“No,” the earl said, shaking his head so that his halo of gold curls danced around his rather angelic face. “Not true. I don’t think it, for starters. Don’t matter a bean who your grandfather was, who you are is the point. Don’t you forget it, either.” Dinah blinked back tears and he covered her hand with his. “Oh, no,” he said, sounding alarmed. “Didn’t mean to upset you, don’t cry … please.”
His appalled look turned to one of alarm as Ben stalked up to them, his eyes full of fury.
“What’s going on?” he demanded. “What have you done?”
Ben posed this question to Lord Tindall, who went the most startling shade of white and began to stammer, “I-I …” in a manner that did not sooth Ben one bit, judging on the way his fists were clenching.
“Lord Lancaster, I am quite alright, but I would like to go home now, please. I assure you, Lord Tindall has been the perfect gentleman and I owe him a great debt.”
“N-no, nothing of the sort,” the earl said, shaking his head with vigour and giving Ben a doubtful glance. “Just setting things straight, is all.”
Ben stared between them, aware that something had happened to unsettle her. She could see he wouldn’t rest until he knew, but she shook her head.
“I’m very tired, my lord. Please, may we leave now? I will explain on the way home, I promise, but Lord Tindall is in no way to blame, far from it.”
Ben let out a breath and nodded. “Apologies, Tommy,” he muttered, sounding rather mutinous, but Lord Tindall just beamed at him good naturedly. Obviously relieved to be off the hook.
“Not at all, not at all, old man. Easy mistake to make. I’ll bid you both a good evening, then.” He turned to Dinah then and took her hand, raising it to his lips and giving Ben a slightly defiant glance as he did so, and Lord Lancaster glowered a little. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Miss Osborne, it truly has, and I look forward to seeing you often.”
Chapter 13
“Wherein our hero surprises everyone, himself included.”
Ben settled Dinah in the dark of the carriage and sat opposite her.
“What happened?” he demanded the moment the carriage rocked into motion. That she was upset was obvious enough, that he wanted to tear whoever had done it limb from limb, a little unsettling but how could he not? Seeing the proud Miss Osborne fighting to keep her composure and her head held high had been enough to make his heart ache.
She was silent for a long moment as his imagination ran wild. When she finally spoke, it was not what he’d expected.
“I owe you an apology, my lord,” she said, her voice quiet and strangely unsure of itself.
“Whatever for?” he exclaimed, frowning in the darkness.
“Because you were right, and I … I had no real idea of what this … this ridiculous affair would mean to you. You’ll lose friends, you’ll be talked about, the gossip is going to be unbearable.” Ben stared across the carriage at the huddled little figure in the darkness. He could see nothing but her outline, her face shadowed except for the glitter of her eyes. “I release you from … from your debt. Which really wasn’t a debt at all,” she said with a bitter laugh. “You know as well as I do that I trapped you and then stacked the deck. You would have won otherwise, so there really is no debt at all.” The words were broken, defeated, and they went straight to his heart.
Ben sucked in a breath, shocked that she would do such a thing, and strangely unsettled. “But the will … I haven’t sent the announcement yet. You’ll not inherit.”
She shrugged, the movement just visible in the gloom of the carriage. “I’ll think of something,” she said, her voice low and bleak.
Panic struck at Ben, the feeling rolling over him like a rush of cold water.
“No.”
“But …” she began, but Ben hushed her, moving across the carriage to sit beside her and pulling her into his arms.
“What happened tonight, Dinah? Who upset you?”
She pushed away from him, out of his arms, shaking her head. “Oh, just some spiteful woman. I believe the earl said she was Lady Minster, though there were plenty of others with her, all of them joining in the fun,” she added, sounding so tired and dispirited that Ben wanted to take Lady bloody Minster by the throat and shake her. “Lord Tindall was rather wonderful, though,” she replied, turning to give him a rueful smile, her lovely face lit with a silvery light as the moon appeared from behind a cloud. “He said, very loudly, that Lady Minster’s great-great-grandfather was only a sea captain and …” She sighed then shaking her head. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Only that he stood up for me and I was so very grateful to him.”
