In The Prince's Bed (17 page)

Byrne shrugged. “Helping you. Before I go off toBathfor a week, I figured I’d visit Mrs. Merivale to remind her how urgent the situation is.”

“I don’t need your help,” Alec snapped, his pride pricked. “I can win Katherine on my own.”

“I have yet to see any announcement of an engagement in the paper, even though Sydney Lovelace seems to be relinquishing the field.”

Alec’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I hear he’s been a visitor at Napier’s estate inKentall this week.”

A heady triumph swamped Alec. So Lovelace had retreated, had he? That settled everything. Alec would make Katherine marry him, no matter what it took. Though surely she wouldn’t fight him anymore when she realized he was her only chance for marriage.

“It’s up to you to marry the chit and get me my money.” Byrne rubbed his chin. “A pity she and her mother are so set on a respectable marriage, or I could marry her myself. I must admit that Miss Merivale is much lovelier than I’d realized.”

“Stay away from her,” Alec warned. “
I’m
the only man she’s marrying.”

Byrne’s laugh showed that he’d only wanted to annoy Alec. “I don’t know, Iversley—she didn’t talk like a woman on the verge of marriage.”

“She will after tonight.”

“Good luck. Miss Merivale strikes me as a woman not easily swayed.”

Alec gritted his teeth as his presumptuous ass of a half brother walked off with his self-assured gait. When he reentered the parlor, Katherine was pacing and frowning.

“Byrne wouldn’t say why he was here,” Alec lied, “so I trust that you will.”

She halted, her cheeks flushing. “It’s nothing to concern you.”

“The man isn’t respectable, so if he’s causing trouble for you—”

“You know him?”

He hesitated. He’d avoided outright lies until now. But matters were desperate. “I know of him. From what I’ve heard, your father would never have considered him an associate.”

Would she confide in him? Did she trust him even that much?
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She sighed. “Mr. Byrne is one of Papa’s creditors.”

“One of?” His heart sank. If they married, would any of her fortune be left for Edenmore after he had paid her father’s debts?

She stiffened. “There are a few others, but we owe him the most by far.”

He relaxed. “How often does he come to demand his money?”

“This is only the second time that I know of.”

“Too often to suit me,” he growled.

“You mustn’t worry; he was a perfect gentleman. People only say awful things about him because of the circumstances of his birth.”

He went still. “You know about that?”

“That he’s the unacknowledged natural child of His Highness? I’ve heard the rumors, yes.”

He sucked in a breath. “Having such a man in your parlor doesn’t make you nervous?”

“Of course it does. The Prince of Wales is the most debauched man inEngland. If Mr. Byrne’s anything like him, he probably spends his time chasing after every woman he meets.”

He fought to contain his temper. “Then why did you meet with such a man alone? If your mother was too ill to talk to him, you should have told him to return another day.”

Katherine gave a bitter laugh. “Mama isn’t ill. She only said that so she wouldn’t have to deal with him.”

His temper exploded. “And instead, you would?”

“No!” She sighed. “But Mama thinks if she keeps refusing to see him, he’ll get tired and go away. Unfortunately, that only delays the inevitable. He’ll come again and again until he gets his money.”

“So you thought to talk him out of it? Convince him to forgive the debt?”

She tipped up her chin defensively. “Something like that.”

“Did it work?”

Her chin trembled. “Well… no, but he did agree to giveusmore time.”

“Time for you to get a wealthy husband,” he snapped.

She glanced away. “My marrying is the only solution to the problem.”

His temper flared once more. “It’s your mother’s problem, not yours. Why do you take the responsibility for your parents’ mistakes on your own shoulders?”

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When she lifted her gaze to his, it was bright with tears. “Someone must.”

Blast it, how could Mrs. Merivale allow her daughter to meet with a man like Byrne, rather than deal with matters herself? “So you’re willing to sacrifice your own happiness to pay off debts you never asked for. To keep a frivolous woman like your mother from being bothered by the likes of Byrne.”

