Page 117 of In the Prince's Bed
Lovelace drew himself up, the very picture of haughty elegance. “Unlike you, I’ve never wanted her fortune. I’ve already told her that if we marry, she can do with it as she pleases. But since she just refused my suit for the second time this week, it’s unlikely I will ever get a chance at it anyway.”
Lovelace balled his hands into fists. “So you see, this isnota case of me wanting something you have. I hope one day to convince her to marry me, but even if I can’t, Katherine will always be my friend. So, yes, I’d do anything to keep her from you, but only because I know she deserves better. If all it takes to make her happy is paying you off, then the twenty thousand pounds is money well spent.”
Alec was stunned speechless. Was the man mad? He’d pay such a sum for a woman who might never marry him? All this time, Alec had assumed that Sydney’s feelings for Katherine didn’t run deep, but now…
He glanced at Katherine, his blood chilling to see how expectantly she watched him, as if she actually thought he might take Lovelace’s money. Suddenly he saw himself as they saw him—a low fortune hunter willing to do anything to get what he wanted, to trample over a longstanding friendship simply because it suited his needs and to ignore the welfare of the very woman he professed to love.
No wonder she didn’t trust him. How could she, when she had a good man’s example before her? A man who could give her more than Alec could ever hope to give her.
He tamped down a burst of pain as he realized what he must do. “Forgive me,” he choked out. “It appears I have misunderstood everything, Lovelace. I thought you didn’t care for Katherine the way she deserved. But I see now that you were simply more quiet about it. Keep your money—I won’t trouble either of you anymore.”
Lovelace’s lips thinned. “You say that now, but I’d rather take no chances. I don’t want Katherine forced to defend herself against a lawsuit. So take the money—it will buy you time to court another heiress.”
It took all Alec’s control not to put his fist through Lovelace’s jaw. “I don’t want another heiress. And I’m damned sure not going to bring any lawsuits. You’ll have to accept my word as a gentleman for that. Believe it or not, I still have principles.”
He turned to Katherine, who stared at him in shock. His heart lurched in his chest to think that this would be his last look at her. “Next time he asks for your hand, sweetheart, you should marry him. Because you were right that night on the gallery. Heisthe better man. And you deserve the best man England has to offer.”
Turning on his heel, he left. At least he’d been spared the indignity of revealing his true parentage to her and suffering her contempt. Not to mention the ignominy of telling her he loved her, when she so clearly had lost all love for him.
Too bad pride was such a paltry consolation for having one’s heart crushed.
Chapter Twenty-eight
They say that reformed rakes make the best husbands—but is there a woman alive who could make a rakewantto reform?
—Anonymous,A Rake’s Rhetorick
Sydney had only a moment to relish his triumph before Kit started toward the door. He caught her just in time. “Let him go, for God’s sake. You’re finally free of him.”
She cast Sydney a sad smile. “I don’t want to be free of him. Not now that I know he truly cares for me.”
“Because he refused my offer? Of course he did. He knew that would bring you to him as nothing else would, and then he’d have your fortune—”
“Sydney, my dear friend,” she said in an indulgent tone, “he’s not the monster you paint him. If you could only see what I’ve seen—how hard he’s fighting to restore his estate, how well he treats his servants, how strongly he feels for his country. There are so many good things about him that you don’t know.”
“All I’ve seen is him being reckless and wicked and—”
“Yes, he’s that too, sometimes. But then, so am I.”
“Never. You’re like me—you know what’s right and proper and try to follow it.”
She laughed. “After all these years, you know me so little.”
“I know you well enough. Dash it all, you could never be happy with a man who wants you only for your fortune.”
She removed his hand from her arm. “I’m going to tell you something I shouldn’t. But I can think of no other way to put your mind at ease.” She glanced away. “If Alec had wanted to ruin my chances with you forever, he could have. All he needed to say was the truth—that he and I have been…intimate.”
Sydney gaped at her. “What?”
With a blush, she met his gaze. “Twice, as a matter of fact. Don’t you see? If he’d wished to, he could have told you I wasn’t chaste, and you would never have wanted to marry me. But he didn’t. And more than anything else, that proves his sincerity.” She took his hand and squeezed. “I only hope you won’t think too ill of me for it.”
“I could never think ill of you,” he swore.
“Good. Because I want to remain your friend. But right now I must go.”
“To him,” he said bitterly.
She smiled. “Yes. I love him, you know. In a way that I never loved you. And perhaps in a way that you never loved me, either?”
