Betina Krahn (19 page)

“You sleep here?” she asked, tearing her gaze from Bear to look at Louis in dismay.

“I do now.” He sacrificed a smile for her. “You know, of course, that I sold the family house some time ago. The apartments I have occupied since seemed such an extravagance, when I spend several nights a week here. I thought the money could best be used for more charitable purposes.” He seized both of her hands, his passion for philanthropy now aflame.

“This is the first such shelter here in Baltimore. I plan several more in the indigent parts of the city. And if things go well, before the year is out I shall have a splendid, big house to make into an orphanage, along with gardens and stables and orchards.” His eyes gleamed with visionary delight. “It will be out in the healthful countryside, north of the city. I am learning a great deal from this work, which will be put to good use after—”

She tensed, sensing what was coming and unable to stop it.

“—our vows.”

God in Heaven! Whatever possessed him to blurt it out in front of Hardwell and Mrs. Shoregrove and—she moaned privately—
Bear McQuaid
?

“Our vows?” Bear’s casual posture changed instantly. He leveled a look on Diamond that made her want to sink through the cracks between the floorboards. “Congratulations, Pierpont. I had no idea you were engaged.” He sounded anything but felicitous. “And who is the lucky lady?”

Diamond squeezed Louis’s hands savagely, causing him to start and stare at her. She hoped her expression conveyed even one quarter of the fury she felt at the moment. It must have had some impact, for Louis stopped short of a direct announcement and settled instead for a cryptic:

“I should think that would be obvious.”

“Not to most of us,” Diamond said through clenched teeth.

She jerked her hands from Louis’s and the depth of her irritation finally began to penetrate his rashly possessive frame of mind. Her face was crimson as old Mrs. Shoregrove yanked on Hardwell’s arm and demanded to know what was being said. Hardwell closed his sagging jaw and responded.

“That’s where Pierpont sleeps,” Hardwell said loudly, pointing. And something made him add: “Alone.”

“I believe I’ve seen quite enough,” Diamond said angrily, avoiding Bear’s gaze. “We really must be going. Mrs. Shoregrove, we shall be happy to see you home.” As they all headed for the stairs, Bear caught her eye.

With eyes like molten copper, he held up three sun-bronzed fingers.

Three, he knew there were
three
.

Her face flamed as she hurried down the stairs. By the time she reached the dining hall below, the others were hard-pressed to keep up … except Bear, who strode determinedly around the others to reach her.

“Well, Miss Wingate,” he declared tautly, pushing open one of the front doors for her, “you certainly are a busy woman.”

She made herself meet his glower and felt as if she’d been punched in the chest. “I am, indeed,” she said, sounding winded. “Not too busy, however, to see my poor young cousin diverted from his illness.” She halted at the carriage. “Will you come and visit him?
Now.
”

“Now?” He glanced at Halt Finnegan, who was leaning a shoulder against the door frame, scowling darkly at him. “
Now
would be fine.”

Diamond refused Louis a farewell handclasp as she turned to the coach step and lifted her skirts. Bear helped her inside, then stood aside as Hardwell assisted old Mrs. Shoregrove and climbed in himself. When it was Bear’s turn, he gave a glance back over his shoulder at Louis, who
was babbling on about calling on Diamond tomorrow, and then at Halt, whose narrow-eyed smile promised retribution.

By the time they delivered Mrs. Shoregrove to her house, the atmosphere in the coach was icy enough to threaten frostbite. Bear self-consciously shifted his long legs and tried to make room for his hat … which he stubbornly refused to remove; Diamond’s lips, like her folded arms, were tightly clamped; and all of Hardwell’s attempts at conversation met a quick and nasty end.

Eventually, Diamond stole a look at Bear. He caught the slight motion of her head and looked at her in the same instant. Their gazes met in a glancing blow that caused each to recoil sharply and stare out opposite sides of the coach.

Hardwell scratched his head, blew on his hands, and turned up his coat collar against the chill for the rest of the ride home.

When they arrived at Gracemont, Diamond strode briskly past Jeffreys in the main hall, dropped her gloves and hat on the center table, and headed for the stairs with a curt: “This way, Mr. McQuaid.”

Halfway down the upstairs corridor, well out of hearing, Bear gave in to the anger he had been nursing for the better part of an hour, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her to a stop.

She whirled, her eyes flashing and her chin raised. An instinct for self-preservation made him choke back some of the anger in his opening volley.

“Do you know what they call a woman who marries three men?”

“No,” she said furiously, refusing to be intimidated by his size and proximity. She tucked her arms into a defensive knot. “Suppose you tell me.”

He searched her simmering blue gaze, seeing in it turbulent swirls of humiliation and an expanding roil of anxiety. But in her jutting, fiercely set chin he read nothing but combat readiness.

“Greedy,” he declared.

Clearly that was not what she expected to hear. She drew her chin back.

“I am
not
greed—”

“Ambitious,” he added, watching closely the shifting weather in her eyes.

“I have
never
been ambitious!”

“Or just damned optimistic.”

She blinked, drew a hot breath to rebut that, as well, then closed her mouth without speaking. A moment later, she jerked her arm from his grasp.

“What do you mean
optimistic?
”

“Most women have enough trouble riding herd on one
man,” he declared, propping his hands on his waist as he leaned over her. “Imagine the effort that would be involved in wrangling
three.
”

“I don’t intend to ‘wrangle’ anybody,” she said, taking a step backward.

“Yeah? Then how come there are three men out there panting in expectation of enjoying nuptial bliss with you?” There was a bit too much heat in that to suit him. He reined back, but only for a second. “Or is it just three?” He shoved his face down into hers and she took another step back. “Maybe there are four or five—hell, there could be half a dozen!”

