Ruined by the Marquess: A Forced Marriage Historical Romance (Arranged Marriage Historical Romance Traditional Regency Romance) (Alpha Male Matchmaking Romance Historical Victorian Romance) (2 page)

With a false smile pasted on her lips, Katherine pretended to listen intently to Lord Botsworth as he blabbered about his recent trip to Spain. She couldn’t have cared less what all he’d seen at that godforsaken trip, but she couldn’t tell that to the man. She could feel her father’s eyes on her all the time, lest she tell the Duke that she didn’t want to marry him. Thankfully, a few minutes later, the Duke excused himself as he went to look for his daughter who was also present at the ball. If her father succeeded in marrying her off to the Duke, she’d be a stepmother to a girl almost as old as her! That thought made her stomach roil.

“Lady Katherine, may I have the pleasure of a dance with you?”

Without lifting her eyes, Katherine knew who that husky voice belonged to. She had lost all hopes of ever seeing William again when he’d joined the Army. But today, merely looking at him had made her heart flutter wildly.

William had always been tall and lanky, but a few years in the army had made him muscled and strong. She couldn’t help but notice the way his chest had broadened. Even his new short haircut suited him to perfection and that gleam in his dark eyes, it was still there.

“Since my card is almost empty, I see no reason why we can’t have a dance together,” she smiled. After the much strenuous last hour, dancing with William would soothe her frayed nerves.

He gave her a dazzling smile and swept her into his strong arms. Damn, but she did feel good there, fitted him like a glove. They moved gracefully around the dance floor as if they’d done it hundreds of times in the past. As they rounded the corner at the far end of the ballroom where not many people were able to see them, William lowered his head just a little and whispered in her ear.

“I just came to know that you are expected to marry Lord Botsworth very soon….”

She immediately looked up at him, a mixture of sadness and anxiety shining in her eyes.

“Did Samantha tell you about this?”

“Doesn’t matter who told me…. I just want to know if it is true.”

“Well, Lord Botsworth has taken to me quite positively and my father thinks it is a perfect match…..”

“What do
you
think Kat? Are you happy with this match?” he asked impatiently. Katherine noticed that he’d called her Kat, just like old times. She wished she could get those carefree days back.

“Who cares what I think!” she sighed and leaned against his shoulder. She knew it was highly improper of her to do so but she couldn’t help herself. After all that she was going through, she desperately needed a shoulder to lean on, both literally and figuratively.

“Katherine, if your father is forcing you to marry the Duke, you can tell me. I promise to talk to him and……”

“You’ll do no such thing my lord,” Katherine snapped, looking at him directly in the eye. The intimacy that they’d just shared vanished into thin air as she suddenly realized that she’d be putting her mother’s life in danger with her foolishness.

“If my father thinks it is a suitable match, who am I to disagree? Besides, the Duke is a rich and influential man who’d keep me happy. I’ll be a respected member of the society and get a chance to attend the most exclusive parties and balls, not to mention that I’ll be a stepmother to the most charming girl….”

“Who’s almost your age….” interrupted William, looking bemused. She could see that he didn’t believe an iota of what she was saying. Hell, her words were sounding hollow to her own ears!

“I don’t wish to speak on this topic anymore Lord Sinclair,” stated Katherine, her voice sounding rigid.

“As you wish, my lady.”

                             ********************************

William couldn’t sleep that night. Visions of a distressed Katherine kept haunting his mind. He couldn’t forget the sadness that he saw in her eyes when he’d asked him about her impending marriage to Botsworth.

He decided to pay Samantha a visit the next day. Maybe she could find out the reason behind her friend’s reluctance to divulge any details as to why she was agreeing to such an unsuitable match.

“William! What a pleasant surprise!”

“Good morning Samantha. I hope I didn’t disturb you.”

“Don’t be silly. As it is, I am bored to death here in London with nothing to do except attend useless parties and balls. Even Thomas has gone hunting with his friends! You have no idea how much I want to escape from London!”

