Page 88 of Ravished

"What are you going to do?" Harriet demanded.

"Plant my seed in your body, just as I planted it in Deirdre's," Bryce said calmly. "Deirdre was more than happy to be seduced. You, on the other hand, I believe will take some persuading, hmm?"

Harriet stared at him. "I will never submit to you. How could you even imagine such a thing?"

Morland nodded, obviously pleased. "Not just persuasion, then. A bit of force will be necessary. Excellent. I prefer it that way, you know. But I so seldom find a woman who will oblige me with a struggle. They all fall into my bed so easily."

"How dare you?" Harriet whispered.

"Easily. I have been waiting for this opportunity for several days. After I had my unpleasant little conversation with your husband earlier today, I went in search of you. I decided the time has come. I knew I would have you today. St. Justin made me very, very angry, you see."

"You followed me?"

"Of course. Once I saw you go inside this place, I decided to see if it would provide me with the opportunity I wanted. And it has. The key to this chamber was right outside the door. I picked it up on my way in, then locked the door behind me." Morland pulled a heavy metal key out of his pocket and displayed it with a chuckle. Then he dropped it back into his coat.

"I will scream."

"No one will hear you. The walls of this room are made of stone and are very thick. And no one will be coming down the stairs now because the place is closed for the night."

Harriet edged backward a few more steps. She was almost to the end of the aisle. In a moment she would be able to dart around the corner of the last cabinet and run back up the neighboring aisle. She did not know what she would do then, but she would think of something, she assured herself. In the meantime she must try to stall Morland.

"Why are you so determined to gain revenge against St. Justin?" Harriet asked. "What has he ever done to you?"

"What has he done?" Fury flashed across Bryce's handsome face. "Like so many others of his kind, he had everything. He always did. And I had nothing.Nothing. My family and his were neighbors for years. When I was growing up I had to watch him and his older brother getting the best of everything. Horses, carriages, clothes, schools."

"Mr. Morland, listen to me."

"Do you know what it was like? No, of course you do not. Important people came to visit at Blackthorne Hall. Everyone courted the favor of the Earl of Hardcastle. I had to begratefulfor simply getting an invitation to a Hardcastle ball. I was lucky to be asked to join the local hunt. My parents were mere country gentry. They groveled to the Earl of Hardcastle. But I have never groveled to him or his sons. I have been their equal."

"How can you say that St. Justin had everything?" Harriet demanded.

"He is heir to an earldom and a vast fortune while I was obliged to marry a tradesman's daughter in order to have the kind of money I needed.It was not fair."

"You called yourself his friend."

Morland shrugged elegantly. "Friends in his circle are extremely useful to a man in my position. Friends like St. Justin can get one into the best clubs, the best drawing rooms, the best beds. I make it a practice to acquire friends like St. Justin. But St. Justin is no longer particularly useful and he has offended me."

Harriet stared at him. "You tell yourself that you are superior to him, do you not? You tell yourself that while he has wealth and a title, you are far more clever, more handsome, more attractive to women than he is."

"It is true."

"But you hate him because you know deep in your soul that he is a far better man than you will ever be. And it is not his wealth or his title that makes him superior. It is something deeper, something you will never possess. Is that it, Mr. Morland?"

"If you say so, my dear."

"What will hurting me prove?"

Bryce's eyes glittered. "It will prove once again that I can take St. Justin's women away from him. After I have you, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I have had both of the women St. Justin thought were his. It is little enough, but I enjoy the sport."

"You are a fool, Mr. Morland. You must know what St. Justin will do when he discovers that you have tried to attack me."

"Oh, I do not think you will tell him about our little tryst, madam." Bryce gave her a knowing look. "Women do not usually confess to having been with another man, even when they are taken by force. They are afraid they will be blamed for it, I think. And any woman married to the Beast of Blackthorne Hall would never admit to having been unfaithful to him. She would be too afraid to do so. The Beast will surely turn on her."

Harriet's fingers found the end of the last cabinet. "I would not be afraid to tell St. Justin. He would believe me and he would most certainly avenge me."

"He is far more likely to murder you," Bryce said as he closed the distance between them. "And you are wise enough to know that. He would not be able to tolerate knowing that his new bride, the woman he has displayed so proudly to theton, has been unfaithful already."

"You know nothing about him." Without warning, Harriet whipped around the corner of the row of cabinets.

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