The Most to Lose

by Landon, Laura

  “Why are you doing this?”

  Hadleigh laughed. “Don’t look to find anything noble in my offer. You won’t. Just the opposite. I am hoping my sister will come to her senses and realize what a poor choice you are. If that happens, any amount of money I throw in your direction will have been well spent. Until she does, however, I have no choice but to give you and your pursuit of her at least a small amount of credibility.”

  Jonah thought of what he was being offered and wanted to jump at the chance to begin anew. Paying his creditors would be a huge weight off his back. Several of them had already sent their bills with threatening notes attached. If he didn’t accept Hadleigh’s offer, the threats and demands would only get worse.

  Yet Hadleigh was the last person from whom he’d accept anything. Even food if he were starving.

  Thankfully, when he opened his mouth, his pride controlled his words. “Take your money and go to hell, Hadleigh. I want no part of it—or of you.”

  Jonah knew Hadleigh as well as anyone. He was prepared to hear Hadleigh rant at his foolishness, then watch him storm from the room. That’s what the friend he’d grown up with would have done. The man sitting across the table, however, simply leaned back in his chair and smiled.

  “I have to admit you surprised me, Haywood. I expected you to jump at the chance to cover your debts.”

  “Then you underestimate how badly I want to avoid being in your debt. I have no desire to have anything to do with you or with your money.”

  Hadleigh’s malicious smile broadened. “I’m afraid you’re going to be very disappointed, then.” Hadleigh reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a stack of neatly folded papers. With deliberate care, he unfolded them and slid them across the table.

  Jonah’s initial inclination was to ignore them, as if Hadleigh hadn’t so painstakingly placed them before him. But he’d never been one to turn away from oncoming danger. And no one was more dangerous than the Duke of Hadleigh.

  Jonah picked up the papers and turned them in his hand. There were several of them, each sheet containing long lists of business names with an amount next to them. At first, he didn’t realize what they were, but upon closer scrutiny, he recognized them as the creditors to whom his father and brother owed money.

  “You aren’t showing me anything I haven’t already seen, Hadleigh. I know who these men are and how much I owe them.”

  “Owed, Haywood. These are the debts I have already covered for you. There are more, of course. Your father and brother were quite practiced at purchasing items for which they couldn’t pay. My man of business is in the process of collecting the remainder of your debts and will take care of those in the next few days.”

  Jonah saw red. “You bloody bastard,” he growled, slapping the papers onto the table. “You had no right.”

  Hadleigh leaned forward, the haughty disdain in his gaze enough to turn Jonah’s stomach. “I didn’t do this for you,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “I wouldn’t lift a finger to help you. I did this for Cecelia. I refuse to allow you to embarrass her or me with the string of debts you owe all over London.”

  “I didn’t ask for your help, and I won’t accept it.”

  Hadleigh’s gaze turned more livid. “Not only will you accept what I’ve already done, but you will accept more from me. My man of business has opened an account in your name. You will gather the supplies you need and begin work immediately to restore Haywood Abbey.”

  Blood pounded in Jonah’s head, the thundering crash of his fury more intense than it had ever been. “Go to—”

  Hadleigh slammed his fist against the table. “I’ve had enough of your disregard for my sister, Haywood. Now, I’m giving you a choice. If you respect her at all, you will accept my offer. Either that or you will give up your pursuit of Cecelia and never bother her again.”

  Hadleigh leaned forward. “You may think my sister will solve your monetary problems, but she won’t. The amount everyone speculates my sister is worth will only come with her when she marries if I approve of her husband. If I don’t approve of the man she chooses to marry, she will bring with her very little in the way of a dowry. Not nearly what you need to pay your creditors.”

  Jonah couldn’t find the words to say. He didn’t know what he should say. Nothing seemed adequate.

  “My greatest fear is that she’ll be blind to the reprehensible creature you are and choose to marry you with or without my consent—with or without her dowry.”

