The Bachelor Bargain (Secrets, Scandals, and Spies)

by Michaels, Maddison

  “Yes, she is the belle of the ball, Your Grace,” Sebastian agreed, watching as his sister was led around the dance floor by yet another bachelor. He’d lost count of how many men she’d danced with, as every single bachelor there seemed determined to secure her attention.

  “Indeed she is,” Demelza agreed. “I would have thought that fact would thrill you more, but instead you appear decidedly…despondent.”

  Sebastian raised his brow as he turned to face her. “Despondent?”

  “Well, perhaps that word is a tad dramatic.” She peered at him intently for a moment. “But you certainly don’t seem happy. Though I can’t say I’ve ever really seen you happy, Colver. Except when you were in the company of my goddaughter.”

  At the mere mention of Livie, a sharp twist of pain tore through his chest. “Was there something in particular you wanted to say to me, Your Grace? Because if there is, say it. You’re not usually one to beat around the bush.”

  “Very well.” Lady Calder eyed him cannily. “Was it merely a flirtation you were having with Olivia? Simply an amusement to you, to trifle with a duke’s daughter? Was that your only interest in her? A fleeting fancy?”

  His jaw clenched and he bowed stiffly to her. “If you will excuse me, Your Grace, I shall be taking my leave.”

  “I never took you for a coward, Mr. Colver.”

  Sebastian straightened. “If you were a man, my lady, I would take you outside and beat you to a pulp for suggesting that.”

  “’Tis lucky I am not a man, then.” She shrugged. “But tell me, how is it not cowardly to be running away at the mere mention of my goddaughter? I thought you were made of sturdier stuff than that.”

  “You forget yourself, Your Grace. I am not from your world, and you don’t scare me.” He took in a deep breath. “I am not going to discuss Livie or my feelings with you, so leave it be.”

  “I shall not leave it be.” She banged her cane on the parquet floor, her expression fierce for a moment before sadness replaced it. “Particularly as I am partly to blame for your misery. For Livie’s misery, too.”

  “Explain yourself,” Sebastian demanded.

  “I was the one to plant the seeds of doubt in her head. You see, I, too, was once in love with an unsuitable man,” she began, and then went on to explain about her groom. “I lied to Livie when I said I only sometimes regretted not fleeing to America with Jacob. The truth is, there hasn’t been a day I haven’t regretted my decision. Not one single day.”

  “Yet you still warned her away from me?”

  “I thought it was a mere flirtation between you two.” Demelza sighed. “I didn’t realize how much she loved you.”

  “She doesn’t. At least not enough to try to overcome any obstacles.” He could still hear her words of rejection in his head. Words that still wounded every time he thought of them.

  “You must understand where she’s coming from,” Demelza urged. “Giving up all you know and your loved ones is not such a simple thing.”

  “It is if you truly love someone.”

  “Things are not so black-and-white when it comes to matters of the heart. You of all people know that.”

  “What I know is that she’s made up her mind,” Sebastian replied. “She’s chosen her family, and that is that.”

  “I thought you were a fighter, Sebastian Colver. Is she not worth fighting for?”

  The woman was peering so intently at him that Sebastian got the sensation she was looking into his soul. “She’s made her decision.”

  “Then you do not love her as I thought you did.” Demelza shrugged. “Clearly whatever you felt for her was fleeting.”

  “Fleeting?” he yelled. “I would give my life for her! That is how much I love her.”

  “Then fight for her!” Demelza implored. “Do not let her slip through your fingers and live with the burning agony of regret in your heart every day, as I do.”

  “I can’t.” It was torture to say so, but it was the truth. “You have no idea how many times this past fortnight I’ve wrestled with the idea of pleading with her, of begging her to change her mind. But I will not do so, because even if she did, she would end up resenting me. She would resent me for making her give up her family and friends. Resent me when Society shuns her and continues to. Resent me until any love she felt was but a bitter memory.”

  “You are not giving any of us credit,” Demelza declared. “Yourself least of all.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “With the power you hold over a great portion of Society, in combination with my own influence and her father’s, do you really think any of those fools would dare to shun her, and by doing so offend any of us?”

  The thought stopped Sebastian in his tracks. It was true; he could certainly intimidate a majority of Society to accept Livie as his wife or face his wrath. But he couldn’t intimidate all of them, for that he would need the support of the Dragon Duchess and Livie’s father, the duke. “You would support our union?”

  Demelza nodded. “I love my niece. So yes, if she chooses you, then I will support her decision. After all, I’ve lost her mother, who was like a sister to me, and you can be certain I will not lose Livie, too. I will ensure Society accepts your marriage. As will her father and brothers.”

  “Her father and brothers don’t strike me as the sort of men to simply accept such a thing.” Though he was business partners and friends to an extent with Alexander, he couldn’t imagine the man simply accepting his baby sister marrying someone with Sebastian’s reputation.

  “They love her,” she assured him. “She is the glue that has kept them all together after her mother’s death. They will never abandon her, regardless of who she chooses as a husband. They are made of far sterner stuff than to care what Society thinks of them.” She sighed heartily. “If you doubt me, though, why don’t you go and speak with Olivia’s father yourself, for they have all just arrived.” She nodded down below.

