A Gentleman Never Tells(28)
His gaze stayed firmly on hers. “Perhaps I’m thinking it’s fitting right now for a young lady who walks out of the mist and into my arms. You are a tempting wench in spite of the fact that, for your own selfish reasons, you used me in your plan to get rid of the earl’s son.”
“No, no— I—” For a brief moment, she was tempted to tell him the truth.
“Yes, and now you have me, Lady Gabrielle. Before you approached me in the park, perhaps you would have done well to have remembered the old adage my mother used to say to me: ‘Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.’”
Gabrielle straightened her backbone, his words giving her strength to continue the fight. “I never wished for you.”
“Didn’t you? A knight in shining armor to rescue you from what you perceived was a fate worse than death?”
Gabrielle couldn’t deny that. She could only imagine that if she had married the man her sister loved, death would be welcome.
“The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is if you wanted to be rescued from your father or your fiancé. Perhaps it was both.”
Was that true? Did she secretly want to be rescued from a loveless marriage, from her father’s tyrannical ways?
She fixed him with a determined frown. “If I had wanted to be rescued from my father, that could have been easily accomplished, my lord, because my wedding to Staunton was only a week away. But why would I have wanted to be rescued from one loveless marriage just to be forced into another with you?”
“It’s your story. You tell me.”
“I may be forced to marry you, my lord, but I assure you, your bed will not be an easy one. You will find it cold, hard, and empty.”
His crooked smile turned into an attractive chuckle that held promises she didn’t want to think about and sent her pulse racing. He thought she was lying, and that made her all the angrier.
His gaze swept up and down her face again in a way that sent chills of anticipation storming throughout her body.
“I’m up to the challenge, Lady Gabrielle. Let’s see how cold, hard, and empty that bed will be when you are like butter melting beneath my hot palm.”
“You are no gentleman, Lord Brentwood.”
“I don’t think you were looking for a gentleman when you walked into my arms this morning. But you are the one who walked into my life, and make no mistake, there you shall live.”
He took another step away from her. “I would give you the kiss your pouting lips are asking for if your father wasn’t watching from that window, but there will be plenty of time for that. I’ll see to it. Perhaps later in the week at a party, or maybe I’ll call on you and take you for a ride in the park. For now, I will take my leave and see myself out the back gate.”
Gabrielle seethed with anger. How dare he say she had pouting lips or that she would be like butter melting beneath his hands? She watched him walk away with all the confidence of the titled man he was. So he thought he was in control. So he thought a duke’s daughter would do nicely as a proper wife for him.
He was in for a surprise.
She was no longer the obedient, dutiful person she was just yesterday. That person was gone for good. She rather liked herself as the lady who had the courage to kiss a stranger. And that lady wasn’t going away.
Gabrielle heard the back door open, and she turned and saw her father and her aunt walking down the steps. The duke hadn’t bothered to don a coat or cape, but her aunt was clutching a black shawl around her arms. Fog was stealing in with feathery wisps of mist. The cold air felt damp and threatening. Gabrielle was glad her aunt had come to London and would be staying with her for a while.
“Gabby,” her father said, “now that your aunt is here, I’ve decided to leave for Windergreen the day after tomorrow. The Duke of Norfolk has invited me to his hunting lodge, and I will go there for a few days as well.”
Her heart constricted. “But, Papa, nothing is resolved.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it is. It takes time to settle a breach of contract, and there’s nothing I can do here while that is being done except pray Staunton and his father will be reasonable in what they ask for. I’ll spend tomorrow with my solicitor so he will know what I’m willing to do to settle this thing. Unfortunately, we can’t go any further with Lord Brentwood until that is handled. Your aunt will be of more use to you in the days to come than I will be.” He cut his eyes around to Auntie Bethie and gave her a disdainful look. “I’m sure she’s been involved in more than one scandal in her lifetime.”