The Marquis' Mystical Witch (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (10 page)

A gruff voice said, “Enter.”

It was apparent the two men did not expect him. Wulf bowed. “My lords, how nice to see you both this fine morning.”

Akers was the first to find his voice. “What the deuce are you doing here, Radford?” Beckett looked ready to have a fit of apoplexy.

Wulf strolled into the room. “I believe we have business to discuss.”

“Whatever we have to discuss, this ain’t the time. Akers has made an offer for my niece, and I have sent for her to accept.”

“Rushing things a bit, aren’t you? There might be more profitable alliances to be had.” He hesitated then added. “Your haste raises questions.”

“What do you mean?” Beckett snarled.

“Get out of here, Radford. This is not your business,” Akers said.

They all turned at the soft knock on the door, and Beckett yelled out, “Enter.”

This time it was who they expected. Miss Althea Beckett stood in the entranceway, her usual pale skin white as snow. Black circles shown through the translucent skin under her eyes. Wulf restrained himself from going to her side. He waited for the rest of the assembled group to act.

“My dear Althea.” Her uncle reached out and closed his hand firmly around Thea’s upper arm, drawing her into the room. “Come in and greet Lord Akers. Lord Radford is leaving.”

Thea glanced at Wulf, her eyes wide with fear. She tugged her arm loose from her uncle's grip and ran back to the door. "I don't want to greet Lord Akers. I've nothing to say to him." Tears ran down her face.

“Your uncle and I haven't finished our conversation, Miss Beckett. Would you please excuse us? We'll call you back.”

Thea looked from her uncle to Lord Radford before nodding her head. She whirled around and hurried away.

“How dare you?” Beckett yelled. “This is my house. I will have you thrown out in the street.”

“If you do, I can make things very unpleasant socially for you and your family.” Wulf raised his cane and pointed it at Beckett. “My family is still very powerful. The Ton respects my mother’s opinions. Don’t test it.”

Beckett glanced at the door.

“Don’t listen to him,” Akers said. “He has no business being here.”

“I know why you are rushing your niece to marriage and why you chose this poor excuse of a man,” Wulf said. He looked down his nose at Akers.

Akers charged forward and ran into the covered tip of Wulf’s raised cane.

“Are you challenging me? It would give me great pleasure to meet you at dawn tomorrow.” Wulf’s words hung in the silence. He saw the two men glance at each other. A look of trepidation flickered across Akers' face.

“I thought you might reconsider.” Wulf’s words came out in a snarl. “Now leave, so Beckett and I can discuss his niece’s future."

“Wait.” Beckett motioned to Akers. He turned to Wulf. “If my niece tells you herself that she is willing to marry Lord Akers, will you leave?”

“Ah, but it's evident from what your niece just said that she doesn't wish to marry this man. You would have had to threaten her with something or someone she holds dear to think she'd say otherwise.”

Wulf was pleased to see Beckett’s face turn an even darker red. He waited for the man to think of another idea.

“I don’t believe you know anything about me or my reasons for wanting my niece to marry Lord Akers. She is not yet twenty-one, and I will decide whose offer I will accept. Lord Akers is my choice.”

“Fine, I will have my solicitor talk to the court about studying the will of your deceased brother. Perhaps I am mistaken and the court will find no irregularity.”

Wulf knew he was taking a chance. He had no evidence and doubted the court would look at the papers on his word alone. But did Beckett know that and was he willing to risk it?

No one spoke or moved for several seconds. Beckett motioned for Akers to leave, holding the door open for him.

“This is outrageous,” Akers sputtered. “We have an agreement.”

“Go. I will see you later today,” Beckett told Akers.

Taking slow sluggish steps, Beckett went and sat behind his desk. He didn’t invite Wulf to be seated, but Wulf made himself comfortable in one the chairs across from Althea’s uncle.

Beckett spread his hands out. “What do you want to forget all of this?” he asked.

What did he want?
Her.
The word burned through his brain. Wulf knew the moment had arrived. He must offer for Thea now or let her accept her fate and he certainly didn't plan on leaving her in the clutches of these two men. He'd hoped to find a solution without marriage, until he found the cure for his curse. He knew he'd have much difficulty not claiming her as his own once they wed. And he'd promised himself to never take a chance of having a son suffer the consequences of his family's nightmare.

Desire and anguish tore at him. Thea's pale face and haunted eyes flashed before him as hot need coiled in his belly. He stared across at Beckett. The man looked hopeful. Surely he didn't think Wulf would take money and go away. Perhaps he did.

Beckett sneered. “While you've been thinking, I've reconsidered. You don't have any evidence to take to the courts. You're bluffing. Either you pay me to marry her, or she marries Akers today.”

Wulf weighed the odds. He was sure he was right, but proving it would take time and Thea had no time left. A prickle danced along his nerve endings. The wolf wanted out to destroy Beckett. He mustn't allow that to happen, at least not the way the wolf desired. There were more civilized ways to bring a man down.

“What the hell…” Beckett swore, then blinked and looked puzzled.

Wulf saw the startled look in Beckett’s face and knew his eyes glowed with the fiery golden color that came when his emotions were high, especially near the full moon. He forced himself to relax his body. Gradually, the urge lessened.

Beckett wouldn't be certain later about what he saw and was unlikely to spread such strange gossip regarding a wealthy lord. “I see the best option for Miss Beckett is to marry me," Wulf said. "How much do you want?”

It galled him to pay Beckett but, for now, it was the only recourse. Time would rectify all things and Beckett would live to regret the day he challenged the wolf.

“Two thousand pounds.”

