The Wedding Game(29)

‘Of course, I will care for her. With all my heart,’ Ben added. Or some of his heart, at least. The poor man was feeling the loss of his daughter already. It could do no harm to hint at more affection than he felt for the girl. He would generate it easily enough, after he actually spent some time with Belle and they’d discussed the wedding between them without Amy or her father there to organise the matter for them.

‘See that you do, my son.’ Summoner paused again, his face becoming suddenly grave. ‘After you leave this room, there will be no turning back from the matter.’

‘I have no intention of it,’ Ben assured him.

‘No intention? That is hardly enough assurance for me. Men intend many things. But how many actually follow through?’

Was Summoner now having second thoughts? It did not matter. With the ultimate goal in sight, Ben would not allow himself to fail. ‘I cannot speak for other men, Lord Summoner. But when I intend to do a thing, it is as good as done.’ If he could tell the man just how far he had come on intention alone, he might actually be impressed. Then he would throw Ben from the house for being an upstart imposter.

‘Would you be so kind as to swear to the matter?’ Summoner turned away and walked to the nearest bookshelf. When he turned back, he was holding what appeared to be the family Bible. He set it down on the desk between them.

‘Of course. But...’ Was it truly necessary?

‘I would not normally be so demanding. But Belle is...special.’ There was the choke in his voice again, as if he could not bear to be parted from her.

Even so, if a man gave his word, an oath should not be required. But if a man’s life was based on lies, then did he truly have honour to swear on? It was a question that he’d asked himself many times over the years. But today was not the day to search for the answer.

Summoner sensed his doubts and pushed the book towards him. ‘Swear to me, that, from the time you leave this room until the end of your life, there will be no second thoughts and no regrets at your haste. Swear you will do nothing, no matter how small you might think it, to hurt my daughter.’

‘As you wish,’ Ben said and laid his hand down on the leather cover. ‘I swear before God that I will care for your daughter and do only what is best for her.’

Summoner nodded. ‘Very good.’ He laid his hand down as well to cover Ben’s. ‘For I swear, if you break this oath, so shall I break you. You have a bright future in front of you, Boy. But if you hurt my child, embarrass her, disgrace her, or do anything to sully her reputation, there will not be a scrap of hope left in you, once I have finished with you.’

The threat was made with such conviction that Ben wanted to snatch his hand away in denial. But it did not matter what he wanted to do. It was already too late to change his mind. The man had said no retreat and he had promised.

Since the prize was Belle Summoner, it would not be a hard promise to keep, as long as he stayed far away from Amelia. And once she realised she was free of her responsibility for Belle, she would not be a spinster for long.

It would take a particularly brave man to stand up to both her strong will and her protective father. But he should not be brooding on it. That woman’s future was no longer his concern. She could kiss as many men as she liked, in Vauxhall or a cupboard. Since she was not to be a member of his household, he need never know of it.

Considering how much the prospect of Amelia kissing other men annoyed him, the less he knew about it, the better.





Chapter Twelve

When Amy awoke the morning after Vauxhall, the sun was surprisingly bright and the sky an unusually clear shade of blue. Her breakfast chocolate was delicious as well. The song of the sparrows on her window sill was so delightful that she raised the sash and rewarded them with the last of the crumbs from her toast. Fortunately, she was too practical to mistake the reason for her euphoria.

Benjamin Lovell had kissed her.

It had been almost three years since the last time she’d been kissed. Was that long enough to forget how it had felt? She remembered those early kisses as awkward, wet and messy. When her beaus had felt confident enough to risk a caress, she had been more annoyed by it than aroused. They always seemed to be holding her too tight, or not tightly enough.

And to a man, they had seemed to enjoy the whole thing more than she had. They’d sighed and moaned, and swore that they would not eat or sleep until next they held her in their arms.

In return, she’d felt nothing in particular. She had grown good at dissembling, for it hardly seemed polite to tell them she felt no matching ardour. If she was doing it wrong, she had no intention of admitting her ignorance. But in the end, she had come to the conclusion that when it came to love, men were actually the more flighty and fanciful of the sexes. To spare their masculine pride, women pretended to have the more sensitive feelings and the delicate and easily broken hearts. It certainly seemed that the men who courted her were genuinely disappointed when she refused their offers.

But what else could she do? She had found no real favourite amongst them and she did not think she could abide an entire life pretending to more than she felt for any of them. And there was always Belle and her future to consider.

Then she had kissed and been kissed by Benjamin Lovell. Had she been overly vulnerable because she was so used to handling all problems herself that she had forgotten what it was like to lean on anyone? Was it because he was a much more handsome rescuer than her previous suitors had been? Was it the masterful way he had come to her aid when Belle had disappeared, stunning her to reticence and taking control? For the first few minutes she could do little more than allow him to lead her about the park, searching crowds and questioning strangers. Sensing how frightened she was, he had teased her until she regained her nerve. Then, when they had found Belle in a compromising situation, he had sworn to keep her secret. She had needed a hero. And when she had turned to him, she’d found no sign of the unfeeling social climber she had overheard at Almack’s.