Page 34 of Beyond Scandal and Desire
“Absolutely not.” He was horrified with the thought. If there was any color rising in his face at all, it was because her nearness caused cool air to abandon him as he pondered capturing those luscious pink lips, devouring that sultry mouth, knowing her taste—
“I think you are. You’re modest.”
“Hardly. Modesty does not serve a man well when he needs his accomplishments known in order to garner the trust of those with the means to help him up the ladder.”
“I can’t imagine you needing much help. Tell me how you came to be where you are.”
Your guardian cast me aside.“I worked as a dustbin boy, gathering up soot from houses.”
“Like a chimney sweep?”
“Not exactly, although I worked for one for a while until I got too big to scurry up the chimneys.” He was certain she didn’t know the particulars of how residences were kept spotless. “Between occasions when one has the chimney cleaned by a sweep, something must be done with the soot and ash that collects on the hearth. It’s placed in metal pails, set outside for bin boys to pick up. We’d sell it to brick-makers who use it in the making of bricks.”
“I had no idea.”
“Why should you need to know all that goes into keeping you comfortable?”
“I don’t know, and yet it seems I should. You can’t have made much money doing that.”
“No, but I began to think, why sell the soot and ash when I could use it to make my own bricks? I saved up until I could purchase a factory. I was eighteen. I earned more money selling the bricks to bricklayers and builders. From there, I decided why sell the bricks when I could use them to build homes or shops?”
Her eyes widened slightly. “The bricks in this building, they’re yours?”
“They come from my factory. It will provide all the bricks for all the buildings in this area.”
“What a remarkable achievement.”
Until that moment he’d never thought of it that way. It had all been what he’d needed to do in order to get ahead in the world. She made him feel as though his clothes were too tight. Why did she have to do that? Why did she have to make him feel as though he were extraordinary? Her admiration would make the seduction easier, only he didn’t want easier. He wanted to earn the privilege of having her in his bed.
Damnation! What an odd thought. What did it matter how she got there? It only mattered that she did, that she would be denied the duke’s heir, and instead be saddled with the duke’s bastard. That the duke would recognize his failings to see after his ward just as he’d failed his illegitimate son. That every aspect of the duke’s legacy—his heir, his ward, his titles, his estates, his wealth, his position, his respect—could be brought to ruin by one man, the one he’d treated shabbily, failed to recognize.
“I’ve kept you from your other guests, Mr. Trewlove.”
Her voice brought his wandering thoughts back to the task at hand. “Call me Mick.”
“It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“Do you always do what’s appropriate?”
“I try. I think I should like to see the ballroom.”
“I’ll escort you there.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I insist.” Once more he offered his arm. Once more, she took it. He imagined her hand on his arm when he was an old man. Was it possible that she could come to love him, that she would stay with him when she learned the truth? The notion taunted and teased, made him wonder if she could see him asgood enoughwhen no one else in Society would.
“Are your brothers partners in your business?” she asked.
“They have shares in it. But they have achieved success in their own rights with their own ventures.”
They began descending the stairs. “They look to be near you in age.”
“They are. Only a few months separate us.”
“How can that be?”
“Our mum, Ettie Trewlove, did not give birth to us. She merely took us in.” He shook his head. “I should not say merely. It was a burden for her, but she managed.”
