The Temptation of a Gentleman

by Jenna Petersen

  “No. One of the few times she was cognizant, she said…” Mrs. York lifted her face. “She said her father hit her.”

  Noah stood up so quickly that the chair beneath him flipped over and skidded backward across the room. “What?”

  Basil nodded. “Yes, sir. I also heard her. We were shocked as you are, but we couldn’t get any more details because that’s when the doctor’s pain medicine finally took hold and the young lady fell into a deep sleep.” He frowned. “We tried to find you, I swear we did. But with no indication…”

  “No, it’s not your fault.”

  Noah took several deep breaths. When he saw Hawthorne, he was going to kill him with his bare hands. That bastard would pay in full for each time he’d dared lay a hand on his daughter’s beautiful face. For the torture he’d put her through wondering if at any moment Josiah Lucas would rape her.

  The thought drew him up sharp. If Hawthorne had beaten Marion, did that also mean he’d allowed Lucas his ‘husbandly rights’?

  “Basil,” he choked out. “Will you leave me with Mrs. York for a moment?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  When the butler had gone, Noah turned to the other man’s wife. She looked up at him with clear, kind eyes full of curiosity.

  “Is there something else you wanted to know?”

  Noah nodded. “Were there any… other injuries?”

  “None that I know of, my lord.” She cocked her head. “Why?”

  He squirmed uncomfortably. It wasn’t every day he had such a delicate conversation with a woman who’d helped raise him. “Did it look as though she’d been-” he paused, seeking the right words. “Touched in any other way?” He dropped his voice a level. “Ravished?”

  Myrna’s eyes grew wide. “No, sir. Not that I could tell. And she certainly didn’t mention anything in her ramblings. I believe she was frightened out of her wits and beaten by a coward. Otherwise she seems unhurt.”

  Noah shut his eyes and let the air in his lungs out in a long whoosh. “Thank God.”

  Myrna stood with a kind smile. “If that will be all, I’ll go back to my duties. You needn’t worry about the servants, sir. Basil and I will be sure they keep their gossiping to a minimum.”

  “I know you will. Thank you again.”

  When she’d gone, Noah sagged back into a chair at the table. Hearing only part of Marion’s troubles was bad enough. In a few hours, she would awaken and he would hear the rest, the whole tale from beginning to end. He only prayed she wouldn’t look at him with accusation in her eyes. He was already well aware of how he had allowed her to come to harm.

  ***

  Noah hadn’t even been aware he was dozing until the knock came on his private study door a third time. He’d chosen that room because it was across from Marion’s bedroom door and he wanted to be there when she woke up. Now his body screamed awake. He sat up with a start and barked, “Enter.”

  Smoothing his hair and rubbing his eyes, he did his best to look like a Marquis as his butler entered the room. Basil, who usually looked benign enough, had a fiery gleam in his eyes and his face was pinched.

  “What is it?”

  “He is here, my lord.” Basil could barely contain the utter disgust in his voice. Noah didn’t think he’d ever heard such a tone come from the gentle man in all his years of service.

  “He, who?” Noah was still confused from sleep.

  “Miss Marion’s father has come demanding her return. I put him in the Blue Parlor with Rothschild at the door as guard. Should I send him away? I didn’t realize you were… er, working.” Noah followed Basil’s hawkish eyes to the mess on his desk where he’d been resting his head.

  “I’m fine.” He was fully awake now, his mind turning on all the things he’d do to the man downstairs. “Give me a moment to prepare and I’ll be right down.”

  The butler gave a smart nod.

  “Oh, Basil.”

  “Yes?”

  Noah gave him a grim smile. “Let Rothschild know if Mr. Hawthorne makes any attempt to leave that room, he has my full permission to break both the bastard’s legs.”

  Basil’s wrinkled face broke into a wide smile before he smoothed his expression back to a stern, unaffected butler. “Yes, sir. I’ll make sure Rothschild knows, sir.”

