimed to be intrigued by her, and she was completely fascinated with him, she was fairly certain she could expect little more than misery by marrying into this family when the Duchess so hated her stepfather.
No, she’d definitely started out on the wrong foot where Rhys was concerned. She needed to prepare herself for a possible sojourn into London. As soon as the butler brought in the tea, she would begin practicing. Meanwhile, she turned her attention to memorizing more rules she would probably never have an opportunity to put to use.
But at least concentrating on them took her mind off Rhys and the inappropriateness of her behavior last night.
The last thing she wanted was to be embroiled in any sort of scandal. Her mother’s experience with Grayson Rhodes had taught her that.
As strange as it might seem, English society appealed to her because of all the rules. No behavior was left to chance. Etiquette dictated every action. It seemed such a safe world, a world where men of rank were as anxious to avoid scandal as the ladies were.
Grayson Rhodes’s birth had excluded him from that upper tier. Lydia was certain that within London’s high society, a lady was protected at all costs. Lydia dearly wanted what the Duchess possessed: respect that came from one’s position regardless of one’s actions.
She could only achieve that by conquering London.

Rhys spent the early hours of his morning secluded in his