Page 51 of Worth Any Price
“Of course,” her daughter acknowledged humbly. “I would not presume to ask you to forgive me, but—”
“What’s done is done,” Nick interrupted, unable to tolerate Lottie’s chastened tone. He would be damned if he stood by while she was brought to her knees in contrition. He placed ahand at Lottie’s neatly corseted waist in a possessive gesture. His cool, steady gaze caught Mrs. Howard’s. “There is nothing to be gained by talking about the past. We’ve come to discuss the future.”
“You have no involvement in our future, Mr. Gentry.” The woman’s blue eyes were icy with contempt. “I blame you for our situation fully as much as my daughter. I never would have talked with you, answered your questions, if I had known that your ultimate design was to take her for yourself.”
“It was not my plan.” Nick let his fingers nestle in the curve of Lottie’s waist, remembering the delicious softness beneath the confining stays. “I had no idea that I would want to marry Lottie until I met her. But it was obvious then—as it is now—that Lottie will be better served by a marriage to me than to Radnor.”
“You are very much mistaken,” Mrs. Howard snapped. “Arrogant scoundrel! How dare you compare yourself to a peer of the realm?”
Feeling Lottie stiffen at his side, Nick squeezed her subtly in a silent message not to correct her mother on that point. He was damned if he would use his own title to compare himself in any way with Radnor.
“Lord Radnor is a man of great wealth and refinement,” Mrs. Howard continued. “He is highly educated and honorable in every regard. And if it weren’t for my daughter’s selfishness and your interference, Charlotte would now be his wife.”
“You’ve omitted a few points,” Nick said. “Including the fact that Radnor is thirty years older than Lottie and happens to be as mad as cobbler’s punch.”
The color on Mrs. Howard’s face condensed into two bright patches high on her cheeks. “He is not mad!”
For Lottie’s sake, Nick struggled to control his sudden fury. He imagined her as a small, defenseless child, being closed alone in a room with a predator like Radnor. And this woman had allowed it. He vowed silently that Lottie would never again go unprotected. He gave Mrs. Howard a hard stare. “You saw nothing wrong in Radnor’s obsessive attentions to an eight-year-old girl?” he asked softly.
“The nobility are allowed their foibles, Mr. Gentry. Their superior blood accommodates a few eccentricities. But of course, you would know nothing about that.”
“You might be surprised,” Nick said sardonically. “Regardless, Lord Radnor is hardly a model for rational behavior. The social attachments he once enjoyed have withered because of his so-called foibles. He has withdrawn from society and spends most of his time in his mansion, hiding from the sunlight. His life is centered around the effort to mold a vulnerable girl into his version of the ideal woman—one who isn’t allowed even to draw breath without his permission. Before you blame Lottie for running from that, answer this question in perfect honesty—wouldyouwant to marry such a man?”
Mrs. Howard was spared from having to reply by the sudden arrival of Lottie’s youngersister Ellie, a pretty sixteen-year-old girl with a full-cheeked face and heavily lashed blue eyes. Her hair was much darker than Lottie’s, light brown instead of blond, and her figure was far more generously endowed. Coming to a breathless halt in the doorway, Ellie beheld her prodigal sister with a crow of excitement. “Lottie!” She rushed forward and seized her older sister in a tight embrace. “Oh, Lottie, you’re back! I missed you every day, and thought of you, and feared for you—”
“Ellie, I’ve missed you even more,” Lottie said with a choked laugh. “I didn’t dare write to you, but oh, how I wanted to. One could paper the walls with the letters I wished to send—”
“Ellie,” their mother interrupted. “Return to your room.”
She was either unheard or ignored, as Ellie drew back to look at Lottie. “How beautiful you are,” she exclaimed. “I knew you would be. I knew...” Her voice trailed away as she caught sight of Nick standing nearby. “Did youreallymarry him?” she whispered with a scandalized delight that made Nick grin.
Lottie glanced at him with a curious expression. Nick wondered if she disliked having to acknowledge him as her husband. She didn’t seem disgruntled, but neither did she sound wildly enthusiastic. “Mr. Gentry,” Lottie said, “I believe you have met my sister?”
“Miss Ellie,” he murmured with a slight bow. “A pleasure to see you again.”
The girl flushed and curtsied, and looked backat Lottie. “Will you be living in London?” she asked. “Will you have me there for a visit? I so long to—”
“Ellie,” Mrs. Howard said meaningfully. “Go to your room now. That is quite enough nonsense.”
“Yes, Mama.” The girl threw her arms around Lottie for one last hug. She whispered something in her older sister’s ear, a question that Lottie answered with a comforting murmur and a nod. Guessing that it had been another request to be invited for a visit, Nick suppressed a smile. It seemed that Lottie was not the only willful daughter in the Howard family.
With a shy glance at Nick, Ellie left the room and heaved a sigh as she walked away from the parlor.
Heartened by her sister’s obvious delight in seeing her again, Lottie sent Mrs. Howard a glance of entreaty. “Mama, there are so many things I must tell you—”
“I am afraid there is no point in further discussion,” her mother said with brittle dignity. “You have made your choice, and so have your father and I. Our connection with Lord Radnor is too entrenched to break. We will fulfill our obligations to him, Charlotte—even if you are unwilling.”
Lottie stared at her in confusion. “How would you accomplish that, Mama?”
“That is no longer your concern.”
“But I don’t see—” Lottie began, and Nick interrupted, his gaze fastened on Mrs. Howard.For years he had successfully negotiated with hardened criminals, overworked magistrates, the guilty, the innocent, and everyone in-between. He would be damned if he couldn’t come to some sort of compromise with his own mother-in-law.
“Mrs. Howard, I understand that I am not your first choice as a husband for Lottie.” He gave her the wry, charming smile that worked well with most women. “The devil knows that I wouldn’t be anyone’s preference. But as things stand, I will prove a far more generous benefactor than Radnor.” He glanced deliberately at their dilapidated surroundings and returned his gaze to hers. “There is no reason you shouldn’t make improvements to the house and refurbish it to your satisfaction. I will also pay for the children’s education and see to it that Ellie has a proper coming-out. If you like, you can travel abroad and spend the summer months at the coast. Tell me whatever you want and you shall have it.”
The woman’s expression was frankly disbelieving. “And why would you do all that?”
“For my wife’s pleasure,” he replied without hesitation.