  When he’d gone, Noah passed through the adjoining door to his chamber. He splashed a bit of cool water on his face while he took a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He looked like hell. Definitely not the cool, collected image he needed to portray when he met with Hawthorne. But the man could wait. In fact, it would do him good to pass the time with the large, intimidating Rothschild breathing down over him. And who knew, maybe his servant would get a chance to break a few bones before Noah made it downstairs.

  ***

  Hawthorne jumped to his feet when Noah entered the room. “Just who do you think you are making me wait for half an hour while this footman refuses to let me out of this room to collect my daughter?”

  Noah strode across the room past Rothschild and grabbed Hawthorne by his lapels. He slammed the other man into the wall with all the force he could muster and watched with pleasure as Walter turned from pink-faced to red with fear.

  “I am the Marquis of Woodbury and you will leave this house with your daughter only if you kill me first.” He shook the man once then dropped him, allowing him to hit the floor in a heap.

  Hawthorne gaped up at him with wide, frightened eyes. “M-my lord! Surely you don’t mean to deprive me of my property. I could call this kidnapping. The magistrate-”

  Noah chuckled as he leaned one elbow against the mantle, though the laughter was empty and meant to intimidate. He certainly didn’t find anything amusing in Walter Hawthorne’s shameful disregard for his own child.

  “The magistrate will side with me.”

  “She’s my daughter!” Hawthorne seemed to regain some of his bluster when he finally managed to raise his fat frame back on his feet. “I’ll say where she stays.”

  Noah’s smile fell. “You think of her as property, not a person. You’ve said it yourself, not that I hadn’t already guessed.”

  The man stared at him with a blank face. “Surely you understand what a woman can bring in trade. With a proper marriage, I could gain wealth, power. You can’t take that away.”

  “But you already did try to trade her, didn’t you?” Noah took a step toward the other man. Hawthorne scrambled back. “You bartered her away to one disgusting, old man in return for what? The debt of a few thousand pounds?”

  Hawthorne gasped. It was clear he hadn’t thought Noah would investigate his debt, but Noah knew the amount down to the last shilling.

  “Then you understand why I need her back.” The other man smiled warily. “We’re both business men. We know the value of protecting ourselves. Surely you know if I don’t pay my debt to Lucas I could lose everything I have. My mills, my home…”

  Noah glared at Walter. “Do you really think I’d allow you to take her out of my protection only to return her to the place where she risked her life to escape? Do you really think I’d return her to you, a man who would prostitute her in exchange for a debt?”

  Hawthorne’s face fell. “Wh-what do you know of my plans? What did that bitch tell you?”

  Noah balled up his fist and swung, connecting directly with Hawthorne’s square jaw. The other man squealed like a stuck pig as he careened backward and hit the wall.

  “Try again.” Noah leaned down to speak into Walter’s face. “But this time ask nicely.”

  Rubbing his face, Marion’s father looked up at him with fear and hatred-filled eyes. “What did she tell you?”

  Noah’s smile was thin and emotionless. “That’s better. She told me you sold her off to Lucas like he was the highest bidder in some auction for her virtue. You disgusting pig. How could you do that to her?”

  Hawthorne bit his lip as if contemplating his best course of action. “You were interested in buying her yourself not that long ag
o. I’m sure we could work out an arrangement—“

  “You mean my offer during our picnic?” Noah shook his head. “That deal is off the table. You lost all privileges regarding Marion when you raised your hand to her.”

  Hawthorne balked. “What if I give her to you instead?”

  Noah drew back in disgust, though the idea of Marion belonging to him hit him in the gut with a blast of emotion. But he wouldn’t buy her from her father. No, if she was to be his, it would be because she came to him of her own will.

  The other man continued to ramble. “You’ve expressed interest in her before, and you can have her. I won’t even demand you marry her after you ruined her. Just give me enough to pay part of my debt to Lucas and she’ll be yours. I’m sure we can work out an arrangement for the rest later.”