“I don’t do it for Mama—I do it for the rest of my family. If we can’t resolve our financial situation, my sisters will have to make advantageous marriages, which is unlikely, and my brother will inherit a ravaged estate. Besides, it’s no sacrifice to marrySydney. I care about him, and he cares about me.”

He would end her little delusion once and for all. “I see how much he cares about you,” he said coolly.

“You’re here dealing with your late father’s legacy, while he’s abandoned you to run off to his friend’s estate.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. “What have you heard aboutSydney?”

Though her stricken expression gave him pause, he pressed on. “Rumor has it he’s been at Napier’s estate inKentfor the past week.”

The tears shimmering in her eyes belied her overly brilliant smile. “You see? I told you this wouldn’t work. He doesn’t even care that we’re courting. We’re wasting our time with this
faux
courtship, Alec.”

“It’s not a
faux
courtship to me.”

A sad smile touched her lips. “It’s nice of you to say so, but we both know it is. And I’m all right, truly I am.” She squared her shoulders. “Let’s not discuss this anymore tonight. We’ll just enjoy ourselves for the last time. I’ll fetch Mama—”

“Not yet.” He snagged her arm as she started to walk past him. Time for another gift. If she didn’t like this one… “I brought you something.”

She faced him with an indulgent look. “More poetry by known rakehells?”

“No, not poetry.” Removing the velvet box from his pocket, he handed it to her.

“I see.” She still wore that cursed indulgent smile. “Jewels. How original.”

“Open it.”

“You know, my lord,” she said as she opened the box, “you’re wasting your money on me. I’m not some silly chit easily tempted by—” She broke off when she saw the contents. “Ohh… that’s so…”

“Original?” he prodded smugly.

Two spots of color stained her cheeks. “Now that you mention it… yes. It’s lovely. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Taking it from her, he removed the black-and-gold brooch and set the box aside. “It’s damascene. I noticed that you prefer unusual jewelry.” He unclasped the pin, a horse of blackened steel galloping through an intricate forest worked in gold. “I bought it during a trip toSpainsome years ago.”

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She stiffened. “For some other woman. Did your paramour not like it or—”

“I bought it for my mother.”

“Oh,” she said in a small voice.

“I watched it being made inToledo.” He slid his hand beneath the edge of her gown so he could affix the pin. “They lay gold wire in a grooved steel design. Then they fire the whole thing to blacken the exposed steel before embossing the gold to enhance the design. When I saw the finished piece, I had to buy it.”

“What did your mother say when you gave it to her?”

“I never did. I didn’t want to send it through the post.”

Especially since the old earl would have confiscated it. “After I learned of her death sometime later, I kept it.”

She stayed his hand on her bodice. “I can’t accept this.”

“You don’t like it?”

“No… I-I mean, yes, I adore it, but something with such sentimental value should be kept for your wife.”

“I want you to have it, all right?” he growled, feeling helpless in the face of her determination to disbelieve him. “It suits you.” That much was certainly true. When she looked as if she wavered, he added, “Besides, I doubt anyone else would show it the appreciation it deserves.”

With a hesitant smile, she dropped her hand. “It really is beautiful.”

“Especially on you.” He finished fastening it, then swept his hand up along the smooth, silky skin of her collarbone. “You’re like damascene, you know—steel and gold entwined, strength softened by beauty.”

“I-I’m no beauty,” she said in a breathless whisper as he caressed the skin of her lovely neck, pressing his finger to the pulse that beat so frantically there.

“If I were a poet, I could tell you in pretty words how much I want you for my wife, and you might believe me.” He curved his fingers behind her neck. “But I can only show you.” Then he pulled her close for the kiss he’d craved for days.

For a moment, her mouth was pliant and responsive beneath his. Then she stiffened and pushed him away, a fiery blush staining her cheeks. “You aren’t supposed to kiss me.”

“I can’t help what I want, Katherine. It has nothing to do with my breaking rules, or your blastedSydney, or your fears about my character. I want to marry you, and you can’t change that.”

He kissed her fiercely this time, demanding her response. And after a second’s hesitation she gave it, parting her lips to let him in.

