Page 6 of The Gentleman's Seduction
She buried her fear as best she could and composed her features. “If you take me, will you consider my father’s debts fully paid?” she asked. Her body shook as she came to grips with what she was considering: to give herself to this man to save her family.
“Livvy, you will not.” Her father looked down at her, fear and anger in his eyes. She pushed past him to stand face-to-face with Mr. Banks.
“Well?” she asked.
He crossed his arms over his chest, scowling a little. “Yes. You in exchange for the entire debt.” His stare burned into her with such intensity that she shivered with dread.
She cleared her throat. “What are your conditions?”
He stroked his chin, seeming to ponder the question, but she sensed he already had an answer. “You will be mine for as long as it takes me to tire of you.”
Icy tendrils curled around her, paralyzing her. How long would it take for him to grow bored and let her go home?
“No,” her father snapped. “She isn’t going with you. Livvy, go into my study and stay with your mother.”
She wished she could obey her father. More than anything else in the world, she wanted to run from this horror she was agreeing to. But she was no longer a child. She could not hide behind her mother’s skirts and allow her family and home to be ruined. Her parents had sacrificed much for her over the years. It was her duty to return that devotion.
“No, Father,” she said quietly, then looked Mr. Banks in the eyes. Her blood pounded so hard in her ears she could barely hear her own voice. “I agree to your terms.”
3
“Livvy, I won’t let you do this.” Her father gripped her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake.
“Papa, Ihaveto do this. I cannot let you and Mama be tossed into the street. It is within my power to save you.” She glanced toward Mr. Banks and saw him smirking, as though her family dilemma was somehow amusing to him.
“The lady has made her choice, Hartwell. She comes with me. Tonight.”
“T-tonight?” She choked on the word.
“Yes, tonight.”
His cool reply made her dizzy. “I’m not ready. I can’t—”
“Tonight,” he repeated. “You may pack a valise, but bring no more than a few dresses. You won’t need them. I will provide you with suitable clothing for the position of my mistress. And you will not be given a separate house. You will share my home with me so I may have you at my beck and call.”
“Banks, you bastard!” Her father lunged, his fists raised. Mr. Banks looked equally ready to strike her father.
Livvy leapt between them, placing a hand on her father’s chest and one on Banks to keep them apart. “No! Mr. Banks, may I please speak to my father alone?”
He lowered his fists and tugged on his waistcoat to straighten it.
“Yes. I will return to my coach outside. Join me when you are ready.”
“I will be out shortly.” She promised, meeting his cold blue eyes. He accepted with a swift nod, then left the room.
“Livvy…” Her father’s voice softened. He curled his hands around her shoulders and drew her into a fierce embrace. “You mustn’t go.”
She hugged him back, but her mind was made up.
“I have to, Papa. He will take our home away. I know you and Mama have been saving these last few years, but it hasn’t been enough, has it? We lost most of our servants ages ago, and we can barely afford new clothes and—”
“I know.” Her father cut her off, but not harshly. Sorrow and regret dimmed the light in his eyes. “But this is my fault. I should be punished, not you. I made a mistake many years ago. I took away his home. His father owed me about eight thousand pounds, and I…” He choked on the words. “I was desperate. I had my own debts to pay, so I evicted them. He must have been just a lad then, seventeen or eighteen.”
“You…you did this to him?” Horror gripped her heart, and she couldn’t meet his gaze.
“Yes. I was wrong to do it, but it’s too late to make amends. That man outside willneverforgive me. You must not go with him. He will be cruel. He could—” Edwin didn’t finish.
“I think his cruelty is not of the physical kind, Papa.” It was a hunch, perhaps a silly hope, but there was something about Mr. Banks that seemed to suggest he would have more of a cutting tongue than a brutal fist. And a tongue was something she could deal with.
