Page 75 of The Heiress Gets a Duke
“Where is your family?” he asked as he crossed toward her, his gaze heavy with charming intensity.
“Out for the afternoon.” Mother had all but demanded that August go calling with her and Violet, but August had refused, preferring to stay home and work, though she had actually spent most of her time staring out the window and sulking. It wasn’t how she had categorized it at the time, but now that he was here, she knew that she had been moping for him. Despite the fact that she and her family had been in London for several days, he had not sent a message to her as the marriage contract had flown back and forth during negotiations.
“Where have you been?” She almost grimaced at how that sounded. Needy. He had things to do, and she did not want to give the impression that she had been waiting for him, accurate as it was.
He grinned and came to a stop before her. He did not reach for her, but his fingertip brushed over one of the onyx buttons on the front of her dress. “I missed you, too.”
Her face burned as she stared down at that long, graceful finger. Remembering how it had touched her and brought her such pleasure made her body prickle in anticipation. Only when she met his gaze again did she see a hint of the uncertainty that lingered there. Days ago he would have taken her into his arms, but not now, apparently.
“Something has happened?”
“My apologies for not coming to call earlier. Some issues have come to light with my solicitor, and I wanted to see them through before I spoke with you. I have comedirectly from his office.” The warmth in his eyes faded with each word.
A fist of dread clenched tight in her belly. This was not the man who had held her and kissed her as if he couldn’t get enough of her only days ago. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine. Perhaps we should sit.” He gestured to the sofa and waited for her to get settled before sitting beside her. His knee pressed into the fabric of her skirt, reminding her of the weight of his leg on hers. In the days since their night together, she found herself closing her eyes quite often to remember how he felt. “I am glad your family is not here. I wanted to talk to you privately.”
He took a breath and her heart tumbled. “Evan, please.” Despite her intention to keep herself contained, she reached out and touched his hand. He immediately turned it over beneath hers so that their palms were touching and brought her hand to his lips. His eyes fell closed briefly as his lips touched her skin. An errant lock of hair fell over his brow, and she gently brushed it back. “Tell me what has happened.”
He smiled, but there was a distinctive note of sadness in his eyes. “Everything. Everything has happened.” There was another pause during which she was quite certain she was going to lose her grip on any pretense of remaining calm. “After his death, I began to question my father’s solicitor on irregularities in the reports he presented to me and the ledgers I reviewed. It soon became apparent that he was lying, so I dismissed him. Soon after that, he disappeared. Clark, my current solicitor, believed that he had absconded with funds, though we could find no proof of that. Well, he was recently found in Montana Territory claiming to be an agent of my father’s and living like a king.”
“I don’t understand.” But dread was spreading through her like spilled ink.
“It appears that my father owns shares in a mining company that has been very profitable. His solicitor had scrubbed any mention of this investment from the estate, hoping that he could claim it for himself.”
“I see... So you are not the pauper you believed yourself to be.”
He smiled in obvious relief, and his grip on her hand tightened infinitesimally. “Apparently not. The shares were worth over one million pounds last year. Likely more now.”
She nearly swallowed her own tongue at the figure. “That is... quite a lot.”
“It is.” He spoke as calmly as she had ever heard anyone speak in regard to that amount. “I have come to release you from our betrothal.”
He didn’t want to marry her now. Why would he? It had only ever been about securing a fortune for him. Her heart twisted in her chest as she thought back to that night in the library.We have to stop now. There will be time once we are married.He had tried to push her away. She had been the one to ask for more. She did not regret a moment of it, but it stung to think that maybe those moments hadn’t meant as much to him when they had meant so very much to her.
“August?”
She rose and walked to the fireplace. Her voice seemed lodged in her throat, and she had to force it out. “That is rather unexpected.” She hoped she sounded unaffected and lighthearted. If he wanted to be free of her, then she wouldn’t guilt him.
The fabric of his clothing rustled when he stood, and the very air around her seemed to thicken as he approached. She closed her eyes to savor the heat of his body along her back, or maybe that was her imagination. He wasn’t touching her.
“I did not mean that wehaveto call off the betrothal. Only that we could now... if you want.” Was he offering the choice to her, then? Did he mean that he wanted the marriage anyway? Hope blossomed inside her, only to be crushed by his next words. “Obviously, if there is a need, I will marry you.”
“A need?”
His palm touched her upper arm, the heat warming herthrough the sleeve. “If there are consequences of our night together.” His voice was soft and kind; something about that tightened the grip on her heart, twisting it more. “I should have taken precautions, but I was too certain of the future, it seems.”
He meant a pregnancy. He only meant to do the honorable thing and marry her if she were with child, not because he wanted her as his wife. Her hand instinctively went to her belly. A second wave of sadness washed over her as she realized there would never be a child between them. Those tiny faces that had begun to take shape in her imaginings were gone as quickly as they had been conjured. It was silly to be sad about something she hadn’t really wanted to start with, but she was, because it turned out shehadwanted that without even knowing.
Responding to the gentle pressure of his hand, she turned to face him. She expected to see a glimmer of fear or a hint of anxiety as he waited for her to answer him. A hope that she would relieve him of the burden. But there was only affection and warmth. It made the ache return to her throat, so she shook her head. “No, there is no need.”
His brow furrowed. “Are you certain? It has only been days.”
“Yes, very certain.” She blushed, embarrassed to be discussing such a personal issue with a man. “Mytimehas come.”
“Ah, I understand.” There was the slightest hesitation before he said, “I suppose it’s for the best.”
For the best. The heaviness inside her sank even lower.For the bestis how one described a loss that wasn’t truly a loss. He didn’t want marriage. This entire conversation felt very much as if she were losing him, and while she had wanted that very thing just days ago, now she wasn’t so certain. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit to feeling some relief that her life could go back to how it was before him, but a larger part of her realized that it wouldn’t be the life she had been prepared to leave behind. There would be a void now.
