Page 55 of A Duke But No Gentleman
Imogene was making very little sense.“What did you believe?”
“I let him ruin everything,” she said, more to herself than him.Her face crumpled as she sobbed into her fist.“I did not tell him that I sent a note to your house.If what he told me was true, I did not think it mattered.Is that why you came?You believed his lies, too?”
What lies?
He did not understand exactly what had transpired before his arrival, but the pain and confusion in her voice was breaking his heart.He picked her up and held her close to his chest as he stood.“Imogene, love, I have not spoken to Norgrave.How could I?I left town.Remember?You need to be resting on a bed, not—”
Imogene practically strangled him as she wound her arms around his neck.“No!I cannot, please, I cannot.”
Tristan thoughtfully glanced at the bed and the bedchamber.His initial impression had been that a robbery had taken place and the chamber had been ransacked.When he imagined his friend alone in the room with Imogene, the confrontation became more intimate and sinister.His intense gaze lingered on the bedcovers that had been pulled back and were twisted.The linens were soiled with smudges of blood and other stains he could not identify.Her bloody gloves had been discarded at the edge of the bed.
Dear God.
“He’s a dead man,” Tristan said.The fury simmering in his gut rose as it threatened to consume him.Imogene had her face nestled against his shoulder as she attempted to hide from him and the devastation of Norgrave’s attack.
Without asking her permission, Tristan carried her out of the bedchamber.He did not need a lamp to find his way to the bedchamber he had shared with Imogene.Grimly, he understood what she was trying to tell him—that she was ruined because of what Norgrave had done to her.
The immoral lice-ridden bastard.
He placed her gently on the bed.When he tried to step away to light a candle, she clung to him.
“Do not leave me!”she begged.
Tristan struggled to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.“Love, I’m not.We are staying long enough for me to find a cloak for you and then we will be on our way.You need to be examined by a physician.I need to know—” He cleared his throat.“You’ve been hurt and I need to know how badly.”
The strain on his neck was unbearable so he sat down beside her.She crawled back onto his lap and he welcomed the chance to hold her again, while he struggled to strap down his emotions for her sake.
“I do not know if I can let anyone…” She trailed off, her voice so faint he had to bow his head to hear her.“Everyone will know what was done.My father.There will be a scandal.Verity.Is it fair that my sister pays the price?”
Tristan listened, trying to make sense of what she was telling him.Norgrave obviously was counting on her to never speak of his attack.How did he hope to keep it a secret?Did his friend think he would hold his silence once he learned the truth?
I wasn’t supposed to find out.
Imogene had said that Norgrave was unaware that she had responded to his note.If Tristan had not followed her to the house, she would have continued to believe the blackguard’s lies.She would have spurned all of Tristan’s efforts to speak to her, and for the sake of her family, she would have never told anyone what had transpired in this house.
“I am to blame for all of this,” he murmured, sickened and desperate to avenge her.“Norgrave would have never touched you if I hadn’t desired you.If I had left you alone—”
“After our first meeting, I longed to see you again,” she whispered back.“I was shameless enough that I would have chased after you if you had not sought me out.”
He closed his eyes and wished he could have arrived in time to stop his friend.“Imogene, we cannot stay and pretend nothing has happened.Norgrave has to pay for his crime.I need to alert the watch.”
“No,” she said flatly.Imogene stirred in his arms, but she did not push him away.“Do you think to find justice in the courts?If you have him dragged in front of a magistrate, he will tell everyone that I was a willing participant.He will point out that I had a key to your house, and no one will blink an eye when he announces that both of you were my lovers.Naturally, he will be contrite and offer to marry me to spare my family the scandal.Even if my father protests, the magistrate will find it an acceptable resolution for all parties.”
Tristan cursed.He had not considered that Norgrave might be forced to marry Imogene if the truth became public knowledge.Norgrave had never expressed any interest in marriage, however, there were advantages to marrying a duke’s daughter.Had this been Norgrave’s plan all along?
“I cannot marry him, Tristan,” she said starkly, trembling in his arms.“I could not bear it.”
“Neither could I,” he grimly replied.“However, I cannot keep silent and feign friendship with the man who has hurt you.Don’t ask this of me.”
She brought her fist to her mouth to smother her sobs.“Then you condemn me to a fate far worse than death.”
“Not if I can help it,” he said, tenderly shifting her from his lap to the mattress.“Do you trust me?”
Tristan winced at her hesitation.Of course she did not trust him.He had failed her in so many ways.
Imogene grasped his hands when he attempted to move away.“I want to trust you.Is it enough?”
Tristan concealed his disappointment with a slight grin.He couldn’t complain since she was granting him more than he deserved.“I will prove to you that your trust isn’t misplaced.It begins with us leaving this house.”
