“I assure you, my grace, it is all true.”
His eyes darted around the room, taking in the barren walls and the sturdy, unpretentious furnishings. William said nothing, but his eyes grew cloudy, with pain or perhaps it was simply regret. He looked at her, took in her swollen, passion bruised lips, the tangled disarray of her hair, and a low groan rumbled from his throat.
He was standing just a few feet away from her. In two long strides he caught her against him, buried his face in her hair. “Ah, duchess, I am sorry. So very sorry. Good God, but you bring out the worst in me.”
Katherine clung to him, knowing she shouldn’t, that holding him would only make losing him harder, yet craving the strength of his arms.
“I should have told you the truth in the beginning. I suppose I was embarrassed. You had enough problems of your own and mine were hardly your concern.”
He drew back to look at her. “It is my concern. I’ve damaged your reputation. I’ve taken your innocence. In the marriage mart, those are two of your most valuable commodities. That makes it my concern.”
He kissed the top of her head. “If I were any kind of man, I would marry you myself. But odds are, I’ll be swinging from a rope before this is over. Even if I manage to cheat fate again, there is no guarantee I’ll be able to prove my innocence, and even if I do, I won’t be staying in England.”
“You’re going to leave?” Something painful clenched inside her. He was leaving. Sooner or later, he would be gone from her life for good. “Where? Where will you go?”
“Back from where I came from. That is where I belong. Katherine I do not belong in England. I’m not civilized enough for it anymore. I just don’t fit in.”
She thought of the dance they had shared, of how magnificent he had looked. She could have argued that he could fit wherever he wanted, but she didn’t. If William wished to leave England, she had no right to stop him.
“I can’t marry you Katherine, but I can help you. I have money, quite a sum. I have more than enough to set your debts in order and see that you and your brother are comfortable for as long as you need. You won’t be forced into marriage. You can wait until you find the right man.”
Katherine ignored the dull ache inside her, the pressure building in her chest. She had found the right man. But marriage was not his intention. “In truth, if I had my way, I would not marry at all. I’ve come to enjoy my independence and once I marry I’ll be forced to have to give it up.”
“What of children?” William asked. “Surely you want a family. All women do.”
“Actually, I’ve given it very little thought. I presumed they would come as a result of the marriage. Other than that, I’ve not thought that much about it.” Until this moment. Having children with William was another matter entirely. She couldn’t think of anything that would give her more pleasure than bearing him a son.
He caressed her cheek with his hand. “I’m sorry about tonight, my lady, but I’m not sorry I’ve come. Now that I know the truth, everything is going to be fine, I promise you.” He bent over and gave her a soft kiss, their lips clung to each other as the kiss grew more fierce. “Damn, I want you again already!”
A feeling of warmth began to spread through her body. In truth she wanted him too.
William, however, turned to leave. “It’s getting light outside. I’ve got to get out of here before someone sees me.” A quick glance toward the window, then he looked back at her. “I meant what I said. Everything is going to be fine.”
“I don’t want your money. I have money of my own. I simply must marry to get it.”
William ignored her. With a final hard kiss, he headed toward the door leading out on to the balcony. He swung his long legs over the railing, and began his descent down the trellis. She heard his boots hit the ground, and then he was gone.
She sat down on the bench in front of her mirror. The clock ticked in the darkness. Since she had met William, she had never felt so alone.
Though her body was pleasantly satisfied, Katherine slept little for the remainder of the night. William had come to her, made love to her in this very room. Memories of his hard-muscled body surging into hers made her skin grow damp with perspiration. Her nipples grew hard to think of his tongue brushing over it, remembering the way he had taken the fullness into his mouth. With one hand, she touched herself there, wishing he were still with her.
Instead she lay in bed alone, aching for a man who wanted her but had no interest in marriage, at least not to her.
It was late when she dragged herself from beneath the covers. Crossing to the window, she shoved it open and inhaled a breath of the damp air. Mary Ann helped her into a simple day dress made of muslin and she made her way downstairs.
“Good morning, Thomas.”
“That it is my dear.” Seated at the dining room table, he smiled at her as she took her place. “Slept well, I trust? I didn’t hear you come in last night.”
She wasn’t surprised. He rarely heard her, and even if he had, he probably wouldn’t remember it. “I slept fine, Thomas.” Recalling the events of the night made her blush. She didn’t like lying to her brother. “I hope you haven’t been waiting for me. I’m afraid I’ve been a bit lazy this morning.”
He nodded, then glanced down at the small white calling card he held in his hand. He pondered it for a moment, then his face lit up.
“I nearly forgot, Katherine. You have a visitor coming to call. The earl of York. He ought to be here any minute.”
“Damien!” Her stomach tightened. Had something happened to William? “What does he want?”
“Haven’t the foggiest idea, my dear. Guess you’ll find out when he gets here.”
Which was, as Thomas said, not long. She had just finished her morning tea and biscuits, barely able to get them down for the fear tearing through her stomach when the butler appeared in the dining room doorway.