  Noah considered punching the man again, but he doubted Marion would want her father dead, despite everything he’d done to her. “I can’t believe you’re offering to sell her to me now. You’re disgusting.”

  “You don’t know!” Hawthorne held out his arms for understanding. “Lucas tricked me into the debt and then he bought the rest of my notes besides. He’s furious enough that Marion’s gone that I don’t know what he’ll do to me. You’ve got to help me, my lord. You must help me.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Noah looked at the weak, piggish man in front of him. He despised the bastard with everything in him and he had no intention of saving him from the hole he’d put himself in. Especially since the man had done his best to drag Marion into that hole with him.

  “Get out of my house. And never come back here.” He nodded to Rothschild who had stood by impassively during the entire exchange. “If you ever go near Marion again, I’ll see you rot with the devil. Go back to whatever it is that Josiah Lucas plans to do to you. You’ve earned whatever punishment you’ll receive.”

  When he waved the man away, Rothschild picked him up unceremoniously and hauled him from the room. Hawthorne squealed and flailed his legs the entire time. When the front door had slammed and the disgusting man was gone, Noah sat down by the fire and rubbed his eyes. More and more, what he would have to do was coming clear.

  In a short time his mother would return. After he talked to her about everything that had happened, he and Marion would have to have a serious discussion. He only hoped she could accept what fate had handed them.

  ***

  Marion’s eyes fluttered open, but the room around her was a blur. When she’d blinked a few times, her vision cleared and she took in the magnificent chamber. The walls were richly painted and papered in shades of blue that reminded her of Noah’s eyes. The space around her was big, filled with furniture that was classic and lovely.

  “Where am I?” she asked no one in particular as she sat up. Everything seemed foggy, like she was still in a dream… or a nightmare. Her head throbbed and her arm stung like the devil.

  It all came back to her in a rush. Noah nearly making love to her. Her father’s savage attack. Climbing out the window. And the long, cold walk to Linton Green.

  “Linton Green.”

  Now she was fully awake and stared around her.

  Slowly, she pushed the covers from her body and dangled her bare feet off the edge of the bed. She was no longer in her own gown, but in a nightshift that was a little too big for her. Who had put her in it? She vaguely remembered Noah’s butler saying her name and then a female voice that had spoken to her very kindly. But not Noah. She didn’t remember his presence in the shadow that was the night before.

  A long robe lay across the dressing table chair. Marion hobbled over to it and with one arm draped it over her shoulders. A shot of pain ripped through her when she tried to slide her arms through the sleeves, so she left it hanging instead.

  Before she turned to the door, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror attached to the table. Collapsing into the chair with a gasp, she took a second look. Her face was bruised and puffy around her left eye. Her hair was a mess of tangles and knots. But worse than that, her eyes held a look of defeat in them that she hadn’t felt since her mother’s death.

  Blinking back tears, she skirted away from the mirror and the self she didn’t want to face. Later she would take the time to consider all that had happened, but for now she had to concentrate on one thing: finding Noah.

  She cracked the door open a fraction. In her shift and the robe that hardly covered her, she felt naked. She didn’t want someone to see her. In fact, she hoped she’d find a maid who could tell her where Noah was and perhaps send him a message.

  Instead, at the sound of the door’s creaking hinges, Noah’s head popped out of his private study a few steps down the hall. When he saw her, his eyes lit up with relief and he hurried out of the office to meet her in the hallway.

  “Marion.” He breathed her name like it was a prayer and the tender look in his eyes was enough to make her go weak in the knees.

  “I-I don’t have anything to wear.”

  With a sigh, she shut her eyes. Here she was standing across from the man who she’d nearly made love to, a man who had saved her by allowing her to stay in his home, and the best she could think to say was, ‘I don’t have anything to wear’?

