Weddings of the Century: A Pair of Wedding Novellas(18)

There was an instant of silence. Then her father roared, "Damn you to hell, Chandler! What are you doing with my daughter?"

When Roxanne flinched, Dominick murmured, "How nice to know that one hasn't been forgotten." Raising his voice, he said, "I've come to claim my bride after too long a betrothal! I hope you will wish us happy."

Face red with fury, Sir William stormed out of the shrubbery, several men behind him. "Wish you happy! You, you criminal! Did you hire that filthy savage to kidnap Roxanne?"

"Not at all," was the calm reply. "I am that filthy savage."

The baronet's jaw dropped as he stared at Dominick's face. When he recognized the eyes and features of Chand-a-la, he gasped, "You imposter! How dare you mock the scholarly pursuit of knowledge."

One of the searchers said with interest, "Well, I'll be, this gent here is the Wild Man." A murmur rose from the others.

Sir William snapped, "You lot get out of earshot. We have private matters to discuss."

With obvious reluctance, the other men withdrew and settled down to watch the show. Dominick waited until they were out of range, then said, "No subterfuge would have been necessary if you hadn't separated us for your own selfish reasons. But this time you will fail. My mother is dead, and there is nothing you can say to make me give Roxanne up."

Sir William appeared on the verge of explosion. Turning his attention to his daughter, he said, "Have you no shame? Allowing yourself to be seduced by this fortune hunter! Not only did he viciously extort money on the promise that he would leave you alone, but he has broken his solemn word never to see you again."

"A vow extracted under duress is not valid," Dominick pointed out.

Glaring, the baronet said, "What's your price this time? Since you've already ruined her, I won't pay as much as before, but it would be worth a couple of hundred pounds to get rid of you again."

"You never paid me a penny, Mayfield," Dominick said coldly. "I've told Roxanne the truth about how you falsified that document, so don't think you can deceive her this time."

For a moment the baronet appeared off balance. Then he said to his daughter, "You believed him? The man's a liar through and through. Having ruined God only knows how many other females in the last ten years, now he's back for another go at you."

"He loves me, Papa, and I'll not let you come between us." Though Roxanne's words were brave, Dominick saw that her fragile confidence was eroding under her father's bullying.

Sir William's contemptuous glance raked down her. "You're hardly the sort to catch the fancy of a man of the world."

"Don't speak to her that way!" Dominick snapped. "Any man would be proud to have Roxanne as a wife."

Despite his words, her face paled and her hand slipped out of his. Dear God, he was losing her! Even though her blazing hair still rioted around her small face, she was reverting to the meek, colorless woman who had come to the inn, and he didn't know how to prevent it from happening.

Pressing his advantage, the baronet said, "Have you no more brains than a goose? Chandler is after your fortune, for after I die, you'll be a considerable heiress. If you go with him, he'll live off your expectations. When he can't wring any more credit out of the moneylenders, he'll leave you flat. He's done it before, at least twice to my knowledge. Even if he goes through a marriage ceremony with you, it will be bigamous and illegal."

"No," she cried, horrified. "That can't be true."

"You're damned right it isn't!" Dominick said sharply. "I've never been wed, and have been betrothed only to Roxanne. For ten long years."

Simultaneously Sir William said, "It's all true, and more. I've followed Chandler's disgusting career for years." His lip curled. "Who are you going to believe? The father who has raised and protected you all your life, or a sly, deceitful rake?"

When her stark gaze went to him, Dominick said with anguish, "My God, Roxanne, after all that has passed between us, how can you not trust me?"

Her face mirroring the doubts warring within her, she said wretchedly, "I want to believe you, but…but I've never known my father to lie."

Dominick's eyes narrowed as he looked at the baronet. "On the contrary, he lies so well and so smoothly that I now wonder about the story he told me ten years ago, that my father was responsible for a young woman's suicide."

Ignoring him, Sir William said piously, "It's a sad day when a daughter doubts her father's word."

She pressed her hands to her temples, looking as if she was about to faint. She whispered, "Dominick?"

He shuddered and his hands clenched into fists. "I've told you the truth," he said tightly. "It's my word against his, and you're going to have to decide whom you believe."

As she stared at him, paralyzed with indecision, her father put his arm around her shoulders and said in a gentler tone, "Come home, Roxanne. You've been a fool, but you're still my daughter. I'll pretend that this unfortunate incident never happened. We can go on the way we were."

As he tried to usher her away, she gave Dominick an agonized glance. His eyes were anguished, but he made didn't try to stop her. He would not want a woman who did not have the courage to fight for his love as he had fought for hers.