“Which tells me Akers was offering one thousand and one is all you will get.” Wulf sat back, holding tight to his cane. “Plus, you will give me custody of her sister, Elvie. She will live with us and I will make the decision about who she marries when the time comes.”

Beckett started to respond, and then stopped. Wulf was beginning to believe he was correct about Beckett altering the will, and that he had threatened to marry Elvie to Akers if Thea did not comply. The man really was a reprobate.

“And if I don’t agree?”

Wulf leaned closer to Beckett. “I don’t think you want to cross me.”

Beckett blanched. “All right, all right. I will send Althea in to talk with you.”

“Thank you.” Wulf made a mocking bow. Beckett stomped out of the room and down the corridor. Wulf went to the windows where rain rolled down the pane in rivulets. He had done what he promised himself never to do again—offer for a lady’s hand in marriage.

How much did he need to explain to Thea? Not the whole story yet. A convenient marriage was all he could offer. It was up to her to accept or not. Sharp pain tore through Wulf at the thought of her recoiling from him if she discovered his secret. A sense of cold pervaded his whole being. Wulf tried to push back the doubts and his memories of another, less happy marriage.

He hoped his mother would be appeased that he had found a wife. She didn’t need to know he did not plan to sire an heir just yet.

Wulf was tired. His body felt heavy and his arms prickled with the first glimmer of his change to the wolf. He tightened his control. He must go to his estate outside London soon. Tonight was the full moon. He could not be in the city then, no matter what.

“Lord Radford.”

Lost in thought, he hadn’t heard her enter. She stood inside the door, her face still sad and pale.

“Uncle Rigby told me to come to his study.”

“Please sit. I will order tea.” He went to the door. “Have you eaten?”

She shook her head no.

The butler came to the door as soon as it opened. “May I help you?”

“Send us hot tea and breakfast for Miss Beckett.”

"I don't need anything," Althea protested.

"You will be better able to make decisions after a respite of tea and food."

* * * *

Thea watched him speak to the butler, authority in his every movement. Uncle Rigby had said nothing but to go to his study. She’d been expecting to find Lord Akers. Seeing Lord Radford standing straight and tall by the windows stunned her. What had happened and what did this mean? Dizzy and weak, she managed to sink into the nearest chair, afraid to hope and yet…

“Shall we wait for the refreshments before talking?” Wulf asked as he settled in the chair beside her.

Heat radiated from his body. His eyes were a soft bronze color.

“You received my message.” It was a statement, not a question.

“The man you sent put the letter in my hand.”

“Elvie is a good judge of character. She said she knew someone who'd have it delivered to you.”

He turned at the knock on the door and stood while the maid arranged the tea pot and food on the small table by Thea’s chair.

“Thank you,” Thea said and watched Lord Radford close the door behind the maid.

“Drink some tea and eat. We’ll talk afterwards.” This time he sat across from her.

“I don’t think I can swallow anything until you tell me what has occurred,” she said, feeling the lump of fear still in her throat.

“Then eat while I talk.” He didn’t start until she poured their tea and took a swallow of hers and a bite of egg.

“Lord Akers was here when I arrived. I did not let the butler deter me from meeting with them. Your uncle and Akers were not pleased.”

Thea studied him. The light in the room was dim from the rainy day, making his scars less noticeable. He was a handsome man. She felt no revulsion in looking at his face. And although they'd only met recently, she had no one else to trust.

“In fact, your uncle threatened to have me thrown out,” Wulf added.

“I am sorry to have caused you such trouble. You hardly know me, and I have asked too much from you.”

“As your message indicated, you were desperate and had no one else to help you.”

“Thank you for coming so promptly. There is no way I can ever repay you.”

“You might not want to thank me when you hear how I prevented your marriage to Akers.”

Her hand stopped on the way to her mouth. She put down her fork. “I cannot imagine anything that would be less favorable than marriage to him.”

Lord Radford stood and walked across the room. He stopped by the windows and turned to her.

“I believe I have a solution to your problem and I discussed it with Lord Beckett.”

“What solution?” Thea leaned forward.

“I have offered to marry you.” He stared into her jewel green eyes. “Will you marry me, Miss Althea?"

Thea heard the rain drops in the background. He offered for
her
. She hardly believed her own ears. She wanted to say yes to his proposal immediately, but instinctively, she sensed there was something more to be said. Nothing could be read from his closed expression.

Why did Uncle Rigby agree to the marquis' offer? Did Lord Radford have to offer money to her uncle for permission to marry her? Her face heated at the thought. She was almost certain Lord Akers planned to pay her uncle. It was all very embarrassing.

"Or perhaps you had another idea of how to resolve your difficulties?" he said, breaking the silence.

Thea’s heart pounded, and she held her hands together to still the tremors, as Lord Radford began to move toward her. Smooth muscles rippled under his tight coat and there was a sure step to his walk. He returned to his seat.

“Before you accept my offer, I must tell you a few things you may not know about me.”

“You don’t have to say anything. We talked before about everyone having…”

He caught her fluttering hand. His strength flowed through her fingers and up her arm to flood her body. With a sigh, she stopped talking.

“I was married once before,” he said with no preamble. “We were wed about two years." He rubbed his free hand across his scars. "After my run-in with a wild wolf, she recoiled from me. A few months later, she left me for one of my best friends. She died in a carriage accident on their way to board a ship to Italy.”

He spoke the words with no emotion and a flat expression. Thea gasped. “How awful for you.”

He blinked at her words and dropped her hand. She could feel him physically and emotionally pull away.

“She loved you when you married her?” Thea could not stop the question.

His lips curled up. “Perhaps she believed she loved me for a short time. Fool that I was thinking she could overlook the scars.” He grimaced. “After I was injured, she never came near me again.”