“Three,” she said furiously. “There are only three.”

“Congratulations on your restraint.”

She scrambled for footing and found it in righteous anger.

“For your information, it could have been
dozens!
”

That set him back a moment. He experienced a swift, unexpected stab of jealousy.

Dozens, hell—he thought—it could have been
thousands
. Every man in Baltimore, married or single, had probably asked himself at one time or other what it would be like to have a wife as rich as Croesus … or Diamond Wingate. And even the most amicably wedded of men, upon seeing her sparkling blue eyes and striking figure, had probably gone home to their beds imagining what it would be like to have Diamond Wingate sharing their pillows with them. She could have had any man she wanted. Why the devil had she picked those three?

In the lengthening silence, her shoulders sagged.

“You don’t understand,” she said tightly.

“Damned straight, I don’t.”

“There is an explanation.”

“I’m all ears.”

She took a deep breath. “I’ve known each of them for
years … since I was a little girl.” She lowered her gaze. “When I came out in society, suitors began to show up everywhere. I couldn’t go to the bank or into the city shopping, or to a party without being set upon—sometimes physically. Then Morgan stepped in. He was so—”

“Eager to help?” he supplied.

She didn’t contradict him.

“He began to escort me and that meant the others had to keep a distance. It was such a relief that I … well … when he began to talk about the future … I—”

“Couldn’t say no.”

“I am perfectly capable of finishing my own sentences.” Her head came up with defiance, but after a look at his face, she paused and once again lowered her eyes to her clasped hands. “Then Morgan began to talk more and more about making money. He became obsessed with rescuing his stables and restoring Kensington to its former glory. He was so single-minded and driven that I began to spend time with Paine Webster.

“Paine was a great relief. Despite his failings, he is really a very dear man … gentle and witty and compassionate. He’s been pursued by females since he was in short pants, so he understood exactly what was happening to me. Then, when his family saw that we were keeping company, they began to pressure him to propose. I believe they hoped I would rescue him from the clutches of debauchery. Dutifully, he began to talk about the future, and I—”

“Couldn’t say no.” It was becoming an intolerable refrain. “And Louis the Missionary … what’s your excuse for the ‘righteous’ Brother Pierpont?”

“I’ll have you know, Louis is not self-righteous. He has a strong and high-minded set of convictions and a noble soul. He understood my need to give money away and my desire to make the world a better place. More importantly,
he understood the dangers the world can pose for a person left with too much of a good thing. He too was the heir to a sizable fortune.”

“Who is now living above a soup kitchen,” Bear said testily.

“By his own choice,” she said, looking away. “And while it may be true that he’s gone a bit beyond the pale with his hatred of money and—”

“You think he hates money?” He gave a sardonic smile. “He likes it well enough when he’s milking it out of little old widow ladies.” She stiffened, but the uneasiness in her face said that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with Louis’s behavior in that regard, either.

“Louis spent a great deal of time with me, advising me,” she continued. “He helped me find places where my money would do some good. He’s devoted to protecting me from the onslaughts of the world. So, when he began to mention marriage and all the ‘good works’ we could do together, I—”

“Couldn’t say no.”

He studied her face, seeing more of her point of view than was probably prudent. Rich girl. Young. Alone. Besieged on every side. She had three fiancés because she had needed them … each in his own way and time. Heaven help him, he could almost understand how it could have happened. He felt a tightness settling over his chest and had to battle it in order to hold on to his anger with her.

“So now you have to decide, is that it?”

“I’ve already decided,” she answered.

“You have?” He felt his skin contract. “Which one is the lucky man?”

Diamond looked up and found his eyes glowing with that molten-copper heat that always seemed to dissolve
the strength in her knees. It was a good thing she was supported by the wall at her—

Looking about, she realized she had been slowly backed against the wall and corralled between Bear McQuaid’s arms, which were braced on each side of her head. His long, muscular frame was bent over her and their faces were barely an inch apart. She could barely breathe, much less think. Only the most basic of survival instincts provided her the strength to give him a push and step away.

Even then, her senses were still captive. She couldn’t look away, couldn’t hear anything but the ragged sound of his breathing, couldn’t feel anything but the warmth he had radiated into her body. The way he was looking at her—from beneath the brim of his big Western hat, a chaotic mix of discernment, accusation, and desire in his eyes—sent her defenses into chaos.

“Well,” he prompted, “what did you decide?”

“I’m not marrying any of them,” she said. “I’m not going to marry at all.”

He blinked, stared at her for a minute, then erupted.

“Those three have been planning their futures and fortunes around you!” He stabbed the air furiously with a finger. “What the hell makes you think they’ll just turn tail and slink away when you tell them you don’t want to be
bothered
with a husband?”

Her face and conscience both burned. The moment she had dreaded was here. She had to face up to the mess she had made and declare her course in resolving it. But, somehow, the worst thing about it was that it was upright, forthright, indomitable Bear McQuaid who had discovered her shameful secret and confronted her with it.

“They’ll accept my decision … because … I’ll make it worth their while.”

“Make it worth their—” He gave a short, hard laugh. “What could you possibly offer them that would make
them forget a breach of promise by the richest, most eligible woman in the city?”

“I should think that would be obvious,” she said, tucking her arms and paring her answer to its core. “Money.”

When he stared disbelievingly at her, she defended her strategy. “If you give people enough money, they’ll go away. They always have.”

“You just hand over cash and they bow out of your life? Very tidy, Miss Wingate.” But her statement continued to unfold in his mind, and every perceptive instinct he possessed came alert and focused on her. “What do you mean, ‘they always have’?”