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By God, her mouth was everything he remembered and more, soft and eager and warm. He kissed her deeply, seeking proof that she still wanted him, too.

Then he heard footsteps in the hall and groaned.

Katherine wriggled from his arms. “Someone is coming.” She shifted her gaze to the door. “Why, hello, Mama.”

“Oh, Lord Iversley,” her mother exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you’d arrived. Um… you did arrive just now, didn’t you?”

“He saw Mr. Byrne out,” Katherine said flatly.

Her mother paled. Clearly, she hadn’t wanted Katherine’s suitor to know about the family debts. “I see.”

“He won’t bother you anymore,” Alec asserted. “I’ll make sure of that.”

Katherine’s shocked gaze swung to him, but he ignored it. Let her think he meant to pay the debt with his own funds. In a way, he did. Once they married.

And they
would
be married. With Lovelace out of the picture, he finally had his chance. So no matter how thorny she got or how long it took to win her, he’d keep at it until she accepted his suit.

The soberest women are often the ones

secretly longing for adventure.

—Anonymous,
A Rake’s Rhetorick

Katherine didn’t know what to think of Alec’s astonishing insistence that he really was courting her. Could he be sincere? But if not, why had he made that lofty pronouncement about taking care of their debt to Mr. Byrne?

Then there was his gift. She couldn’t believe he’d noticed her taste in jewelry. And to give her something originally intended for his mother… Oh, what was she to think? She slanted a glance across the carriage to where he lounged against the lavishly upholstered cushions that bespoke his wealth. His gaze locked with hers, smoldering with the same heat she’d felt in the parlor. When he dropped it to fix on her mouth, a delicious shiver swept along her spine. Goodness, but the man
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knew how to tempt a woman.

It wasn’t just his kisses and caresses, either—every day they spent together, she liked him more. Yet she still knew so little about him. He was so cursedly secretive.

“You said you went toSpain. Wasn’t it dangerous for an Englishman to be there?”

“Not in 1805. Napoleon hadn’t yet set his brother on theSpanishthrone.”

Katherine did some quick figuring. If Alec were aboutSydney’s age… “So when you went there, you must have been about—”

“Eighteen, yes.”

The thought of a young Alec buying his mother a brooch, only to learn later that she was dead, tightened a knot in Katherine’s chest.

Then he added, “I went there with my uncle to buy horses.”

“You have an uncle?” Katherine said in surprise.

“By marriage. The husband of my father’s sister is aPortuguesecount.” His gaze met hers. “Portugalwas my home for my ten years abroad.”

More surprises. “But I thought… that is… everyone says…”

“That I was cavorting across the Continent?” His eyes twinkled. “I’ve heard that rumor myself.”

“So it’s not true?”

“It depends on what you call ‘cavorting.’ I was on the Continent, after all.”

“You went there on the Grand Tour,” she prodded. He’d never revealed so much before, and she intended to take advantage of it.

“Actually, no. But my father was too proud to tell people the truth.”

“Which was…”

“He took exception to my rule-breaking ways when I was sent down from school for a petty offense, so he packed me off to live with my aunt and uncle.”

The pain latent in those words was too palpable to be feigned, yet she could hardly believe his claim.

“And you stayed for ten years?”

He shrugged. “I preferred it to the insanity ofLondonsociety. My uncle bred racehorses as a hobby, and I like to ride, so I stayed on.”

“During a war.”

“We lived in a part ofPortugallargely unaffected by Napoleon’s armies.”

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She eyed him suspiciously. Had there been any such place? She should have paid more attention to the accounts of the war in the newspapers. “Why didn’t you tell anyone this before?”

“It didn’t come up,” he said smoothly.

“It
did
come up,” she persisted. “Several times.”

“You were determined to believe in my cavorting, no matter what I said.”

“Only because you gave no other reason for your absence fromEngland.”

“Pshaw, Katherine,” Mama put in. “The poor man explained himself. Must you plague him so? I don’t care what he did inPortugal. I only want to know if he ever got toFranceand what
le beau
montwere wearing there.”