“You’ve a guest, my lady. The earl of York has come to call. I’ve shown him into the drawing room.”
“Thank you.” Taking a breath, she slid back her chair and stood. Please don’t let it be William.
Her hands were shaking as she walked down the hall and stepped into the drawing room. She closed the doors behind her. She felt a sigh of relief when the raven-haired earl began walking toward her with a smile.
“Good morning, Lady Katherine.”
“My lord.” They exchanged pleasantries but only for a moment. Then the earl handed her a wax sealed message, which Katherine immediately broke open. A piece of paper folded up inside fluttered neatly to the floor. When she bent to retrieve it, she saw that it was a bank draft for twenty thousand pounds.
“Sweet Lord.” A glance of the paper proved her instincts correct. The money had come from William. It was all she could do to keep her mouth clamped shut. “Do you know what is in here, my lord?”
“Yes, I do, my lady. I hope you realize you may count me among your friends. Your secrets - and William’s - are completely safe with me.”
She believed him. It didn’t lessen the shame she felt that William would send her money. She wondered how much Damien knew of their relationship and how much more he had simply guessed.
“You may tell him that he may take his good intentions and shove them.”
A corner of Damien’s mouth smiled. “Is there anything else, my lady?”
“You may tell his grace he owes me nothing. What I have, I gave of my own free will. Money was not then, nor is it now the reason for what happened between us. You may also remind him I have money of my own, that soon it will be used to solve my problems, and I will no longer be in need of his assistance.”
Damien looked even more amused. “I will tell him, my lady.” He started toward the door.
“Oh, and Damien.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“You may also tell him that I said thank you. I enjoyed our last meeting very much.”
The earl smiled. “I will be certain to tell him, Lady Katherine.
” He bid her a word of farewell and was gone.
Katherine sat down on the tapestry sofa. The more she thought about what had just happened, the angrier she got. How dare he! How dare he try to heal his miserable conscience with an offer of money! She wasn’t his whore! Just because William regretted their passionate lovemaking didn’t mean that she did. In fact, she was superbly grateful she had been given the chance to enjoy such a wondrous experience with a man she are for so greatly.
Katherine jumped up off the sofa and started toward the stairs. She didn’t want William’s money. If he offered it again, she would tell him to go straight to hell!
Chapter Thirteen
William paced the floor in his bedchamber at Damien’s house. As soon as he had heard the door open in the entry he headed into the hallway and down the stairs. Following his friend into the drawing room, he closed the door.
“Well, how did it go?” he asked impatiently.
Damien smiled at him. “Hold out your hand.”
William did as he friend requested. Smiling, Damien turned the once-sealed correspondence upside down, and tiny scrapes of paper spilled into his palm. William knew what they were.
“You might tell by the size of the pieces just how pleased the lady was with your offer.”
William scowled. “What did she say?”
“She said, basically, that you could take your good intentions and shove them.”
“And?”
“She also said to thank you. She said she enjoyed your last meeting very much.”
“What!”
“That is what she said.”
William slammed his fist down on the table. “That woman! I swear she is unlike any woman I have ever met.”
“I certainly cannot disagree. I am not surprised she refused your offer of assistance, even though from what you have told me she needs the money badly.”
“There is no doubt of that.”
“Do you still aim to help her?”
“I have to, I owe her that much.”
William paced back and forth. Finally he stopped at the window and stared out. He turned to Damien. “I’ll do the only thing I can do. What that little vixen has forced me to do. I’ll have to marry her.”
Damien’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought you said you weren’t interested in marriage.”
“I’m not and this isn’t going to change the way I feel about marriage, however, it will solve Katherine’s problem. And there is something else, Damien.”
“Which is?”
“Last night when I left her house, a man was standing in the shadows. He wasn’t there when I went in, which means he must have arrived after Katherine came home.”
“You think this man was following her?”
“I don’t know. I made sure he didn’t see me leave, but he was very definitely watching the house for some reason. My instincts tell me that Katherine has been sniffing around, asking questions about Benjamin. If she had been, she might be in danger.”
“I’ll have our man look into it.”
“Good idea. I will speak to Katherine about it.” An awful thought suddenly struck, twisting hard inside him. What if she refused his proposal?
Katherine stood in front of her glass mirror. William had come. Even now he waited in the drawing room downstairs, determined to see her. Why, she had no idea. Damn that man. Didn’t he know how much he put himself in danger every time he stepped out in public? There was always that chance that someone might recognize him.
At first she did not see him, having thought he would be seated in a warm spot in front of the fire. A quick scan of the room and she spotted him standing at the opposite end of the room. He was standing off to one side, before a row of portraits, pictures of her mother and father, her grandmother and grandfather and a small porcelain miniature of herself and her brother.
He hadn’t heard her enter the room. She watched him as he studied the portraits. It was odd the way he looked at them, his features tense and brooding. There was something forbidding about him, the darkness, the bloodlust she had seen in him before. He appeared every inch the dangerous man he had been the night he had stolen her from her carriage. As crazy as it was she was still attracted to him just as much as she had been that first night.
