In The Prince's Bed (35 page)

“You wanted my fortune.”

“I wanted
you
. I needed the fortune. It’s not the same thing.”

“How can you separate them?”

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“Don’t you understand? I had no choice—” he began, reaching out to grab her arm. She snatched it free with a hiss. “Don’t touch me! Don’t you ever touch me again!”

He looked stricken. “That will be difficult once we’re married.”

She gaped at him. “You still expectusto marry? You took a harder blow to the head than I realized if you actually think I’d marry you now.”

“Be sensible.” He left the bed to jerk on his drawers. “You’ve been compromised, and you need the money as much as I do. I know you’re upset, but in time—”

“You don’t know a blessed thing about me if you think I’d live one day with you after this.”

A cold stillness came over him as he faced her. “You don’t mean that.”

“I most certainly do.”

“But what about your father’s debts, what about—”

“I don’t care about all that, don’t you see? I’d rather rot in debtors’ prison than stay with a man who made me think he cared for me when he only wanted…” She broke off with a sob and turned away, not wanting him to see her tears. Shaking with the effort to restrain them, she dragged on her chemise, then picked up her gown.

“Please, sweetheart, I do care,” he said hoarsely. She felt him come up behind her, but when he slid his arms around her waist, she shoved them away.

“I know you can’t believe this now,” he went on in a rough whisper, “but I meant what I said about not being able to imagine anyone else as my wife. I wanted you from the day we met. And I swear I’ll make this up to you for the rest of our marriage, if that’s what it takes.”

“We are
not
getting married!” She whirled on him, her anger so intense that just the sight of his handsome face notched it higher. “And your promises and… and lies won’t work on me
this
time.” Yanking her gown on, she fumbled with its fastenings. “You can forget about any marriage betweenus.”

“You can’t just throw away what we have together,” he choked out. The stark pain in his face gave her pause. But she knew better now than to believe anything he said.

“And what exactly do we have?” Hastily, she slid on her shoes. “A collection of lies and deceptions, that’s all.”

“Katherine, I never meant to hurt you so badly.”

His look of remorse only fired her temper higher. “No, you thought we would marry, and you would jolly me out of my anger with your seductions if I ever discovered what you and Byrne had plotted.”

When his guilty look told her she’d hit it right on the mark, she went on more coldly, “What a pity for you that you weren’t alone in wanting my fortune. But at least Mama is honest about what she wants.”

He stiffened. “So what do you mean to do? Marry Sydney? Who didn’t fight for you, whose mother
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disapproves of you, who—”

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” she snapped to stave off the cruel flow of his words. “But I’d rather make one of those awful marriages of convenience with an honest fortune hunter than marry a man like you.”

His eyes turned deadly cold. “You mean a man who would do what he must to restore his estate, protect his tenants, and save his servants from poverty?”

She forced herself to ignore that very valid point. “You didn’t have to lie to me about it. You should have told me you needed to marry a fortune—”

“And then you would have leaped eagerly into my arms?” he growled. “You, who won’t trust any man because of your blasted father?”

“That’s not true! I trusted Sydney—”

“Because he never got close enough to make you
not
trust him. You could always keep him at arm’s distance. You liked him precisely because you knew he would never hurt you. But he wouldn’t move you or challenge you or—”

“Leave Sydney out of this!” she cried, hating that he knew her so well.

“Why? He’s your idea of the perfect man, isn’t he? God forbid you should risk your heart on a man who breaks your blasted rules about how a courtship should run and what a husband must be.”

“Don’t you
dare
give me all that nonsense about how wonderful it is to break the rules and how dreary my life is because I follow them.” She gave up on buttoning her gown and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t mind your breaking the rules. I even admire you for it sometimes.”

She choked back the tears burning in her throat. “But breaking rules is one thing, and breaking hearts is quite another. You broke my heart to get what you wanted, and for that I can’t forgive you.”

