Lord of Scoundrels - Loretta Chase [51]
"Vindictive," said Dain. "Don't leave out vindictive."
"I, vindictive?" she exclaimed. "I was not the one who arranged to have the biggest gossips in Paris 'happen along' while I was half-undressed and being led— fool that I was— straight to ruination."
His black brows rose a fraction. "You're not implying, Miss Trent, that I arranged that farce."
"I don't have to imply anything! It was obvious. Vawtry was there. Your friend. And the others— those snide Parisian sophisticates. I know who arranged for them to watch me be disgraced. And I know why. You did it for spite. As though everything that's happened— all the gossip, every dent in your precious reputation— were my fault!"
There was a short, taut silence. Then Dain threw the rest of the papers to the carpet, stalked to the decanter tray, and helped himself to a glass of sherry. He needed only one hand to do that, and only one swallow to empty it.
When he turned back to her, the irritating mockery of a smile was in place. "It would appear that we've been laboring under the same misapprehension," he said. "I thought you had arranged for the— er— interruption."
"I'm not surprised," she said. "You also seem to labor under the misapprehension that you are a splendid catch— in addition to mistaking me for a lunatic. If I were desperate for a husband— which I have not been and never will be— I should not have to resort to such ancient, pathetic tricks."
She drew herself up. "I may appear a negligible, dried-up spinster to you, my lord, but yours, I assure you, is the minority view. I am unwed by choice, not for lack of offers."
"But now you won't get any," he said. His sardonic gaze drifted lazily over her, making her skin prickle. "Thanks to me. And that's what all this is about."
He set down the empty glass and turned to Herriard. "I've damaged the goods, and now I must pay what you deem the value of the merchandise, or else you will heap me with documents, plague me with barristers and clerks, and drag me through endless months of litigation."
"If the law regarded women in a proper light, the process would not be endless," said Mr. Herriard, unruffled. "The punishment would be severe and swift."
"But we live in benighted times," said Dain. "And I am, as Miss Trent will assure you, the most benighted of men. I have, among other quaint beliefs, the antiquated notion that if I pay for something, it ought to belong to me. Since I seem to have no choice but to pay for Miss Trent— "
"I am not a pocket watch," she said tightly. She told herself she ought not feel in the least surprised that the cocksure clodpole proposed to settle matters by making her his mistress. "I am a human being, and you will never own me, no matter what you pay. You may have destroyed my honor in the eyes of the world, but you will not destroy it in fact."
He lifted an eyebrow. "Destroy your honor? My dear Miss Trent, I am proposing to redeem it. We shall be wed. Now, why don't you sit down and be quiet like a good girl and let the men sort out the details."
Jessica experienced a moment of numb incomprehension before the words struck, sharp and stunning as a blow to the head. The room darkened and everything within it wobbled drunkenly. She had to struggle to focus. "Wed?" Her voice sounded very far away, weak, plaintive.
"Herriard demands that I bail out your brother, and house and support you for the rest of your life," he said. "Very well. I agree— but on the same terms any other man would insist upon: exclusive ownership and breeding rights."
His hooded gaze dropped to her bodice, and heat simmered there and spread, just as though it had been his hands, not his eyes, upon her.
She summoned her composure. "I see what you are about," she said. "It's not a genuine offer at all, but a strategy to tie our hands. You know we can't sue you if you offer to do the allegedly honorable thing. You also know I won't marry you. And so you think