  Like a desperate man, Sebastian’s gaze swung helplessly to the ballroom below, his eyes hungrily searching for even a glimpse of Livie. His fingers gripped the railing of the balustrade tightly as he caught sight of her.

  Dressed in a sapphire blue gown with crystal beads sewn in the bodice, and her hair swept up, leaving the porcelain skin of her neck tantalizingly bare, she was a sight to behold. Sebastian could only stare at her, as she wove through the guests below, her cane glinting by her side as she approached Charlotte, who had just finished a dance.

  A sharp pang of longing and loneliness ran through him. He’d missed her. Far more desperately than he’d even realized.

  “Don’t let her slip through your fingers, Colver,” Demelza whispered beside him. “Don’t live with a lifetime of regret as I have. Fight for your love.”

  She patted him on the back and then turned around and, in a swish of her skirts and cane, she left him alone in the alcove. Alone, to drink in the sight of Livie and wonder if he was willing to risk his heart again.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Seeing Charlotte brimming with happiness filled Livie with such joy that for a brief moment, she forgot her true reason for attending. Sebastian.

  Even just the thought of his name made her heart lurch.

  She hadn’t seen him yet, but he was certain to be here somewhere. Now she just had to muster up the courage to find him and tell him that she’d made a mistake. That she should have been braver with her heart.

  “Is everything all right?” Charlotte asked. “You seem a bit distracted.”

  “I’m sorry.” Livie grabbed the girl’s hand. “I do have a lot on my mind at the moment.”

  “That’s only to be expected,” Charlotte agreed. “Especially after Lord Chilton’s arrest the other day. You must be both grateful that you are getting justice for your friend, but sad, too, after discovering the involvement Chilton and Alice’s sister
had in her death.”

  “Yes, that must be it,” she lied, with a small smile plastered on her face. How could she tell the girl that it was Livie’s own cowardice regarding Sebastian that was the true cause of her distraction?

  “Ah perfect,” Charlotte declared, looking over Livie’s shoulder. “Mr. Colver, perhaps you will be able to divert Lady Olivia from her woes.”

  At the mention of his name, Livie’s whole body stilled, and a prickling awareness danced along her spine. She could smell his aftershave as he stopped behind her. Slowly, she turned to face him.

  In his formal suit, he looked so dangerously magnificent that Livie’s breath caught. She’d missed him so much, she was aching for him.

  He was looking at Charlotte. “Miss Hastings,” he acknowledged his sister formally, presumably so as to keep their relationship a secret. Then he turned his full attention on Livie, and she was lost in his deep gray eyes. “Lady Olivia.” He picked up her gloved hand and placed a chaste kiss upon her knuckles before straightening.

  “Mr. Colver,” she managed to mumble with a feeble curtsy, belatedly realizing he hadn’t let go of her hand. But she didn’t pull her hand back; instead she reveled at his touch.

  “Dance with me?” he asked, his voice low and thick, the pulse at the base of his neck thumping.

  To anyone listening it was a simple request, but considering the last ball they’d attended and her refusal to dance with him then and the reasons why, Livie knew he was asking a great deal more than to simply dance with him.

  He leaned in closer to her ear. “I promise to keep you safe and to never let you fall. Dance with me, Livie. Please.”

  Holding his hand out to her, Livie knew in that moment that she could be either brave and take a leap, or stay safely in her comfort area.

  Taking in a deep breath she reached her hand out and placed it in his. “Yes, Sebastian, I will dance with you.”

  She felt the slightest tremble in his hand as his fingers grasped hers. Gently, he took her cane from her other hand and passed it to his sister for safekeeping, before he led her to the dance floor.

  Livie could see the avid looks of speculation from all those around them as Sebastian took her in his arms. And as nervous as she was to actually be dancing, when she’d never done so at a ball before, the truth was, she trusted Sebastian completely. He would not let her fall. As the orchestra struck up a waltz, she felt excitement surge through her.

  Ignoring all the whispers and veiled glances aimed at them, she allowed herself, for the first time in her life, to be caught up in the moment. Effortlessly, Sebastian swung her in his arms, supporting most of her weight with his strength, and he swept her across the dance floor.

  As the other dancers caught sight of them and abruptly stopped dancing and moved to the side, Livie felt a pang of anxiety. She also felt the sudden tension in Sebastian as he caught sight of their actions, too.

  But then the very feeling of having Sebastian’s arms around her, for all the world to see, filled her with such a sense of freedom that any qualms she’d had were washed away.

  So what if Society shunned her? She loved this man. And she was not going to give him up ever again. Society be damned.

  “I’m going to make them all bloody pay,” he whispered to her. “How dare they stop dancing because we are.”

  “It’s all right.” Livie smiled up at him, willing him to see that she didn’t care any longer. “Truly it is. I don’t care about them. Any of them. What I care about is you.”

  “You do?” he asked as his hand tightened on her waist, a hint of vulnerability flickering in his eyes.

  “I do.” But then her attention was caught by the sight of her godmother being led onto the dance floor by her father.

