All About Seduction(17)

If they took off his foot, he wouldn’t be fit for work in the mill, nor would he be fit enough to work at the equipment manufactory. The only other course that was likely open to him was begging. God, he didn’t want to be a beggar. No matter what, he needed to convince them to let his leg heal.

“See to it you do.” Broadhurst pivoted away from the door, then Mrs. Broadhurst shut it.

“Ma’am, if you would, cut off his trousers.” The doctor removed his coat and rolled back his sleeves.

Mrs. Broadhurst cast a lost look toward the doctor, then grimaced and began slicing at Jack’s pants with scissors.

Jack reached out to stop her, but one of the footmen pushed his hands away.

After wiping his wet hands on a towel, the macabre doctor clipped away bandages and prodded at his ankle. Each poke shot agony through Jack. He bit his lip so hard he tasted blood, and a groan left his throat despite his efforts to hold it back.

The doctor pulled out a saw, and Jack’s blood turned to ice.

“No!” He jerked up to a sitting position. The room spun and went dark around him. He reached blindly, determined to stop this madness.

Arms came around him and pulled him back.

His head thumped against a hand. Hers? “Don’t cut off my leg.”

“We may not have a choice, son,” said the doctor in a calm voice. “The ankle is shattered.”

Jack’s strength deserted him and he heaved in gulps of air. “Try to save it.” He grabbed the doctor’s jacket. “I can pay. Whatever it costs to fix it. I have savings set by.”

Shaking his head, the doctor said, “Hold him down, until I get him sedated.”

Strong hands pushed him down. Two of the footmen held his arms.

Mrs. Broadhurst leaned over him. “Please, don’t fight. We’re trying to help.”

“Don’t make me a beggar,” Jack rasped out.

She blinked and her expression went blank for a moment. “It’ll be all right,” she soothed.

He almost wanted to believe her. But what would he do without a foot? Certainly, he would no longer be able to work in the mill.

The doctor put a couple of drops of liquid on a handkerchief and held it above his mouth and nose. The sickly sweet smell thickened in his throat and the light faded.





Chapter 4



Caroline stared at the box on her bed. Her hands shook from the strain of the long surgery throughout the afternoon and the decision she’d reached. But the box was unexpected. She hadn’t ordered anything.

She wanted to collapse and sleep the evening away, but there were guests she had to greet. As she’d handed the doctor tools, sopped up blood while blocking Jack’s view, and checked to see if he still breathed, anger had built in her. She had tolerated Mr. Broadhurst for years with the understanding she would be independently wealthy with a mill to run one day, but he had yanked the firmament from underneath her. Returning home, destitute or not, was always an option, but not one she liked. No, she wanted control of her future.

She would seduce one of the men Robert had so thoughtfully supplied. She would do it because she wanted to control her destiny and that of the mill. Allowing anyone else to control her, to denigrate decisions she knew were right, was no longer acceptable. With a baby, she would be in charge of her future and his.

That the only acceptable avenues for a woman of her class were wife or poor relation was so unfair. She was as capable as any man. If she weren’t so sick of her role as a model wife, she never would have decided to go along with Mr. Broadhurst’s Machiavellian plan.

Had his plan included a new dress for her too? He seemed to have engineered the smallest details.

An envelope was tucked in the strings. Recognizing her sister’s hand, she broke the seal and lifted out the single sheet of notepaper.

I thought these might come in handy. Amy



Frowning, Caroline untied the twine. Lifting the lid, she found a diaphanous nightgown and peignoir made of lace and chiffon.

Shoving the lid on the box, she drew back as if the thing might bite her. Never in a million years would she wear such a thing. Such garments weren’t decent. She didn’t even want the maid seeing them. Quickly she retied the twine.

Like Robert, Amy had probably thought she wanted to have an affair. How little her siblings knew her. But was that her fault? She saw them infrequently and couldn’t fill letters with her desire to be anywhere but with Mr. Broadhurst. During her visits to their houses, Mr. Broadhurst never left her side, so she was never in a position to exchange confidences. Perhaps that was by his design.