Page 75 of The Art of Sinning
Eighteen
A roaring filled Jeremy’s ears. “Blackmail! That assblackmailedyou? How? Why?” He frowned. “Never mind that—I know why. To force you into marriage.”
She bobbed her head. “You thinkyouwere naïve at eighteen? I was a veritable idiot at twenty, I assure you.”
“I don’t believe that.” He seized her hands. “Some men are bastards who take advantage of everyone they meet, even clever young women.”
And the thought of some fellow trying to force her into marriage for his own mercenary purposes made Jeremy want to hit something. Or someone, preferably the lieutenant.
He fed that rage to keep from dwelling on the fact that he’d revealed so much of his past to her. Not all of it, though. Never all of it. If she knew how truly selfish he’d been, she would never speak to him again. And as wise as that might be, he couldn’t bear it.
So he focused on her association with Ruston instead. “But how did the man blackmail you, exactly?”
Her cheeks blushed a bright crimson. “This is so embarrassing.”
Fear of what she might say seized him by the throat. “He didn’t hurt you, did he? Because if that ass harmed anything but your pride, I swear I will hunt him down and lop off his ‘horn’ myself.” When she looked startled by his vehemence, he added hastily, “I mean, just so I could make sure he never used it against any other innocent female.”
She looked skeptical of that reasoning, but murmured, “Well, he didn’t even use it against me, so you’ve no need to worry on that score.” Even as relief coursed through Jeremy, she added, “But he taught me to doubt myself. My instincts.” She squeezed Jeremy’s hands. “For that, I can never forgive him.”
“Understandably.” He gazed at her lovely face and wondered how any man could want her just for her money. “So, what exactly did he do? How did he even end up here at Stoke Towers?”
She blinked, then said tartly, “What? Your spy couldn’t unearth that?”
He ignored her sarcasm. “Apparently not. All he said was that the man visited here for a few weeks one holiday.”
Pulling her hands free, she nodded. “He came here with Samuel, who was his shipmate. They were given leave for Christmastide, and the lieutenant was an orphan with no family, so my brother invited him home.”
Jeremy choked down the impulse to point out that the brother she credited with saving her had also brought the snake into Eden in the first place. “Did your father agree to the invitation?”
“Papa didn’t know or care. He was off in London as usual, doing whatever he always did there. After Mother died, we almost never saw him. Edwin had already reached his majority years before, so Papa left him in charge since Edwin, who never really liked society, was content to run things.”
“So Blakeborough was the man of the house while Ruston was here paying court to you.” And still just as oblivious to how deeply his sister felt.
“Yes.” She rose to walk over to the fire. “I’d met Lieutenant Ruston a few times before, when Samuel was on leave. Samuel had mentioned him in letters often, and the lieutenant would send me words for my dictionary through my brother. I had come to consider him a friend.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Jeremy saw the stiffness of her back, heard the unsteadiness of her voice. Her sense of betrayal was evident in every line of her body. “But he was not.”
“He seemed to be, at first.” She turned halfway toward Jeremy, putting her in profile. “He was gentlemanly and courteous and said lovely things that made my heart go pitter-patter.” A chill froze her voice. “I was so stupid.”
He wanted to jump up and go hold her. Out of sheer self-preservation, he stayed seated. “It isn’t stupid to take someone at their word. Scoundrels are convincing liars.”
He waited for her to make one of her usual observations about how he ought to know, being a scoundrel himself. When she didn’t, it tightened his chest the same way her words had earlier.
But youhavea heart!
God, he hoped she was wrong. Hearts got trampled on. He’d been through enough pain without the crushing agony of a broken heart. Yet he didn’t want her thinking him a scoundrel, either. As usual, he wanted to have his cake and eat it, too.
Exactly like Samuel and the lieutenant. He winced. “Besides, your brother vouched for him. And you probably trusted your brother.”
“At that point, I was still naïve enough that I did. Though truthfully, I don’t think he realized Lieutenant Ruston’s real motives.”
Jeremy kept his doubts about that to himself.
“Nor can I blame my brother for my weakness for handsome men.” She shot Jeremy a rueful glance. “In his navy uniform, Lieutenant Ruston fairly blinded a silly young girl like me.”
“I can’t imagine that you were any more a silly girl then than you are now.”
A furrow appeared between her eyebrows. “Oh, but I clearly was, or I’d have known better than to believe his flatteries. I should have been on my guard from the moment he called me ‘a delicate flower.’ I haven’t been delicate from the day I was born.”