“Is it? You didn’t seem quite so bored when you were dancing last night with Lord Stanning!” William said in jest.

“To be truthful, he was the only reason why I endured last night’s ball! Now let’s stop talking about me! What has brought you here at the break of dawn dear cousin?” she asked, wiggling her perfectly arched eyebrows.

“Actually, I wanted to talk about Katherine.”

“Hmm… I had guessed as much,” she replied with a smile.

“Samantha, I am one hundred percent sure that the Earl is forcing her to marry Botsworth. We have to somehow prevent this marriage,” said William, ignoring her comment.

“But what can we do Will? It is not as if Kat has expressly told me that her father is forcing her to marry. I know that she detests the idea of marriage mainly because of her parents. You probably know how domineering and overbearing the Earl is. Her mother always lived in his shadow, pining for his love and acceptance. Katherine doesn’t want to suffer the same fate.”

“But if she marries the Duke, she’ll have to undergo
all
of that and so much more!”

“I know! But what can we do? And by the way, why are
you
so concerned about her all of a sudden?”

“Well, because I’ve known her since she was a scrawny girl roaming about in our courtyard. If you remember, we played together as children…..”

“Is that the only reason Will?” Samantha flashed her all-too-knowing grin.

“Alright, what do you want to hear? That I have fallen in love with her overnight?”

“You may have not fallen in love with her per se but you did seem quite smitten by her yesterday,” she pointed out.

“I will not deny that I found Katherine to be quite uhhh…. charming, but that is not the only reason I want to help her.”
I can’t stand the thought of that old bastard laying his hand on her pure skin!
He didn’t say that out loud, although he wanted to!

Both of them remained silent for a long time. Then suddenly, Samantha looked at him with a naughty glint in her eyes. William knew that the girl was up to no good but decided to hear her
extraordinary
plan nonetheless.

“There is only one way to save Katherine from a marriage she clearly doesn’t want…”

“And what is that my dear cousin?”

“Someone has to ruin her!” she blurted out.

“
What
?” William tried to wrap his head around what the silly girl was insinuating. “Are you out of your mind Samantha?”

“Calm down, Will! There is no other way to stop her imminent marriage to that old horse! And who said she has to actually get….uh….
ruined
! We just have to make it look like she’s been compromised.”

“I think it is the lamest idea anyone has ever suggested…..”

“Well, if you find my ideas lame, why don’t
you
come up with a better one?” she reacted sharply.

William tried to think of a better plan but the more he thought about it, the more appealing Samantha’s idea became.

After a long pause, he asked her, “Alright, your plan seems like the only one we have at the moment under given circumstances.”

She raised one of her eyebrows as if to tell him, “
See, I told you!”
but he decided to ignore it.

“But I hope you do realize that we need a gentleman who’d agree to this plan of ours,” William stated.

“Oh, so now this plan has become
our
plan, has it?” Samantha retorted and William merely rolled his eyes. “As for a gentleman, I know that you might be lacking in some areas, but the society does consider you a gentleman nevertheless!”

“Are you saying what I am thinking you are saying?”

Another wiggling of eyebrows and a devilish smile to go with it! William really pitied the man who’d choose Samantha as his bride! The girl was incorrigible!

“I am not going to do any such thing! Do you even realize what you are suggesting? It will bring scandal to my family as well and I am not sure father will be able to bear that, his health being so frail these days.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Samantha replied, her expression sobering just a little. “But on second thoughts, the scandal would die out very soon if you decided to marry her….. After all, you are in London to find yourself a suitable bride, aren’t you?”

Marry Katherine! The prospect did seem quite alluring but he still had a lot of apprehensions. What if she didn’t want to get married at all? What if she hated him for the rest of her life for ruining her reputation?

“I need time to think about it,” William finally conceded.