  He kept his focus leveled on Jonah. “Repairing the dilapidated condition of your estate will at least provide her with a decent home in which to live. Paying off your father’s and brother’s creditors will provide me the assurance that, in a year’s time, my sister will not be living on the street.”

  Hadleigh’s hands tightened to fists. “If you care for my sister at all, you will accept my offer to cover your debts. Doing so will indicate that you are at least a small degree more responsible than your father and brother. However, if you find my gesture so revolting that you cannot accept it, then walk away from my sister and leave her alone. If you do, I’ll give you whatever time you need to repay the amount for the debts I covered.”

  Jonah’s heart stuttered in his chest. Blood pounded against his ears. He considered everything Hadleigh was offering him. He thought of how desperately he wanted to save the estate that had been in his family for several generations, how long the tenants working the land had gone without because of his father’s gaming and poor management. But even those reasons weren’t the most important. What mattered most was the threat of never seeing Celie again. Of never enjoying her company. Of never holding her in his arms, or sitting next to her, or…kissing her.

  He wasn’t strong enough to walk away from her. He wanted her too badly. If either of them walked away from what was developing between them, she would be the one to make that choice. He couldn’t.

  Jonah breathed a heavy sigh, then pushed himself out of his chair and walked to a spot far enough from where Hadleigh sat so he could think. He braced his legs wide and locked his hands behind his back. He stared at the burgundy-and-gold stripes on the paper on the walls but didn’t really focus on it.

  Could he do this? Could he align himself with the man who’d turned him into a social outcast and made his life a living hell? Could he live with himself once he took money from a man he hated nearly as much as Hadleigh hated him?

  “Walk away from her now,” Hadleigh said from behind him. “Either drop your pursuit of her or accept my help.”

  Every conceivable outcome raced through his mind. Accepting anything from Hadleigh was the most reprehensible thought imaginable. Giving Celie up was as impossible.

  “You’ll lose it all without my help, Haywood. You are the last Haywood heir. The Crown will take it when you cannot pay the debts your father and brother amassed.”

  Jonah dropped his head back and tried to tell himself none of that mattered—but it did. Only not as much as knowing he would lose Celie if he refused.

  He took a painful breath and turned. He didn’t have a choice, not really. Not if he couldn’t give up Celie. Not if he wanted what was developing between them to continue to grow.

  Jonah breathed a submissive sigh, then turned. “Inform your solicitor that I expect an itemized list of every pound it takes to cover my debts. You will have it all returned to you with interest.”

  “My man of business will be to see you when everything is taken care of.”

  Jonah told himself there wasn’t a glimmer of satisfaction in Hadleigh’s eyes, but the shiver that ran up and down his spine warned him that he’d walked into a trap Hadleigh had set for him.

  Even though he knew he had no choice in what he had to do, the move to accept money from Hadleigh made him sick.

  “If you will excuse me,” Jonah said, taking a step to the door. “I doubt that you and I have anything more to say to each other.”

  Without waiting for Hadleigh’s final remark, Jonah left h
is club and walked down the street. He didn’t signal for a hack to take him home but walked the several blocks instead. He needed to think. Needed to consider the dangers he’d put himself in by accepting what Hadleigh had done for him.

  And he needed to evaluate what it meant that it had been less of a risk to sell his soul to the devil than to never see Cecelia Randolph again.

  Hadleigh remained at Haywood’s club long after his mortal enemy left. He filled his glass from the bottle of excellent brandy on the table and drank a toast to his success.

  He should experience a hint of remorse for what he’d just done. A twinge of guilt. But how could he? He’d waited three long years to exact his revenge on Haywood and everything had proceeded perfectly.

  Hadleigh thought of his beautiful Melisande, the love of his life. He was finally going to fulfill the oath he’d made at her graveside. When Haywood had the most to lose, he would take it all.

  He sipped his brandy and smiled. Oh, he intended to enjoy himself. He would pay every note the late Earl of Haywood and his eldest son had left unpaid. He would cover every new bill Haywood amassed in his attempt to repair the dilapidated Haywood Abbey. But he’d never let his sister sleep one night beneath its crumbling roof. And he’d never consider Haywood as his future brother-in-law.