“William?”
He turned to look at her, his burning eyes fixed on her face. “Hello, Katherine.”
“I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“Didn’t you? What did you think would occur when you refused my offer?”
She swallowed hard. She wasn’t a fool. She might be attracted to him, but she knew that he was a hard man, not a man to trifle with. “I believed you would come to your senses and let the matter rest. I told you I had a means of my own for solving my problems.”
“Did you mean what you said? You told me you didn’t really want a husband. That you valued your independence, that you would keep it if you possibly could.”
“I meant every word.” She had meant it. If she could not marry for love, she would rather be alone.
“Then I’ll marry you.”
“What?” she hissed.
“I said I’ll marry you, at least for a while. Once we are wed, I can see your dowry returned to you. Your financial problems will be solved and, you’ll still have your independence.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand. If I’m your wife, how can I have my independence? And what do you mean you’ll marry me for a while?”
He shook his head. “Once we are married, I can help you get control of your dowry. However, I cannot stay in England. I don’t belong here anymore. As soon as I’m gone, you can file for an annulment.”
“Let me get this straight. You expect to marry me, spend time in my bed, then leave me whenever you wish? How damn convenient! I imagine there are any number of eligible gentlemen who would be willing to agree to that plan.”
“I don’t intend to bed you. That should have never happened. As I told you Katherine, I do not want a wife and I certainly don’t want children, ever. This will simply be a marriage of convenience. You’ll have your money and my conscience will be clear for taking your innocence. This is strictly a business arrangement.”
William was the third man who had approached her with a marriage proposal that was purely a business arrangement. Her heart twisted. None of them loved her. What was it about her that made that so difficult for them?
She swallowed hard. “I appreciate your concern, my lord, however there is no need to trouble yourself. I have been proposed an arrangement that would also solve my problems. I have not yet given the gentleman an answer, but I intent to shortly.”
The color left William’s sun drenched cheeks. “You are saying that you would rather marry one of those boring, piggish lords?”
There was something in his eyes, the darkness she had seen before, a shadowy despair that engulfed him. “I didn’t say that, my lord.”
“I suppose you are right though. Lord Stanton could surely be in love with you. He could give you children, be the husband and father I could never be.” He stared at the floor between his feet.
Her heart was breaking. She was sure of it. What on earth had happened to him to make him feel this way. “He does not love me. There is a good chance he loves Elizabeth Stanwick.”
“Then why does he want to marry you?”
“As you indicated, it is merely a business arrangement.”
The tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. His gaze locked with hers, so intense that it would not let her look away. “If that is the case, then you shall marry me. Once I am gone, you’ll have time to choose a proper husband, someone who will love and care for you as you should be.”
He didn’t love her, but he cared for her in some way. “I must know William, why it is you feel about marriage as you do?”
The darkness in him swept over him like a wave. His jaw flexed. “A man like me doesn’t marry. He doesn’t have a wife and children. A man like me wouldn’t begin to kno
w how to lead a normal life anymore.” He looked at her and the pain in his eyes touched something deep within her. “I’ve been gone from England for a long time now. I’ve seen things a man should never have to see. I’ve done things a man should never have to do, things I’ll regret for as long as I live. I could never be a husband to you, I could never be a father to your children, Katherine. This is a civilized country and I am no longer a civilized man.”
“William. . .” She reached out to touch him, but he took a step away.
“Give me your answer Katherine, who is it going to be?”
Every shred of common sense told her to run as far and as fast as she could from William Spencer. He was certain to hurt her. Already his pain tore into her heart as if it were her own. She loved him, and with each passing day that love would grow stronger. And then he would leave. Run, run! Her mind told her. But her heart told her the words she finally said to him “I choose you William. I’ll marry you whenever you wish.”
The darkness faded as fast as it had appeared. It seemed he was yet unsure of what he was about to do. “Damien can obtain a special license. Three days hence, you’ll become Lady Habersham. By the end of the week, you’ll be a wealthy woman again.”
A wealthy married woman, she thought grimly. In love with a man who didn’t love her. Wife to a husband who never intended marriage and meant to abandon her.
She tried to smile, but inside her heart hurt just to think about it.
Benjamin Spencer leaned against the wall, watching Elizabeth as she spoke quietly to one of her friends. Benjamin’s hands unconsciously fisted into balls. Elizabeth had been attracted to another, having discouraged his suit only to please her father, who had very little use for the gentleman. That and the fact that Sir Paul was obsessed with the notion of making his daughter the duchess of Sussex. She looked exceptionally pretty tonight. He shifted a little, easing the pulling fabric, and smiled to think of the evening ahead, of the pleasure he would feel capturing the prize Lord Stanton had wanted. Pulling his gold watch from the pocket of his gold brocade waistcoat, he checked the time, then smiled as a liveried footman bustled into the room carrying a silver salver. The gangly man scanned the crowd, then headed straight for Elizabeth.
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