This brought his hard gaze down to her beautiful face. “Come now, Miss Despard,” he said with bored indifference. “Your show of offended sensibilities insults my intelligence. It is a bit late in the day to exhibit virginal outrage.” He watched her throat constrict, and when she turned her fine nose to the window, giving him a view of her lovely profile, he smiled crookedly. How well she played the part of indignant female! As if she were the injured party. “By the way, I don’t waste conversation on whores.”
“If you hope to unsettle me with your-your—by that, then you are vastly mistaken in my—in my—” She stopped herself and bit her full lower lip, for how could she say the word character when she had none?
He seemed to read her mind, for he said so softly that she could only just hear him, “You were wise not to say it. You lost what little character you possessed when you thumbed your nose at constancy and decency to take up with a conscienceless old merchant. But as you are your father’s daughter, I am inclined to believe Sir Felix never taught you the meaning of such words. Thus I will own that the fault lies with me for being taken in by your beautiful face.”
Jane bravely met his gaze, and seeing the loathing in his eyes, a painful knot formed in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. She did not understand what she had done to deserve such hatred. He spoke of her not being constant or decent, and yet if there was one thing she had been in those days, weeks, and months after the night in the summerhouse, it was constant. Nor did she understand why he had such an intense dislike for Jacob Allenby, the only person to offer her sanctuary. She knew there was no point defending her own character with this male colossus of unreasonableness, but there was no reason for him to besmirch her protector. She forced herself to remain outwardly calm.
“Your vast experience of the type may give you some latitude to speak to me as you would any whore of your acquaintance,” she said in a steady voice. “But it does not give you leave to besmirch Mr. Allenby’s unblemished character. I have never heard an unkind word spoken about him. And despite the difficult circumstances in which I lived under his roof, I never had cause to—”
Salt goggled at her, appalled. “I won’t stand here and listen to you praise—”
“—slap his face!”
There was a moment’s heavy silence, then the Earl let out such a bark of genuine laughter that he startled those taking tea to momentary silence.
“My dear Miss Despard, pride still smarting?”
“I have no idea to what you are referring, my lord.”
“Don’t you?” he asked curiously, the anger gone from his deep voice. “I’d wager my best Hunter you were sorely disappointed when your merchant protector intervened that day on the Hunt. Truth be told, you had no need to lash out as you did. I wasn’t about to offer you a second helping of my vast experience.”
“What a dull, hollow existence you must lead to hold to the memory of such a trifling incident. I assure you I had not recalled it until now.”
His smile was sardonic. “It was to your dull, hollow existence I was referring, madam. Your hand hasn’t been the only one to have slapped this noble cheek.”
“What a comfort to know there are females who have spurned Wiltshire’s libertine lord!”
“No. I never said that. Every other slap invited pursuit; yours, I’d no desire to satisfy. Easy game doesn’t interest me. No, don’t turn your face away,” he commanded in a low voice, pinching her small chin between thumb and forefinger and forcing her to look up at him. “Do we go before parson tomorrow or not?”
To her shame and embarrassment, Jane felt hot tears sting her eyelids and she swallowed hard, unable to give him an immediate response. He had exposed the raw nerve of her life under Jacob Allenby’s protection by stating the painfully obvious. The old Bristol merchant had kept her fed and clothed, and in return, whenever he visited the little thatched cottage that nestled in a grove between the Sinclair lands and the Allenby estate, she was at his beck and call. If it hadn’t been for Tom’s supervised quarterly visits, her life would’ve been unbearable. And now this arrogant nobleman dared to sneer at her and expect release from an obligation he had given in good faith.
