A Breach of Promise (The Rules of Engagement #1)(14)

“I was coming to find you,” Mariah said. “Lud, Lyddie!” She gaped at her cousin’s rumpled and bewildered appearance. “You look positively debauched! You mustn’t let anyone else see you like this.”

Mariah pulled her into the empty music room, where Lydia caught sight of herself in the gilt mirror poised over the mantel and gasped in horror. Her color was high, her eyes shone feverishly bright, and clumps of her hair hung in disarray.

“Did that vile scoundrel accost you?” Mariah asked.

Heat infused Lydia’s already flushed cheeks. “Sadly, no. Although I would like nothing more than to accuse Marcus of importuning me, the fact is I made not the slighted protest.”

“What did he do to you?” Mariah asked in an excited whisper.

Lydia’s lips quivered in outrage. “The worst thing imaginable. He has kissed me senseless.”

“Oh my!” Mariah’s hand flew to her mouth.

“Oh my, indeed! He has deprived me of all reason.” Lydia’s hands shook as she pulled the remaining pins from her hair to repair the damage.

“Here, let me help you.” Mariah took them from her and tucked up the stray strands. “It’s a lucky thing you have natural wave, and even better that you wore most of it down. So what has happened? Do you mean you have reconciled with him?”

“Lud no! The man frightens me.”

“The beast did accost you!” Mariah hissed.

“No, dearest. What I meant to say is that my reaction to him frightens me witless. It’s as if I’m no longer myself with him, but some other…creature! One with no notion of time, or place, or even of decorum. I feared for my own lack of restraint!”

Mariah looked stunned. “But how could this occur from a simple kiss?”

“That’s just it, Mariah. There was nothing simple about it! I don’t understand it. I can’t even trust myself anymore. It’s as if he has cast some evil charm over me and turned me into a wanton!”

“You, a wanton?” Mariah’s eyes widened. “He must have bewitched you! Whatever will you do?”

Lydia clasped her cousin’s arm with a look nearing panic. “Mariah, under no circumstances must I be alone with him again.”



“A drink, Needham,” Marcus demanded. “Perhaps I should make it an entire bottle. I have great need of something particularly…numbing.” The two men repaired to the library where Marcus dismissed the footman and helped himself to a generous glass of whiskey.

“Sorry, ol’ chap. Though I suspected she would be more immune to your charm than you believed, I’d have never imagined you’d take it so hard.”

“Hard? An interesting choice of words,” Marcus said. “I can’t remember such a cock stand since you and I pooled our allowance to hire our first whore.”

Nicholas’ brows shot up. “I am uncertain how to interpret that very enlightening bit of information.”

“It means I want her, Nick. She has the body of Venus and the innate sensuality of Voluptus and I want her so badly my bloody teeth ache.” He emptied his glass in one long draught and refilled it again. He offered the bottle to Nick who demurred.

“But she still won’t have you, eh?”

Marcus regarded Nick with a self-satisfied smirk. “Oh, I think she’ll have me all right. She melted like chocolate and damned well tasted like it too.”

“So progress was made in your, er, negotiations?”

“Yes and no,” Marcus answered with a wry twist of his lips. “She’s responsive as hell, far more than I would have anticipated, but fighting it like the devil too. I think she’s scared of her own passion.”

“An interesting dilemma.”

“A bloody frustrating one.” Marcus took another drink. “I’ve tried reason. I’ve tried charm. She still wishes to call it off. It’s time for more drastic measures.”

Nick gave him an inquiring look.

“I’ll ruin her, Nick, and when I’m done, she’ll be too damned sated to care. All I need is to get her alone.”





Chapter Five


“My moment has come at last,” Marcus said to his mother when he called again at Russell House.

“What do you mean, Marcus?”

“The Duke of Bedford is leaving the Admiralty to become the Secretary of State for the Southern Department and it’s rumored Lord Sandwich will be awarded his vacated seat—if a suitable replacement can be found to complete the peace treaty.”

“But that would be you!” Lady Russell exclaimed with delight.

“Not quite, I’m afraid. I am of several Secrétaires d’ambassade under consideration, a number of whom have considerably more experience than me. While I have every intention of playing up to my advantage, I’m also not the only one with a blood connection to the Ministry. Edward Montagu, as you know, claims a close kinship with Lord Sandwich.”

“Then, dearest, you must simply work to put the others out of consideration. What do you know of them? If you are to succeed, you must learn to exploit your adversaries’ every weakness,” Lady Russell declared with a ruthless ferocity that made Marcus’ brows shoot upward. “That advice may even apply to some who only imagine themselves your adversary.” She gave a very telling grin.