Page 55 of The Marchioness of his Desire
“That is exactly what I am telling you. We met on Martinique. It was hardly the most memorable of evenings, but I found myself with child, a child which could only have been his. He promised to take care of me, to see that I would be well provided for, if only I played my part in this little deception. I would pretend to have met you on Martinique, and that this child was yours. He hoped that it would drive the final wedge between you and your wife, so that he might marry her. He promised me considerable recompense, but now I discover he has nothing,” she said, shaking her head, her eyes still fixed angrily upon Edward.
“You … how dare you! She is lying,” Edward declared, but the countess shook her head.
“What reason would I have to lie now,” she declared, and Rebecca shook her head angrily.
“And all that time, you expected to marry me. You accuse Nicholas of being a scandal monger and a womanizer, yet all the while it is you who behaved in this terrible way. I trusted you, and yet now I discover you took this … this woman to your bed. How many others? And what a wicked ploy to seek to play. I hate you Edward, and how fortunate I am that I never made my vows with you,” Rebecca declared, her whole body shaking with anger.
She had suspected that Edward was a scoundrel, and she would one day learn of his past indiscretions, but this was all too much. To think that he had taken the countess to his bed and then used the child she was carrying as a weapon in his desire to break the love between her and Nicholas made her feel sick. If she had had no intention of marrying him before, then she certainly had no intention of wishing to now. He was a pitiful man, and she despised him.
“You will regret this,” Edward hissed as much to Rebecca as to the countess, who now drew herself up to her full and formidable height.
“I should have known not to trust a man like you. You promised me everything, Edward, and now I discover that you can give me nothing. You have no money, no reputation, and no future chances. You are contemptible,” she said, tossing her hair back and turning away.
Edward now looked in desperation from one to the other, backed into a corner, his cheeks flushed with anger.
“Pay me what you owe me,” he demanded, turning to Rebecca’s uncle, who shook his head.
“Alas, I have no money to pay you. I spent it in the good faith that you would get what you had acquired. Little did I know that my niece had other plans,” he said, glancing at Rebecca.
There was something in his voice that sounded different; a change had come over him as though he now regretted what he had done.
“All of it?” Edward demanded, and Rebecca’s uncle nodded.
“All of it, though I admit it was a substantial amount,” he said, sighing.
“Tell me, your Lordship, what is the price you set upon my wife? Tell me, for I can assure you that no price is high enough for such a woman as she,” Nicholas declared, and Rebecca felt tears rising in her eyes at his words.
“It shames me to declare it,” her uncle said, shaking his head.
“Five thousand,” Edward hissed, shaking his head.
“And yet you only intended to pay me two thousand,” the countess snarled, and Edward looked at her angrily.
“Which is far more than you are worth! You are not even a countess, only a fraudster,” he snapped, and the countess waved her hand dismissively.
“I do not have to listen to this; I am still carrying your child. Will you make good upon your promises? Or am I to be destitute?” she asked, and Edward shook his head.
He was silent for a moment, and Rebecca watched, curious as to his next move. He was angry, his fists clenched, his eyes narrowing, and his lips curling into an unpleasant smirk.
“If I cannot have what I want then …” he said, and with a quick movement, he plunged his hand into his tailcoat and pulled out a pistol.
Duchess Sinclair screamed as Nicholas and the others gasped. Even the countess now seemed lost for words as Edward touted the pistol toward them, a manic look coming over his face. He was drunk, beset by a madness, and the rage of an unrequited love. Rebecca could only clutch at Nicholas, and the two of them slowly backed away.
“Think what you are doing, Edward,” Rebecca’s uncle cried, but Edward only shook his head.
“Be quiet. Rebecca was right; you are an old fool. And all of you have been foolish- foolish to think that I was so stupid as to allow this little gathering to take place without affording myself some protection. Oh yes, I predicted your little game, Nicholas. You always did think you had the upper hand over me. Well, not anymore,” he snarled, stepping forward, the pistol now cocked.
“Do not be such a fool, Edward. You do not seriously think to use that pistol, do you?” Nicholas said, and Rebecca could hear the note of fear in his voice.
“And what do I have to lose, Nicholas? Have I not already lost everything? My fortune is gone, my future is gone, and my hope of marriage to the only woman I ever loved is gone. I have nothing to lose, though it seems you have everything,” he declared, pointing the pistol straight at Nicholas, who backed away toward the wall.
“But even if you do this, you shall not have me. I have no wish to marry you, Edward. I will not be bought or tricked or cajoled into it. I do not love you,” Rebecca declared.
Despite the danger, her own fear was gone. All she felt was contempt and pity for this man who schemed and lied his way into her affections, believing that love could be bought, rather than gained.
“Be quiet,” Edward said, his hand shaking as he continued to aim the pistol.
“Would you force me to love you? If you truly love me then you would not wish to hurt me. But this is hurting me, Edward. You point your pistol at the man I truly love, and if you take him away from me, I shall be forever in sorrow. It will certainly not make me love you, for how could I ever love a man who took away the love I know every day,” she asked, and Edward faltered.