  He motioned to the partly open door with an expression she couldn’t read. “Come back into Audrey’s room.”

  With a nod, she followed him. So this was once his sister’s room. That explained why it was so feminine, so personal. But she wondered why she’d been put there and not in another guestroom. Surely the massive estate had many such rooms to choose from.

  He opened the armoire in the corner to reveal a few older dresses. Though they were two or three seasons out of date, they all looked serviceable and were made of expensive silks and beautiful fabrics.

  He turned back to hold up a gown. “You can choose one of these. I’ll have a maid come up to help you get ready. You won’t be able to dress yourself or fix your hair with your arm in that sling.”

  Noah’s words unconsciously forced him to look at Marion’s body. The dressing gown she wore didn’t give her even a modicum of protection since it was only slung over her shoulders. And the nightshift, which was a bit large for her, revealed the soft curves of her arms and shoulders more than the most scandalous gown would have done. The thin muslin clung to her curves and made Noah long to touch her.

  Clearing his throat, he turned back to the armoire to re-gather his senses. Marion didn’t need to be ravished, she needed to be treated with respect.

  The logic in that did nothing to tamp down the desire that had begun to throb in Noah’s veins.

  “Thank you.”

  He turned back to see her staring at the floor, not him. It killed him to see her so meek, not the fighter he’d butted heads with or teased over the past few weeks. Her father had beaten that spark out of her, and Noah only prayed he could nurture it back to life. Marion without her vitality was like Marion without her soul. And that vitality and soul was what drew him to her.

  Somehow he’d taken a few short steps toward her without even realizing it. But now she was inches from him, yet she still hadn’t lifted her eyes. With a trembling hand, he cupped her chin and raised her face toward his. She blinked back tears of humiliation and sadness, but held his gaze.

  “Marion…”

  He didn’t know what he wanted to say to her. Perhaps that what had happened wasn’t her fault. Or that he was sorry for letting her down. Or maybe that he cared for her. But before he could say any of those things, she turned her face away from his touch and put a few feet of distance between them.

  Her voice wasn’t more than a whisper when she said, “I want to dress. After that, I know we must speak to each other about-about many things.”

  He fought against conflicting urges. One was to take her in his arms and have it out with her right then and there. The other was to respect the space she requested and let her regain some level of dignity before he told her everything he needed to say. Finally, the latter wo
n out.

  “Yes. I’ll send someone up right away.” At the door, he turned back.

  “I’ll join you when I’m finished,” she promised.

  But he could see from the innocence in her eyes that she understood nothing of the shock he was about to give her. With a sigh, he turned away. If only he knew what her response would be.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When she came downstairs an hour later, Marion felt refreshed and ready to face whatever Noah would say to her. A pleasant maid had helped her bathe, then dressed her in one of Audrey Berenger’s gowns. She’d even fixed Marion’s dark hair until even she had to admit it looked lovely. The only thing the girl couldn’t hide were the ugly bruises that marred Marion’s face. And the sting in her heart related to more than just her father’s betrayal.

  The light she’d always seen in Noah’s eyes when he looked at her had gone out. When he came into her room that afternoon to help her find the clothes she now wore, she’d seen his desire, but not his affection. It was almost as if he dreaded seeing her.

  That was what she’d done by lying to him. By barging into his life uninvited and ruining his case and his plans. Now all she could do was slip away. Allow him to return to his life without her interference.

  He rose from the table when she entered the small dining hall. It was a place for family dinners with its cozy table and few chairs. A place where love and laughter were shared. Why had he brought her here?

  “You look much better.” He held out a chair for her with a false smile. Her hand automatically went up to touch the bruises on her face. His smile fell. “The doctor said those would heal in a few days. There will be no permanent marks.”

  She nodded. Suddenly her throat felt dry. Never had she felt so uncomfortable with the man across from her, but now she could think of nothing to say. Nothing could bring them back to the friendship they’d once shared and she valued so much.