Ben watched her, making a mental note to apologise to Tommy more profusely and to thank him, too.
“But the things they said, Ben …” She turned away from him as her voice trembled a little and Ben swallowed, his chest growing tight. She was hurt and humiliated and she would risk losing everything to save him from experiencing even a little of what she was going through. Her bravery humbled him.
He reached out, turning her face towards him. “I don’t care a jot about foul creatures like Lady Minster. She’s only jealous, in any case. I’ve lost count of the amount of times she’s propositioned me. I wouldn’t touch her for all the tea in China, and she damn well knows it.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “If you think I give a damn about what people say about me, you really can’t have done as much research as you made out. I’m a rather notorious figure by my own hand, I can assure you.”
Dinah gave a mirthless laugh and shook her head. “This is different, and we both know it.”
“It’s not,” he said, his voice hard as his determination grew. He would not throw her to the wolves. “I’m going to send the announcement tomorrow morning, so unless you intend to make me look like a damned fool, the engagement is very much still on.”
She caught her breath, staring up at him in wonder. “Why?” she demanded, her voice thick. “Why would you do that?”
Ben shrugged, not knowing the answer himself with any certainty. The only thing he did know was that he had no desire at all to examine his motives any closer.
“Because you were right,” he said, pulling her towards him again. “The money is rightfully yours and I can think of no one who deserves it more. Because, despite everything, you are brave and proud and … well, really quite extraordinary,” he added, smiling at her. “It would be my honour to help you get what is rightfully yours.”
He heard a muffled sob and pulled her head against his shoulder, stroking her hair. With a rueful sigh, he realised he had planned a rather different sequence of events for the carriage ride home, but he would not attempt to kiss her when she was so emotional. Why he wouldn’t, he could not rightly say. After all, right at this moment would be his best chance. She was in his debt now and feeling vulnerable, and he knew she was not unmoved by his advances. Yet he did nothing, simply holding her in the dark and stroking her hair as the carriage left the glamorous environs of the Duke of Sindalton’s home and carried her to the very outskirts of fashionable London.
***
Dinah lay in her bed, wide awake, and stared at the ceiling, her thoughts running in increasingly anxious circles. Lord Lancaster was a grown man, she reassured herself. He must know what he was about, he must know what he was facing. But Dinah had believed she’d known what she was facing, but doing it in theory and doing it for real were rather different things. She knew now how it felt to be so far out of your element, and then to have someone undermine you further with their hatred and vitriol.
Dinah sucked in a breath, angry with herself for having needed Lord Tindall to stand up for her. She should have spat in the woman’s eye. Snorting with amusement at the idea, she could just imagine how that would have gone down. Very well, perhaps nothing so uncouth, but next time she would not wait for a man to take her part. Once Ben had played his role to its conclusion and they’d gone their separate ways, there would not be a man, after a
ll. She had no doubt that even the good-hearted Earl of Stanthorpe would feel differently about his association with her once she was a mere acquaintance, rather than the wife of one of his oldest friends.
The idea of Ben leaving was one that made her chest grow unpleasantly tight. “Stop it, you silly fool,” she muttered under her breath. He wasn’t and never had been for her. That he wasn’t as despicable as she had imagined him to be was neither here nor there. In fact, she believed he was far from despicable. He’d proved himself to be charming, thoughtful, caring and … well, rather selfless, going on his actions tonight. Dinah felt a lump in her throat as she considered everything he’d done for her.