  He wanted to laugh at the thought. There was no way he’d give Cecelia into that murderer’s hands. No way he would allow there to be a connection between them. No way he would assist him in saving his estates.

  His one regret was that he had to use Cecelia in his plan for revenge. But she was the perfect pawn. Her dowry was what drew Haywood to her. Thinking he would gain control of the astronomical amount that went with her when she married was the reason he’d accepted Hadleigh’s monetary offer.

  He didn’t for one second believe Haywood had feelings for his sister. He wanted to laugh. The thought was ludicrous. Haywood only intended to destroy Cecelia the same as he’d destroyed Melisande.

  But he would never let that happen. Haywood would never harm anyone Hadleigh loved ever again.

  Chapter 9

  It had been more than two weeks since the opera, and Celie could still feel Jonah’s warmth as he placed his arm across the back of her chair. She shivered each time she remembered the feel of his jacket against her shoulder and the soft, gentle circles his fingers traced against the flesh above her elbow. A molten heat spread to every part of her body when she recalled the daring kiss he placed on her cheek when he was certain Hadleigh wouldn’t see them.

  Since then, he’d called on her every afternoon to take her for a ride through Hyde Park, or just to walk with her around the gardens at Hadleigh House. Then, in the evenings, he attended the same functions as she and Hadleigh, making sure to escort her in to dinner, or sit beside her during the musicale, or dance a waltz or two with her.

  Society was abuzz with rumors concerning them, but she didn’t care. In fact, she reveled in them. She’d never been the topic of speculation before. No one had ever placed wagers on when Hadleigh would announce his sister’s betrothal—and to a man her brother still avoided as much as he could.

  Celie didn’t care about that, either.

  Hadleigh had made almost daily hints of disapproval concerning her choice of admirer, but none of his comments forbade her to keep Jonah company, so she’d ignored them. Besides, she didn’t care what her brother thought. She didn’t care what anyone thought. She was…

  In love.

  For the first time in her life, Celie realized the power of love. She understood how love could build or destroy empires, could change the course of history, could cause people to do things they’d ordinarily never do. And its power thrilled as well as frightened her.

  “Well, if you don’t look like someone who is woolgathering, I don’t know who does.”

  Celie looked to her right to see Amanda standing beside her.

  “He must not have arrived yet,” Amanda said, casting her gaze over Lady Writhington’s ballroom.

  “No, not yet.”

  “Maybe he won’t come.”

  “He’ll come. He sent a note saying he would.”

  “You realize you’re pathetically in love,” Amanda said, hooking her arm through Celie’s and walking her toward the refreshment table.

  Celie stopped. “Yes. What am I going to do about it?”

  Amanda laughed. “You’re going to accept his proposal when he asks.”

  “What if he doesn’t ask? I mean, he hasn’t mentioned marriage.”

  “He will.” Amanda urged her away from any eavesdroppers. “If I were you, though, I’d be more concerned with your brother’s reaction when Haywood asks you to marry him.”

  Celie followed Amanda to a corner where their conversation couldn’t be overheard. “If Jonah asks me to marry him, I don’t care what my brother says. I intend to marry him.”

  “Even if he forbids it?”

  Celie hesitated, but not for long. “Yes.”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “I’d better stay close to you, then.”

  “Why?”

  “To be your buffer. I’m obviously the only person in London your brother dislikes more than Haywood.”

  “Hadleigh doesn’t dislike you,” Celie started to say, then stopped when she realized Amanda would never believe such a lie. “Well, perhaps he doesn’t see your admirable traits, but—”

  “You might as well stop there, Celie. Dislike isn’t close to what your brother feels for Haywood or me.”

  Celie focused on Amanda’s sad expression. “Does it really matter if he likes you or not?”