“You have exactly two days’ time to make a decision. I overheard last night that Lord Laughton is expected to make an important announcement at the party he’s holding day after tomorrow.”

“Are you invited to the party?”

“Yes, I am!”

As soon as he entered the room with Samantha on his arm, Katherine saw him. William looked exceptionally handsome in a black coat that fitted him to perfection and trousers that gave a hint of his long muscular legs. He caught her staring at him and bowed his head ever so slightly in the form of a greeting.

How Katherine wished that she’d get married to
him
instead of that graying Lord Botsworth! He’d always held a special place in her heart and she knew that if she married him, she’d be happy for life as he was nothing like her cruel and cold father.

William sauntered into the beautifully decorated ballroom like a man on a mission. He had a damsel in distress to save tonight from a bleak future. The fact that the damsel was looking drop dead gorgeous in a lilac off shoulder gown that hugged her petite frame in all the right places further strengthened his resolve. He also noticed Lord Botsworth casting uncouth glances her way every now and then that made his blood boil. To make matters worse, he noticed him leading Katherine towards the terrace.

William tried his best not to get particularly noticed while following them. As he reached the doors of the terrace, he saw that the old man had boldly taken her gloved hand into his own hands.

“Katherine, my dear, it is no secret how much I adore you. I came to London to find a wife for myself as I have only a daughter and no heir.” Katherine hadn’t flinched so much when he touched her hand as she did when he mentioned that he expected an heir from her! The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

Lord Botsworth continued, oblivious of the fact how uncomfortable she felt at the moment. “Since your father is about to announce our betrothal tonight, it is only natural that we share a little more intimacy than we have in the past.” He almost leaned down to kiss her. Good Heavens! Katherine felt nauseous!

“There you are Lord Botsworth!” A sharp voice came from behind that startled both of them. Katherine turned around to see Samantha and William standing in the doorway that led to the terrace.

“I am here to inform you that Lord Laughton wishes to discuss something of great import with you,” stated William, lifting his chin in a show of authority.

“Right now?” asked Lord Botsworth looking confused.

“Yes, he wishes to have a word with you immediately.”

Botsworth looked from William to Samantha with frustration and confusion evident on his features. He then turned his gaze towards Katherine.

“I hope you don’t mind me gone for a few moments, my dear,” he said to her, his voice dripping with honey. William clenched his fists to keep himself from punching the man. How dare he call Katherine ‘my dear’!

“Of course not, my lord. I shall be waiting for you,” Katherine replied with forced politeness.

Botsworth dipped his head before moving towards the terrace doors.

“Sammy, I am so glad you barged in at the right moment! He was about to…… Never mind…” she blushed profusely noting William’s intent stare on her.

“Why are you doing this, Kat? You surely don’t want to marry the Duke!” sighed Samantha.

“Life isn’t always fair Lady Samantha,” Katherine managed a bleak smile.

“You have no idea how much I hate to see you like this. Where is your fire, your spark?”

Katherine felt a little uncomfortable having this discussion in front of William. When Samantha noticed her hesitation, she turned towards William and said, “I am leaving now. All the best! I’ll signal you when the time is right.”

With that, she left William and Katherine on the terrace and went back inside the ballroom without a backward glance. Katherine had no idea what was going on. Why did she wish him luck? And what signal was she talking about? Katherine had a nagging feeling that the two of them were up to no good.

“I….I think I should go inside,” said Katherine nervously.

“Why?” he asked, his gaze never leaving her face. She felt breathless under his unwavering scrutiny.

“I am alone here with you without a chaperone. I don’t think it is proper.” Her voice sounded too raspy to her own ears. When he began moving towards her, his eyes fixed on hers, she wanted the moment to freeze forever.

Suddenly, he took her gloved hand in his much larger one and guided her in such a manner that she stood between the terrace doors and him. She noticed him looking over her shoulder towards the terrace entrance.