It humiliated her to think that on his deathbed, her estranged father had forced Lord Salt to honor a promise made to her years earlier. Her father had fulfilled his life’s ambition in bringing about her marriage to this arrogant nobleman by means of blackmail, with no thought to her feelings in the matter or the mortification she would endure as wife of a reluctant husband. It humiliated her further that Jacob Allenby had written up a despicable will, leaving her no choice but to accept the Earl’s offer of marriage or watch her stepbrother face financial ruin. And as much as she wanted to release Lord Salt from his forced obligation, as much as she wanted to tell him why she must accept his backhanded offer of marriage, she could not; it was with an aching heart and a halting voice that she gave the Earl the answer she knew he did not in the least want to hear.
“There are factors—circumstances—Yes, my lord, we will go before parson tomorrow.”
“You surprise me,” he said with an ugly pull to his mouth. “But what female could resist the lure of a coronet? Be good enough to hold out your left hand.”
Listlessly, Jane did as she was told, and was rewarded by having an old gold filigreed band set with sapphires and diamonds slipped over her ring finger. She did not look at it, nor was she aware the band was too large for her slender finger until the Earl mentioned he would have the ring resized once they were married. She thought her mortification complete until she was ordered to sit on a ribbon back chair placed in the center of the Turkey rug by the fire. It was only then that she realized she was alone in the drawing room with the Earl and his unobtrusive secretary.
Tom and his mother had abandoned her.
About the Author
Lucinda Brant
When not bumping about 18th century London in my sedan chair or exchanging gossip with perfumed and patched courtiers in the gilded drawing rooms of Versailles, I write award-winning Georgian historical romances and mysteries (with lashings of romance). My books are set in 1700s Georgian England, with occasional crossings to continental Europe. I pull up the reins at the French Revolution where I lost a previous life at the guillotine for my unpardonably hedonistic lifestyle as a layabout aristo!
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Lucinda’s Bookshelf
NOBLE SATYR
A Georgian Historical Romance
Roxton Family Saga Prequel
1740s France and England—the age of hedonism and enlightenment. A young Antonia Moran must flee the Court of Versailles with assistance from the sinister Duke of Roxton. Her unquestioning belief in him may just be his salvation, and her undoing.
Winner of the $10,000 Woman’s Day/Random House Romantic Fiction Prize.
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MIDNIGHT MARRIAGE
A Georgian Historical Romance
Roxton Family Saga Book 1
1760s England and France. Julian and Deb are hurriedly married-off as children, Julian then banished to the continent, Deb returned to the nursery and told her midnight marriage was just a bad dream. Nine years later, Julian returns incognito to claim his bride.
Readers’ Favorite Audiobook Silver Medalist, Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Medalist.
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AUTUMN DUC
HESS
A Georgian Historical Romance
Roxton Family Saga Book 2
1770s England: Treat, the ancestral home of the dukes of Roxton. Antonia, Dowager Duchess of Roxton, has mourned the loss of her duke for three long years until into her life steps a most unconventional man.
Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Finalist, RONE Awards Finalist.
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DAIR DEVIL
A Georgian Historical Romance
Roxton Family Saga Book 3
London and Hampshire, 1777. The story of Alisdair ‘Dair’ Fitzstuart; nobleman, ex-soldier, rogue, and Aurora ‘Rory’ Talbot; spinster, pineapple fancier, granddaughter of England’s Spymaster General.
RONE Award Winner: Best Historical Novel, Chatelaine Award First in Category Winner: Outstanding Works in Romantic Fiction.
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PROUD MARY
A Georgian Historical Romance
Roxton Family Saga Book 4
Widowed and destitute, Lady Mary is left with only her pride. Daughter of an earl, family expectation demands she remarry. Mary will do her duty and ignore her heart. Then a ghost from her past turns her world upside-down…
Readers’ Favorite Silver Medalist, and B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree.
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SATYR’S SON
A Georgian Historical Romance
Roxton Family Saga Book 5
London, 1786. Lord Henri-Antoine lives life of privilege and excess. Miss Lisa Crisp is a penniless orphan who relies on the charity of relatives. Under startling circumstances, they meet. A Cinderella story with a heartwarming Happily Ever After.