The fight seemed to drain out of him. “I went about this all wrong,” he admitted in a low voice. “But I thought it was the best way to handle it. My parents married because of Mother’s money, and they never had a real marriage because that always stood between them. I thought that if you and I got to know each other first, then once you found out—”

“It wouldn’t matter? I wouldn’t be hurt? Don’t you understand? How can I ever separate the things you said to win me, from the things you said to win my fortune? I doubt even
you
can do it. And that’s nothing to base a marriage on.”

“Then what about basing it on love?” he bit out. “You said you loved me.”

“That was when I thought I knew who you were. But I didn’t know anything about you at all.”

She turned toward the door, but he was at her side in seconds, grabbing her arm to stay her. “I won’t let you do this,” he said fiercely. “You agreed to marry me, and I’ll hold you to it. I won’t let you simply walk out of my life, blast it.”

She glanced up into the face she still found dearer than any other, knowing that what she felt didn’t change her decision one whit. “Do as you please. Tell the world I shared your bed. Bring suit against me
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for breach of contract, so you can gain some of the fortune you need. But you’ll never, ever, get me to marry you.”

This time, when she wrenched free of him, he let her go. But the shocked expression on his face haunted her as she strode out into the hall.

That last glimpse of his face tortured her even as she dealt with Mama’s protests that they couldn’t leave, that Katherine had to marry the earl. And even after Mama had helped her finish dressing, and Katherine had convinced her to leave Edenmore, Alec’s wounded gaze lingered in her memory as they were driving away in the carriage.

Especially after she made the mistake of taking one last look toward Edenmore as they thundered up the drive after dusk. For she could plainly see, through one of the upstairs windows, Alec watching them leave.

Without making any other protest.

Without storming after them on Beleza.

He was letting her go, after all. And that made her want to cry all the more. Because a tiny part of her had wanted to believe he really did desire
her
, not her fortune. That he truly couldn’t live without her. How stupid was that?

“You were a fool to let him bed you,” her mother snapped, “but now that you have, you should certainly marry him.”

“You have no say in this, Mama.” She faced her mother with a grim look. “You have no say in my marital plans from now on. If you want to see any of Grandfather’s fortune, you’ll leave me to settle my affairs exactly as I please.”

Her mother gaped at her. “B-But, my angel—”

“I’m through with letting you push me toward the men you think are best, whining about your life until I feel guilty enough to obey. You want that money? Fine. Let me make my own decisions about marriage, and
stay out of it
. Or I swear I’ll give the entire amount to charity the minute it’s mine.”

When her mother blinked, then closed her mouth with a sullen sniff, Katherine felt a surge of triumph. She should have put her foot down long ago instead of seeking to escape her misery through Sydney, then Alec.

Alec had been right about one thing—it was
her
life, and she should be the one to decide how it should go. Family obligation should only go so far, especially when her family had made a hash of things long before she’d come along.

The way Alec’s had.

Ruthlessly, she thrust that thought aside. She would
not
feel sympathy for that beast—she absolutely would not. He should have told her the truth instead of trying to pull the wool over her eyes until they married.

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And then you would have leaped eagerly into my arms? You, who won’t trust any man because of your blasted father?

She swallowed. If he had told her, would she have listened? Or would she have sent him packing? She let out a sob. It didn’t matter. He should have picked a woman who would have been glad to have an earl marry her for her fortune, instead of trying to deceive her to gain the same aim. Why didn’t he? I wanted you from the moment I saw you.

Stuff and nonsense! He chose her because of his friend Byrne. No doubt they’d made some nasty arrangement— Byrne would loan Alec money for the courtship if Alec made sure the Merivales’ debts were paid.

Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and she brushed them away angrily. A pox on them both. As soon as she returned to London, she would give that Mr. Byrne a piece of her mind. And then she would forget all about the treacherous Earl of Iversley and his duplicitous seductions. Even if it took half her life to manage it.

Chapter Twenty-six

If you want to live a life of debauchery,

never fall in love.

