Page 70 of The Heiress Gets a Duke
“Business? More fighting?” She thought of the horrible man with the spikes on the soles of his shoes.
“There will be another fight next week. Wilkes owes me that much after the stunt he pulled. But I have to leave tomorrow because my solicitor has long suspected that our previous solicitor absconded with funds. He’s been found, and there appears to be new information.” He gently touched her lips before she could speak and grinned. “Do not get too excited. I am certain whatever he took has long been spent, nor would it be enough to cover my debts.”
She smiled at him. “I’m sure you’re right. Please be careful with Wilkes. He’s a dangerous and likely desperate man.”
He kissed her once more. “I will. I promise you, this will be the last fight for money, and then there will only be us to consider.”
He was right. They would be married soon. She would be a wife. They would be happy. Her dread was only leftover misgivings and anxiety about leaving her old lifebehind.
Chapter 20
Life is a flower for which love is the honey.
Victor Hugo
Evan should have spent the morning focusing on how he was going to persuade Mercer from calling the loan on Sterling House. Wilkes’s payment had not satisfied the man’s greed and ruthless glee at having a Sterling under his thumb. In fact, it had seemed to have the opposite effect, rather like a starving wolf scenting blood. Not only had he not extended the grace period, but he had demanded the rest payable immediately. Clark’s telegram the day before had all but expressed his personal despair at the situation, which had required Evan to book a seat on the noon train back to London in order to appear before the creditors personally. It had also hinted at new information in the disappearance of the solicitor, but Evan was not inclined to put much hope in that. His thoughts should have been absorbed with the upcoming confrontation.
But he was not. August absorbed his thoughts.
He might also have been irate about his brief meeting with Crenshaw after dinner last night. The man had taken particular glee in writing out a letter that Evan had been forced to confess was necessary. The letter was now held securely in the inside pocket of Evan’s chesterfield. It statedin no uncertain terms that Evan was to be married to the man’s daughter in the very near future, date to be determined. The very idea that Evan, a duke of the realm, needed someone, especially an American, to vouch for him was galling. Or it would have been under normal circumstances.
But there was August. The fact that she was there waiting for him at the end of this string of indignities was enough. The events of the previous night still seemed otherworldly. Had Evan not gone to sleep with the smell of her on his fingers, and the memory of how exquisitely her body had joined to his, he might have thought it a hallucination. He had woken up aching for her all over again. Unfortunately, he had yet to see her, because the morning had been spent packing and arranging papers and contracts with the estate manager.
Dropping the last of the contracts into his traveling case so that he could review them on the train, he snapped the leather case closed. At that exact moment, the study door swung open and August stood framed in the doorway. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, and there was a softness about her features, a sort of wonder in her eyes, that he knew must have been mirrored in his own. He drifted around his desk and toward her with the irresistible pull of iron to lodestone.
“Good morning, Evan.” Her voice was low but heavy with meaning.
Evan instead of Rothschild. The intimacy of his given name had warmth settling in his chest. He searched her face for some sign of regret or pain, but he only found awe. He felt the same. It was as if they had stumbled upon a secret they had both only begun to suspect existed and it had far surpassed expectation.
“Good morning.” His own voice was low and raspy, naked in a way he had never felt with her or anyone.
She laughed, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip to stifle it. He laughed, suddenly aware that neither of them knew how to proceed with this newfound intimacy. But his hands knew just how to touch her. They curved around her hips and settled at the small of her back, and her own hands moved up his shoulders so that her fingers could twist in the hair at the back of his head.
She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Whether she meant it to be a light kiss or not, it took over them both, fanning the flames between them as if they had not had sex only hours before. He kissed her until they both had to pause for air, and then he only let her go a fraction of an inch. “I missed you.”
She nodded, her nose brushing his, and she kissed him again, a tinge of desperation taking shape. “I know. Me too.”
“’Tis a bloody shame that I have to leave. I want to take you upstairs and bar the door and keep you there for at least a week.”
She laughed again, but a pretty blush stole over her features. Her gaze turned mischievous as she said, “I think I would like that very much.”
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, this time more gently. “I shall call on you when I can. Your father has already mentioned a marriage contract in the works. I suspect he will send it over soon after you return to London. Have you seen it?”
“Not yet, but I will before he sends it.”
“Send me a message if there is anything within it that you find objectionable. I want us to be in complete agreement before we sign.”
She nodded.
“You do believe that?” He did not want to do a single thing that would take away the acceptance and affection he saw blooming in her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Good. Once everything is finalized, we can announce the betrothal. The rest is up to you. We can marry whenever and wherever you want.”
“Shh.” Her fingers covered his lips, and he could not resist placing a kiss on her fingertips. “I simply wanted a moment alone with you before you leave. We can discuss the details and contracts later.”
Taking her hand, he kissed her palm and then her wrist, giving silent thanks that this woman would be his soon.