“I hope you’ll forgive me for what I am about to do,” he said gruffly.

Before Katherine could comprehend the meaning of his words, he pulled her towards him and lowered his head so that his lips were mere inches from her own. Then almost as suddenly, his head dipped lower to give her a kiss that took her breath away. It was gentle at first but then his lips crushed against hers and she was lost.

Katherine had dreamt of kissing William ever since she was a girl but those dreams weren’t even remotely close to the amazing sensations she was feeling at the moment. He was assaulting her senses, sending waves of desires to her core and she never wanted the kiss to end. But it did end and that too quite abruptly!

“What is going on here?” came a loud roar from behind her back. William released her almost immediately and she looked at him in bewilderment. Had she been dreaming? Had that wonderful kiss been a dream?

She turned around to see her father and Lord Botsworth raging with anger while Samantha had a smug grin on her face. Due to the commotion, a few members of the party had also gathered on the terrace.

“What the hell were both of you doing?” Lord Botsworth shouted, his face contorted with fury.

Afraid that the matter would be blown out of proportion if other members of the party came to know of all that had happened, Lord Laughton tried to calm the Duke.

“Lord Botsworth, please calm down. We can have this discussion somewhere more private.”

“I don’t think I want to discuss anything now Laughton. I am leaving this party at once!” fumed the old man and pushed his way through the crowd. Katherine looked at William, completely horrified at what had just happened, but he looked surprisingly calm.

“You shall have to pay the price for this William,” Lord Laughton spoke quietly, though his eyes unleashed a fury that had the power to turn him to ashes. “I challenge you to a……”

“My lord, please choose your words carefully,” Samantha interrupted him. “If you challenge my cousin to a duel, there are little doubts as to who would be the winner.”

Her words got him thinking and Samantha jumped at the opportunity. She turned towards William and spoke as sternly as she could manage, “Now that almost everyone at this party knows what transpired between you and Katherine, it is your duty to protect her honor. You have to marry her without any delay!”

“Marry her? I won’t allow that sorry excuse for a man to marry my daughter!” roared Lord Laughton. “He’d have to pay for his actions!”

“Come on, Lord Laughton! I’d be doing her a favor by marrying her. After what just happened, I am sure not a single gentleman worth his salt would want to take her as his bride. Besides, you’ve just witnessed first-hand how much your daughter uhhh….
desires
to be with me,” William said in a nonchalant, almost bored tone.

Katherine couldn’t believe her ears! Was this the same man who’d kissed her senseless just moments ago? How could he sound so heartless! She wanted to smack him right across his handsome face.

“Lord Laughton, please think rationally. In case you are forgetting, my cousin will be the next Marquess of Devonshire and his family has an impeccable reputation, not to mention their vast assets and…..”

“I will not marry him even if he is the last man in all of England!” Katherine finally found her voice. She was so angry at the moment that she didn’t care if she was shouting in front of her guests. “Father, please send him away at once…..”

“You shall marry him!” her father stated, gritting his teeth. She stared at him dumbfounded.

“But….”

“No ifs and buts! You have already done enough to ruin my reputation. Now you will have to marry William and that too at the earliest!”

Samantha secretly heaved a sigh of relief. The shrewd Earl had finally fallen prey to her plan!

Katherine knew better than to argue with her father in front of the huge crowd that had gathered. Her life had turned upside down in a matter of minutes and she didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about it. While she was glad and relieved that she’d not have to marry Lord Botsworth, William’s ice cold words had sliced her heart like a dagger. What had he said, he would be doing her a favor by marrying her? One thing that she certainly didn’t need at the moment was that heartless rake’s pity, even if he had the power of setting her body on fire with a single glance.

William looked at Katherine and was taken aback to see the hurt in her huge brown eyes. Had he done the right thing by compromising her reputation? He understood that she was angry with him after the way he’d acted. But what if she held him responsible for forcing her into a marriage that she didn’t want?