—Anonymous,
A Rake’s Rhetorick

The day after Alec watched the Merivales’ hired carriage disappear into the night, he awoke to a splitting headache that had less to do with the blow to his skull than with the cheap brandy he’d drowned his sorrows in last night.

Not well enough, apparently. Because he could still feel that hollow emptiness in his chest where Katherine had ripped out his heart. He hadn’t even known he had one, until she’d said in that sweet, innocent voice, “I love you.” Right before she’d brought his world crashing down around his ears. With a groan, he buried his face in the covers, then cursed roundly. He could still smell rose water on them, mingling with the scent of…

Burned coffee?

His head shot up. Emson was coming through the door with a tray bearing what Mrs. Brown probably
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considered to be a decent breakfast.

At least poison would put him out of his misery.

“Mrs. Brown knows you do not like her coffee, but she says it will give you strength, and I agree. You should eat something, my lord. You ate no dinner last night. If you still plan to return to London today, you shall need nourishment.”

To beg creditors for more time, arrange for loans… begin courting another heiress. The thought churned his stomach, yet it was either that or give up Edenmore entirely. Or get Katherine back.

No, after her parting words, that was impossible. Until then, he’d been sure he could eventually talk her round to seeing why he’d done what he did, to understanding that he really cared about her. But if she believed he could be so callous as to spread nasty rumors about her chastity or sue her for breach of promise, she was right—she didn’t know him at all. He’d be damned if he’d go begging her to take him back when she thought so ill of him.

She had reason to be upset, but he’d had a perfectly legitimate reason for what he did, too. Why couldn’t she see that?

Emson put the tray on his writing table where he liked it, then brought his coffee to him. As Alec sipped the nasty brew, Emson drew a book out of his pocket. “I found this in your great coat, my lord. I thought you might want it.”

Frowning, Alec took it from him.
The Rake’s Rhetorick
. He’d forgotten all about that blasted book. As Emson went to lay out his clothes, Alec thumbed through the chapbook, his temper flaring as he skimmed lines here and there. No wonder she thought ill of him. How could she trust any man after she’d read all this nonsense?

Never tell a woman the truth about what you want, not if you plan to get it. He winced. All right, but he’d been justified in keeping the truth from her. He wasn’t some rakehell bent on pleasure, blast it, doing whatever he must to gain the use of a woman’s body. No, just the use of a woman’s fortune.

Damn his blathering conscience—what he’d done wasn’t the same. Lifting his coffee cup to his lips, he turned a page, started… and poured hot coffee down the front of his bare chest.

“God rot it all!” he swore as he thrust the cup onto his bedside table and swabbed coffee off himself with the coverlet.

Emson came running. “Good heavens, are you all right, my lord?” He whipped out a handkerchief the size of Ireland and began blotting Alec’s chest.

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Alec shoved his hand away. “It’s fine, Emson. I merely… er…”

Too late. Emson was now staring at the book that still lay open to a picture of a man and a woman doing exactly what Alec and Katherine had done last night. Only these people were in a more… creative position, and the man was leering as he thrust into the woman with breasts like grapefruits.

“Good to see you indulging in light reading for a change,” Emson remarked dryly. Scowling, Alec shut the book with a snap. “It’s not mine. I acquired it by accident.”

“Of course, my lord,” Emson said smoothly as he stuffed his coffee-soaked handkerchief back into his pocket. Then he delicately removed the book and placed it into the drawer of the bedside table. “All the same, perhaps we should spare the maids and Mrs. Brown any chance of exposure.”

Impudent devil. “Thank you, Emson.” Katherine had said the
Rhetorick
had pictures, but my God— No wonder the woman had known what to expect of him that day he’d made love to her in the orangery. The thought of her finding this book in her father’s effects and realizing what that said about the man’s habits unnerved Alec. Could he blame her for being suspicious of men? Especially one who admitted to wanting her fortune.