  “Heavens, no!” she protested too heartily. “It’s only that it’s so very uncomfortable being with you when he’s there, too. I’ve been waiting for the time when he tells me I’m not welcome in your house.”

  “That will never happen.” Celie squeezed her best friend’s hand. “You’ll always be welcome wherever I am.”

  “Of course I will. Besides, I’d come anyway. Welcome or not.”

  Celie laughed at Amanda’s honesty and her bravado.

  “Come on, let’s mingle. Your hero should be here any moment. We’ll let him find us.”

  Celie followed Amanda into the ballroom. But it wasn’t Jonah who first found them. It was Hadleigh.

  “There you are,” he said, the tone of his voice filled with frustration.

  “Did you need something, Hadleigh?”

  “Yes, Cecelia. Lord Quigley asked to accompany you for the first waltz.”

  Celie swallowed. The first waltz was Jonah’s. “I’m afraid the first waltz is taken.”

  “If you mean by Haywood, then the waltz is not taken. I’ll inform Quigley that you’d be delighted to dance with him.”

  “But I wouldn’t be delighted, Your Grace, and you know it.”

  This was the firmest Celie had ever opposed her brother in her life, but this was an emergency. She intended to dance with Jonah and nothing would stop her.

  “That hardly matters. The number of times you allow Haywood to partner you is causing talk. I won’t have it. Quigley asked to accompany you, and I’d prefer you’d accept his invitation.”

  “She can’t, Your Grace.”

  Amanda’s statement caused both Hadleigh and Celie to turn their attention to Amanda.

  “She can’t?” the Duke of Hadleigh mocked.

  “No, Your Grace. She can’t dance the first waltz with Quigley because he already asked me. Here’s my card, if you’d like to see.”

  The Duke of Hadleigh studied Celie’s friend with a murderous glare, but he didn’t ask to see her card. To look and be proven wrong would have been embarrassing beyond the pale.

  Celie wanted to laugh. If the situation hadn’t been so explosive, it would have been funny. What was funnier still was that Amanda didn’t flinch when her brother glared at her but returned his look with a narrowing gaze of her own.

  The shocked expression on his face indicated that the Duke of Hadleigh couldn’t believe a
female of such little consequence had the nerve to stare him down.

  Celie anticipated several outcomes to the situation between Amanda and her brother, so was thankful when Jonah approached them with a broad smile on his face.

  “Good evening, Lady Cecelia. Lady Amanda. Hadleigh.” Jonah gave Amanda a courteous nod, then moved to stand by Celie. “May I suggest, Hadleigh, that you remove that ferocious frown from your face and try to smile. You and Lady Amanda are being discussed by every group of gossipers I passed on my way across the ballroom. And, Lady Amanda,” he said, smiling at her with a grin to help her look less angry, “I know Hadleigh doesn’t inspire humor, but perhaps you could force yourself to look as though you’re enjoying your conversation with him a bit.”

  “His Grace doubts that Lord Quigley has asked me to accompany him for the first waltz.”

  Jonah arched his brows. “How ungentlemanly of you, Hadleigh.”

  “I simply suggested that—”

  “Apology accepted,” Amanda interrupted, leaving the Duke of Hadleigh speechless.

  Celie tried to relax, tried to initiate a friendlier environment, but for several long seconds, only Jonah followed her lead.

  Finally, after giving Hadleigh a blatant look of innocence, Amanda relaxed her features and smiled. Then laughed.

  Her laughter wasn’t simply a feigned attempt at humor, but laughter that came from deep inside her.

  “Oh, Your Grace,” she said, holding her hand over her mouth to stifle the uproarious sound, “you truly are a man accustomed to using manipulation, aren’t you?”

  “If you define doing what I think is best for the people I care most for as manipulation, then I am guilty.”

  “Ah,” Amanda said thoughtfully. “The fallacy becomes what you consider best and what actually is best. I’d love to debate that with you, but the orchestra is playing the first waltz, and as you know, I’ve promised this dance to Lord Quigley.”