Page 25 (1/2)
"I am sorry for that," Hunt intoned "But my father did set you up at the Penwich School He did not abandon you to the gutter or the wolves of the world following your father’s death"
Suddenly Master Brocklehurst’s gaunt, pitiless face appeared in herwolf
Hunt continued, "And he has left you a stipend that should afford you some independence and comfort"
As if that could substitute a father Her head dipped to hide the angry tears brirave to visit But you think money will make auilt --and expect it to disappear Her head shot back up, spine straight Not this time "I don’t want youryour pardon?"
"Don’t you understand? You can’t ed breath and twisted her arm free of Do else I can offer" Hunt’s throat worked "Is it h slapped
"Marriage," DooodI can sponsor you Rather, ood ood match With my connections, I can perhaps even land you a title It’s likely more than you’ve ever aspired to achieve" He flicked a disdainful glance over her starched gray unifore!" Doging her with hi at his side in a white-knuckled fist The incredulity in his voice rankled and she tugged free
Hunt blinked, clearly befuddled "It _is _ done in our circles, Dom Plenty of titled lords’ pockets run short And she’s fetching enough" His eyes roaht more than last season’s crop of debs"
"Her? Fallon? A maid?" Dominic shook his head
"And why h she knew She was nobody A servant The daughter of an Irish gardener
Dominic stared at her, ed "My family owes her a debt"
"My father’s life is a lared at the twoback several steps
Bothshe had coed blue bloods who could never understand where she came from…or what she hoped to achieve in this life
Because they already possessed what she most craved
Freedom Security Freedom from the likes of them Security in a housted, she turned and fled
Chapter 23
"Hungry?"
Whirling around, the bread Fallon clutched slid froround It struck the stone floor with a thud and rolled several feet, bu Hessian boot The bite she chewed turned to dust in herbread
Her gaze lifted, settling on Dominic’s hard face His eyes, relentless chips of ice, drilled into her through the rooainst her skirts and sed
He approached, his steps tapping and echoing lightly in the cavernous roo fire licked his features, lending hi, she supposed, for the demon duke
"Did you not eat dinner?" he asked, his voice flat and eainst her arry earlier"
Too many speculative stares Tooreh for her to hear No one needed to explain it to her The sudden cold wind that blew through the servants’ quarters whenever she entered a roo to do with the duke’s unprecedented visit to the kitchens followed by the ugly scene in the foyer earlier today She was mud in the eyes of the staff Only another reason for her to look to the horizon, to end this and find a situation elsewhere So over the stone floor with a nerve-grating scrape
She watched with growing dread as he crossed his arry now?"
A shiver coursed through her Suddenly, she suspected he wasn’t talking about food and she could not find the words to answer hiine if you accepted Viscount Hunt’s offer, you would have your own servants to call forth in the ht to deliver you a veritable feast" A faint sneer laced his voice
She lifted her chin "I iaze slid over her, dark and unreadable "Of course, as some lord’s wife, you would have to pere for the honor of his name" The way his head tilted back to scan her body, she did not
"Are you deliberately crude?" she snapped Weariness swept over her She tired of the fight All her life, since Da left her, it seeht to survive
"I speak only the truth Of course you could sih she very well should "You could then raid your own kitchen in the ht and need not share your bed with so circureed, a scenario she did, in fact, find rather teht of little else Aside of Doht a man could make her feel as he did Hot and cold all at once
She didn’t kno large the provision Hunt offered, but she would not require much to achieve her dream of independence Hunt had promised her a life of comfort Could it be possible? Could the home she always dreamed of be within her reach? Bitterness coated her mouth If only she accepted the , merely held Dominic’s stare, determined he not kno easily his presence rattled her The silence in the kitchen was suffocating He was suffocating, an encroaching wall closing in on her
She had to get away Now Tonight Forever
"Perhaps this is a good opportunity to discuss a proposition"
"A proposition?" He cocked his head to the side, those gray eyes lighting with interest "Do tell"