Page 51 of One Dangerous Desire
“I thought you wished to be a duchess, my girl. Or a countess.”
He knew. She could hear it in her father’s tone, see it in his frown. He knew she’d refused Henry.
“You’ve heard about my proposal, I take it.”
“The Duke of Ashworth sent a note.” Leaning forward in his chair, her father reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He didn’t hand her the letter. He settled it on top of a table near his chair, pushing it away as if he wished to discard it. “He expressed his disappointment that you won’t be joining his family and that no one won his wager. Whatever that means.”
Rather than demand an explanation, her father rose from his chair. He moved like a man much older than his years—back bent, feet shuffling—and went to stand and warm himself before the fireplace.
“I cannot marry Lord Devenham.” May sat forward in her chair, eager to tell him the rest. About Rex and the future she truly wanted for herself.
“I fear rejecting a duke’s nephew, especially considering he’s an earl in his own right, will affect your prospects, my girl.”
Her prospects. The only prospect that mattered was becoming Mrs. Rex Leighton.
Now was her moment. A giddy rush of anticipation made her heart begin a fearsome thrashing under her ribs. She twisted her fingers in the fabric of her gown and drew in a deep breath.
“Don’t worry yourself on that count, Papa. I’ve had a proposal today and accepted.” The words rushed out but emerged more defensive than blissful. She wanted Rex beside her, not to fight her father but to soothe her nerves. He seemed to have the power to encourage her with a single glance or one warm caress.
“Who?” Her father turned and snapped his gaze from her face to Mr. Graves and then back again.
“Rex Leighton.” May shot up from her chair. Standing tall seemed the best way to break the news. “He’s a good man, and I love him.” Her chest warmed the moment she admitted the truth aloud, and there was more. “I never stopped.”
“No!” Her father’s body stiffened as he barked the single word. He spun around to face her, but the fatigue etched in the lines around his eyes seemed to have taken hold of his body. He exhaled a heavy sigh and sank down on the settee.
“No, my girl,” he repeated, shaking his head in denial. “That isn’t the future your mother wanted for you.”
Her nails bit into her palms at mention of her mother. How dare he? Mama may not have wanted her to marry an American businessman, as she had, but neither had she wished for an unfaithful and spendthrift husband.
“I don’t need a title.” Breathing deep to calm herself, May tried for a gentle tone. “You’ve given me years to make this decision, Papa, never forcing me into a match. Now I’ve made my choice.”
“He broke your heart six years ago.” When her father looked at her, May noticed the heavy swells under his eyes.
“Yousent him away six years ago.” May moved to sit on the low ottoman in front of him and reached out to clasp her father’s hand.
He inhaled deeply, scrutinizing her with bloodshot eyes. “He gave up on you too easily.”
“How did you convince him?”
“I assisted in that endeavor.” Mr. Graves spoke up. “Your father threatened to have him jailed for theft. After some investigation, I discovered that he’d been arrested for pilfering as a boy. We had no proof he’d ever done it again, but your father promised such a charge would be proved if he persisted in his relationship with you.”
May dropped her father’s hand. “You threatened to incarcerate him? Rex spent much of his childhood in an orphanage where he was restrained and beaten. He hasn’t told me all of it. I suspect it’s too horrible to repeat.” The thought of that frightened, lonely boy pinched at May’s chest. “You struck at the one fear that would drive him away.” A tear escaped, a warm trickle down her cheek, but she resisted the urge to swipe it away. Her father needed to see what he’d done.
“Leighton can’t make you a lady.” Her father looked away as he spoke. He’d never been able to bear her mother’s tears either.
“I am a lady. Mama made sure of that.”
“I mean a countess, a duchess, whatever it is you wanted to be.” When he leaned forward in his chair, her father grimaced as if the movement caused him pain.
“I want to be loved, Papa. For who I am, not for your money.”
“And you’re certain Leighton doesn’t want your dowry? A million dollars for his new hotel?”
“I’ll ask Rex to forfeit my dowry. You can use the money for the London Sedgwick’s.” Defiance rang in her tone, but the idea was a good one. She suspected Rex wished to stand on his own. He was the last man who’d want to back his hotel with his wife’s dowry, especially when the funds came from a man who’d dismissed him years before.
“What of your ambition to run Sedgwick’s?” He pointed at her and then waved a finger at his business partner. “Graves tells me you wish to follow in my footsteps. Or start an enterprise of your own.”
May bowed her head and stared at the intricate Aubusson rug beneath her feet. She’d chosen it with care to make this rented home their own. But her father had never shown an interest in her knack for decorating interiors or her skill at art, and she couldn’t believe he cared a jot about her interest in business now.