Yet he was well known as an accomplished womaniser. A man did not get a reputation like that for no reason and she forced herself to think about it rationally. A man who was truly despicable would unlikely to be so very successful with the female sex. Wouldn’t he? After all, Dinah was no innocent débutante, she knew enough of the world and its cruelties to be well aware of what men were capable of. She considered herself to be an excellent judge of character, too, and she hadn’t sensed anything in the least bit cruel, duplicitous, or unkind, not at least once his initial fury had subsided. Even then, it had only been words thrown at her, she’d not once felt any real fear of him. But was her growing affection for him clouding her judgement?
She sucked in a breath as she allowed the growing ache in her heart to validate the admission. There was little point in denying it. She was growing fond of him, worse than that, she desired him. That was dangerous. Especially if the dark voice that kept her on her guard proved to be right. What if he hadn’t changed at all? What if this was all a part of his plan and he was simply determined to have her for his mistress, no matter what he had to do? Perhaps the final victory was so important to him he’d go to any lengths to achieve it?
No.
She would not believe that, only … What if it were true? Would he really go so far as to continue with this farce, just to get her into his bed? Dinah bit her lip as the idea made tension pull her shoulders tighter still. Well, there was one way to find out. After everything he’d done, if she made it clear to him that she was grateful, but that it was never going to happen, surely there would be a reaction of some kind? He was bound to be angry. Good Lord, he was likely to be disowned by his family for what he was doing, going on what those wretched people had said last night, temporarily, at least. It was something she’d never even considered, but he would have, and if he’d risked everything just to get her to be his mistress, and she refused him …
He would be utterly furious.
***
Ben looked up to see the first rays of the morning sun lightening the curtains in his study. He rubbed his eyes and gave a despondent sigh, sitting back in his chair. The floor was covered with discarded pieces of paper. Who knew that writing an announcement of engagement was so dreadfully taxing? Wedding announcements were the done thing and common enough - engagements, not so much. He didn’t doubt it would cause a furore, but then that was the idea. Dinah had originally demanded it as being irrefutable proof of engagement for the solicitor and Ben could not gainsay her. Now, however, he looked at the simple sheet in front of him and quailed a little. His words to Dinah last night had been heartfelt and genuine. In the cold light of day, however, the enormity of his decision was hitting home. Being blackmailed to do something was one thing, doing it voluntarily ….
He swallowed down an acidic feeling that rose in his throat and took a deep breath.
The engagement is announced between Lord Benjamin Lancaster,
youngest son of the Most Honourable, the Marquess and Marchioness of Henshaw, and Miss Dinah Osborne, only daughter
of Mr and Mrs Rufus Osborne of Cheapside, London.
Cheapside. He grimaced a little, not at the address but at what everyone would say. Cheapside was a fashionable destination for the ton to shop in, but only trade lived there. Wealthy trade, to be sure, many of them far wealthier than Ben himself, truth be told, but that hardly mattered. Better to be penniless with the right blood in your veins than plump in the pocket and carry a whiff of the shop. Yet that was where her grandfather had lived, and it was, at least, better than her current address. God, was he really such a snob? No. But he understood the ton, and he knew well enough what they were facing.
He folded the letter, then addressed and sealed it ready to be sent out, before regarding another half-finished attempt of a different nature. To be honest, the announcement hadn’t taxed his brain half as much as how the devil he was going to tell Dreighton. He’d attempted several variations on a theme as he’d penned a dozen or more draughts of the letter to his eldest brother. They ranged from terse, defiant little notes, to amusing, flowery documents prosing about true love. He couldn’t quite be certain which one was most likely to give the man the apoplexy he so richly deserved. In the end, Ben decided reading it in the paper was probably the most likely to tip him over the edge. It also gave the man no chance of discovering the engagement before it became public knowledge and getting the announcement cancelled. On the downside, if he survived the shock, Ben would have to face him. It wasn’t something to look forward to.
Nonetheless, the blasted thing was written, his brother and the world would know about it in a little over twenty-four hours.
The die was cast.
***
Not very many more than twenty-four hours later and Ben considered the idea of throwing himself in the Thames, if only for a bit of peace and quiet.
