<blockquote>“I need not wonder long,” he said, viciously low, “what sin has barred me from your sister’s hand; but ’pon my soul, Marcus, I had never imagined you to be quite so extraordinary a hypocrite.”
The Earl’s face did not change even now. He answered gently, “No, dear Robert; you only seem to have imagined me a fool.”</blockquote>
➤ I don't recall the book well enough to tell if this is at all a plausible situation, but I enjoyed the fic anyway
