Page 78 of The Art of Sinning
“And you believed that?”
Her face clouded over. “Well, no. Especially not after I heard through gossip a short while later that the lieutenant had eloped with some other heiress. Clearly he was a rogue through and through. And to my knowledge, fortune-hunting rogues don’t have consciences.”
“Not generally, no.”
“But I never heard a word about it, so Samuel must have done something. I suspect he threatened to call the man out.”
Jeremy suspected something else. “How do you know Blakeborough had no hand in it?”
“Edwin? He would have said something to me, I’m sure. At the very least, he would have plagued me about it for all eternity.”
“Perhaps.” It was odd, though. Something rang false in her recitation of events, and given that Samuel’s heroic act was the basis for her risking her reputation looking for the man’s by-blow, it would be good to know the truth.
But he could think of no way to find it out without damaging her reputation.
There was something else he wanted to know, too. “Tell me, Yvette, if Samuel hadn’t successfully interceded on your behalf, what decision would you have made? Would you have eloped? Or taken your chances with your father?”
“I certainly wouldn’t have eloped. At least if I called the lieutenant’s bluff and he went to Edwin first, there wassomehope that Edwin might find a way out of it, be able to meet the man’s price or something before Papa heard of it. By that point, I would have taken any chance to prevent having to join myself forever to a man who I began to fear only wanted me for my money.”
“You can’t be sure that was the only reason Ruston wanted you.”
She eyed him askance. “I haven’t had any better offers of marriage in my nearly seven years on the marriage mart. There’s been lots of flirting, but very little courting by respectable gentlemen who weren’t after my fortune. It doesn’t exactly speak well for my ability to attract suitors. Why, even you would rather run off than risk being trapped in a marriage with me.”
His throat tightened. “It’s not like that.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared him down. “Then why are you packing a trunk and fleeing in the dead of night?”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what? A life of ruin?”
“Or marriage to a selfish fellow who can’t be what you need.”
She stared mulishly at him. “It couldn’t be worse than a life of lonely spinsterhood.”
“You’d be surprised.” He stayed rooted in place, afraid that if he walked any closer, he would abandon all caution and seize her as his. “Youwillfind someone one day, and you’ll be glad that I left.”
“No. I shall never be glad of that.”
The husky denial pierced his chest. “Ah, but you will. Just as you eventually came to be relieved that you didn’t find yourself trapped in a marriage with Ruston.”
Anger flushed her cheeks as she closed the distance between them, coming near enough that he could smell her sweet scent and see the trembling of her throat.
She thrust her face up to his. “Don’t compare yourself to him. You aren’t remotely alike.”
“No? I took advantage of you, as he did.”
“Hardly. I made my choice at every juncture. You gave me full warning of your intentions, and I accepted your advances. And whenever I protested, you let me go. You didn’t try to wheedle further or come back later to blackmail me with my own wantonness.” She grabbed his arms. “So don’t tell me you and he are the same. You arenothinglike him. He wanted only my money, whereas you—”
“Want only your body.” If it took being cruel to make her stop this madness while he could still think, then he would be cruel.
But his words didn’t have the intended effect. “Really?” Her eyes gleamed at him in the lamplight. “Then why are you running away to avoid sharing a bed with me?”
Withsharing a bedringing in his ears, he scowled at her. “Damn it, you have no idea what you’re about.”
“I know that you desire me for my bodyandmore, which isn’t something I’ve had with any other man.” Her breathing quickened. “Do you realize how rare it is for a woman to find someone who understands her, who accepts her as she is?” With a heartbreaking catch in her voice, she murmured, “Don’t leave. I can’t bear it.”
Neither could he. “It doesn’t matter.” He pulled free of her grip. “Without me, you have a future.”