The well-wishers had begun within hours of the paper going out and at the very limit of what were considered visiting hours. As Ben kept rather later hours than that, his first guests found him still at breakfast and received short shrift because of it. Not least because he knew damn well they were just hungry for gossip. Cursing himself, he wished he’d had enough foresight to get up early and make himself scarce. As it was, the idea that Dreighton might descend upon him at any moment had him taking the stairs two at a time and yelling for Frost to attend him immediately.
His club did not afford him any further sanctuary, and it was with some relief that he presented himself at Dinah’s door a full hour before their appointed meeting time.
“The world’s gone bloody mad,” he exclaimed, throwing his hat down as Dinah gave him an enquiring look. “Who would have thought my choice of bride would give everyone such an appetite for gossip? I’ve had five of the devils on my doorstep this morning, and then at my club …” He trailed off as Dinah paled and he immediately cursed himself for being so idiotic as to say such a thing to her face.
“I told you!” she exclaimed, looking horrified.
Ben laughed and took her hands. “Oh, don’t take it like that. I don’t give a damn, I assure you. It’s just so ridiculous. Haven’t they anything better to do?”
Dinah let out a little breath, looking a little less anxious at his reassurance, if not totally at ease. “Apparently not,” she replied with some asperity.
Ben grinned at her, looking at her properly now. She was dressed in a simple, white muslin dress and had never looked lovelier. Suddenly, the callers and the irritations and even fears of running into his brother seemed of little importance. He reached out and put a hand on her waist, tugging her into his arms. “Perhaps we should give them something more interesting to talk about,” he said, his voice low and seductive.
There was a flash of desire that darkened her eyes for just a moment before she pushed free of his hold on her. Ben let her go, a little puzzled and somewhat hurt by her reaction.
“What’s wrong, love?” he asked, watching her as she took a breath, smoothing out none existent creases in the drapes of her gown.
She hesitated, turning her back on him and looking dreadfully ill at east. “I will never be able to repay you for the kindness you have done me, Ben,” she began, not meeting his eyes. “But nothing has changed. We are not really engaged, and I have not changed my mind about becoming your
mistress.” She sucked in a breath, glancing up at him and meeting his eyes. “I owe you a great deal, I know that I do. But I won’t do that, Ben. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Ben frowned at her, not knowing what to say. He needed her to change her mind about being his mistress that was for certain. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe this was the moment to push her, however. More than ever, he had to ensure that she trusted him. If she trusted him, it would be far easier to assure her she would have nothing to lose. She’d made it plain that access to the upper echelon of the ton was not her raison d’être, and so she need not care for that. Once she realised what kind of life she could leave, and what fun they could have together … she would change her mind.
“Don’t be sorry,” he said, smiling at her and reaching out to take her hands. “I understand, I assure you, though I cannot pretend I’m not disappointed,” he added, for the sake of candour. If he was too glib, she would not believe him in any case. “But we are friends now, I hope, Dinah? That’s true, at least?”
Her face lit up in a way that sucked the air from his lungs and made desire bloom under his skin, burning like she had branded him. It made his mind up. In truth, it had been from the very start. He had to have her.
“Yes,” she said, looking so relieved that he felt like an utter brute for deceiving her so. “Yes, of course we are friends. Oh,” she said, putting her hand over her heart and giving a little huff of laughter. “I’m so relieved, Ben, you can’t imagine. I … I thought perhaps you would be angry with me. That you would expect … well, never mind that. I wronged you. Please forgive me.”
Ben forced a smile to his face and shook his head as guilt rolled over him. “There is nothing to forgive, I assure you.”
Nothing at all.
Chapter 14
“Wherein a villain is uncovered, and our hero makes less than honourable plans.”
They located the offices of Grubber and Flitch in a rather unfashionable part of the city that did not please Ben one little bit. It seemed a good location to get your throat slit, in his opinion, and that was before you’d seen the bloody solicitor.
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