  Demelza never danced; it was one of her rules.

  But she was dancing now with Livie’s father. Both of them showing clear support for Livie dancing with Sebastian.

  And then her brother Alexander led Charlotte onto the floor, joining them. Followed by Justin and Gregory, each with partners of their own. And even Etta had found a partner and was joining the dancing, too.

  Livie felt the tears welling in her eyes with love for her family and their show of unity.

  “Livie, please don’t cry,” Sebastian begged. “I wouldn’t have asked you to dance if I’d known how upset it would make you.”

  There was such torture in his voice that her heart lurched.

  “It’s not that,” she assured him, as some tears fell down her cheeks. “I’m crying because I’m so overwhelmed with happiness right now. Do you see all my family dancing in support of us? It fills my heart with joy to know that I will not have to give them up. That they have accepted my decision and will support us.”

  “And what decision is that?” he asked, looking hopeful but hesitant, too.

  “The decision that I will be brave with my heart, Sebastian Colver, King of the Rookeries, Bastard of Baker Street,” she replied. “That’s if you still love me? As I love you.”

  A huge smile spread on his face, genuine happiness radiating in his eyes. “Still love you? There hasn’t been a day since I met you that I haven’t loved you, Lady Olivia Haliford.”

  Gently, he pulled them to a stop in the middle of the ballroom, caring little for their audience, which was most everyone at the ball, as he stood staring down at her.

  “I love you with all my heart, Livie. I never thought to love someone as I love you. I would give my life for you, and I will do all in my power to protect you and love you for the rest of my days,” he swore to her, before bending down on one knee and taking both of her hands in his. “My heart is yours, and only yours, forever more. Will you marry me, Livie? Will you make me the happiest bloody man in the world and be my wife?”

  She stood staring down into his eyes. Eyes that were usually so closed off from any emotions, but now were so vulnerable with love for her that she felt even more moisture well in her own eyes. “Yes, Sebastian Colver, I will marry you.”

  “You will?” A smile spread across his face, but there was still a hint of doubt in his voice.

  Reaching a hand to his jaw, Livie cupped his cheek and leaned in toward him. “Yes, I will. I love you, Sebastian. There’s nothing in the world I want more than to be your wife and spend the rest of my life with you. These past few weeks without you have been torture, and I never want to experience such a thing again.”

  “Absolute torture,” he reiterated.

  And then, without a care for their audience, Sebastian stood and captured her mouth with his. It was a brief kiss, but one filled with such promise that Livie held it close to her heart, knowing that no matter what they had to face in the future, if they were together, they could face anything.

  “I love you, Sebastian Colver. More than I could have ever imagined,” she whispered to him.

  He grinned. “And I love you, my beautiful Olivia. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. You have my heart, and I promise to love you every single day and to treasure your love in turn. And you know how I keep my word.”

  “That you do, my love. That you do.” True happiness and contentment filled her with the knowledge that yes, the Bastard of Baker Street most certainly always kept his word.

  Epilogue

  Six months later

  Dear Gazette Patrons,

  Today marks a milestone. Not only is it the six-month anniversary since the release of the first edition of what has swiftly become London’s most popular publication, but it also heralds the monumental occasion of selling over 500,000 copies. And that is all thanks to you, dear patrons, who have supported our humble publication with such enthusiasm and passion!

  And what a tumultuous time it’s been for the bachelors in society since the debut edition… Such scandals unearthed, such villainy exposed, and so many innocent women saved from such scoundrels! E
ighteen men have been critiqued thus far, and of those, fourteen have fled to the continent, shame and disrepute following in their wake, with the remaining four imprisoned for their crimes! A result to be celebrated by us all and heeded by those who still believe they are immune to any consequences for their malevolent deeds.

  For rest assured, dear patrons, the Bachelor Bounty Gazette will continue to expose those in Society who seek to deceive and use women for their own satisfaction or gain, caring naught for who they hurt or destroy in the process. Those bachelors will be brought to task, their acts laid bare to one and all. And in that regard, the six-month edition promises to reveal even more salacious scandals and will name six bachelors instead of three…but who, oh who, will those bachelors be? Well, only one more week and then you shall all see.

  Sebastian finished reading the latest teaser the Gazette had released in anticipation of next week’s release and smiled. He could already anticipate this edition was going to sell the greatest amount of copies so far. His wife had been right, it was indeed a sound investment.

  The muffled sound of thuds and grunts had him glancing up toward his closed office door.

  Rowan, who was seated in the chair across from Seb’s desk, put his papers down. “I’ll find out what’s going on.”

  But before he could stand, the door burst open and a lady with red hair stormed into the room. She was tall and agile, dressed in clothing that was of the highest quality and looking completely calm as she held a pistol in her left hand. She scanned the room in the blink of an eye, before turning her pistol to point directly at Rowan, who was closest to her, though her eyes remained steadily upon Sebastian.

  Beyond her, Seb saw several of his men rolling on the floor, nursing injuries and moaning aloud. This woman had done that to his men? Essentially barreled through them as if they were a bunch of skinny school boys, instead of the burly ex-boxers that most were.