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ETERNALLY YOURS
Roxton Letters Volume One
A Companion to the Roxton Family Saga
Letters from the private correspondence of the Roxton family, spanning 1743–1777, with extracts from the diaries of Antonia, 5th Duchess of Roxton and 7th Duchess of Kinross. Includes Roxton’s last letter to Antonia.
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FOREVER REMAIN
Roxton Letters Volume Two
A Companion to the Roxton Family Saga
The second volume of previously unpublished letters from the private correspondence of the Roxton family spans a twenty-year period, from the 1760s to the late 1780s, complementing the later chronology of the award-winning Roxton Family Saga.
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SALT BRIDE
A Georgian Historical Romance
Salt Hendon Series Book 1
London, 1763. The Earl of Salt Hendon and squire's daughter Jane Despard are forced into a marriage neither wants. Enter Diana St. John, who will go to extremes, even murder, to hold the Earl's attention.
Readers’ Favorite book Award Finalist, Australian Romance Readers Award Finalist.
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SALT REDUX
Sequel to Salt Bride
Salt Hendon Series Book 2
Jane and Salt: Four years of Happily Ever After. Sir Antony Templestowe: Four years of Exile. Lady Caroline: Four years of Heartache. Diana St. John: Four years plotting Revenge. The time has come...
Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Medalist.
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SALT HENDON
A great introduction to Lucinda’s unique storytelling and richly romantic 18th century world. This special edition includes two of Lucinda’s best-loved books, Salt Bride (with original prologue reinstated) and Salt Redux. Between them, these books have half a million copies and averaged over 4.4 stars from thousands of bookseller ratings and reviews worldwide. Also included is Salt Angel, a 20,000-word bonus novella.
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DEADLY ENGAGEMENT
A Georgian Historical Mystery
Alec Halsey Mystery Series Book 1
Spring 1763. Career diplomat Alec Halsey is embroiled in country house murder and mayhem. He also confronts a cruel twist of fate that reveals why his brother will go to any lengths to ruin him.
A USA TODAY bestseller, Romance Writers of Australia Romantic Book of the Year Finalist.
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DEADLY AFFAIR
A Georgian Historical Mystery
Alec Halsey Mystery Series Book 2
Autumn 1763. When a vicar drops dead in front of him at Party Political dinner, Alec suspects the man poisoned. But why murder a harmless man of God? The vicar’s true identity leads to shocking revelations.
Goethe International Finalist—Outstanding Works in Post-1750s Historical Fiction, Australian Romance Readers Awards Finalist.
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DEADLY PERIL
A Georgian Historical Mystery
Alec Halsey Mystery Series Book 3
Winter 1763. Alec must go to Midanich, a place of great danger and dark secrets, ruled by a family with madness in its veins. For Alec, it is a place of unspeakable memories from which he barely escaped and vowed never to return.
RONE Finalist Best Published Mystery, M&M Book Award Finalist for Outstanding Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries.
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ALEC HALSEY MYSTERIES: Books 1–3
Includes Deadly Engagement, Deadly Affair, and Deadly Peril, each a bestseller. All are smart, witty, passionate adventures exploring the darker side of Lucinda's richly authentic Georgian world, with deeper subplots and even quirkier characters.
Lucinda’s Audiobooks
Featuring the irresistible "smooth as melted chocolate" voice of award-winning, RADA-trained British actor Alex Wyndham
Lucinda’s Jewel Sisters
THE JEWELS are my writing sisters in historical romance; New York Times, USA TODAY and internationally bestselling authors who sparkle! If you enjoyed my book, download our free anthology and our 12-book boxed set to meet the Jewels!
Jewels of Historical Romance—our free anthology!
Fabulous Firsts—12 full-length novels at a super price!
Enter out monthly contest at the Jewels website
Join our Jewels Salon on Facebook
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Forever Remain Page 14