Page 23 of The Seduction of Lord Sin
Flora looked at her. “But you could tell Lord Sinclair. He’d believe you.”
“Why would he believe me? His trust in women could fit into my little fingernail. And why would I want a man so wounded by his first wife? I’m not a great beauty to turn a man’s head.”
“Then have your conversation with Lord Devlin. He most certainly would believe you. And that would make his decision so much easier.”
Flora was right. Why was she putting it off?Because he doesn’t really want to marry you! But what man here did? Toobury maybe, but not because of love.
“Let’s go down for dinner. It’s getting late. The gentlemen will wonder where you are,” Dharma said. “Making momentous decisions on an empty stomach is not ideal.”
Charlotte stood and brushed the front of her gown. “The first sensible thing said tonight. I’m famished. Bella destroyed most of the food before I could eat any of it.”
* * *
Later that evening, after a tedious dinner where the men were too eager and Charlotte tried to be gay, Dharma paced her room, wishing she could send the money hungry men fleeing. The secret Charlotte had revealed to her earlier in the evening swirled in her brain like a tornado. The right man should know. Lord Sinclair should know. Surely if he needs a wife, and he learns Charlotte is not barren… Even to a young woman, somewhat innocent of the world, Dharma could tell Charlotte fascinated him. He watched her throughout dinner like a lion watching a gazelle. Not sure if he should pounce.
Should she tell him? Charlotte would kill her. And could she trust Lord Sinclair not to spread gossip or mock Charlotte?
Her head ached as she processed her options. The one thing she refused to confront was why the idea of Devlin learning Charlotte’s secret upset her. She’d known Devlin all her life, being his sister Rosemary’s best friend. Why did she care a toss who he married? All he wanted was a rich wife and she would never be just a purse for any man. No. Having watched Charlotte’s marriage to her father and compared it to her mother’s marriage, Dharma knew it had to be love or nothing. Her parents had so much love it made the household sing with happiness. Her upbringing was like a spring day until her mother’s death. But then Charlotte had arrived, and her life was infinitely better for having Charlotte as her step-mother. She owed Charlotte so much. Dharma wished she could give Charlotte all she deserved.
Where was Rosemary when she needed her? Rosemary would know what to do.
She would write to Rosemary and—and what then? She couldn’t confess in a letter or ask for advice. What if someone else read the missive?
She needed His Grace to fall in love with Charlotte.
A niggle of doubt filled her head. How did you make a man like His Grace fall in love in only a week?
Her mind whirled with ideas. Sleep would not come, so she decided to fetch a book from the library. Pulling the sash on her robe tight, she slipped into the corridor and stood listening. It must be close to two in the morning and it appeared all were abed.
She didn’t need a candle to light her way. It was a full moon and light filtered in the many windows lining the corridor. It didn’t take her long to descend to the library, and she walked down the first wall looking for something interesting to read.
Dharma had just pulled the first book off the shelf when the noise of the curtain moving in the breeze from the open terrace doors, and the smell of cheroot had her swinging around. A man sat in a high-back, winged chair by the open doors. She saw the tip of his cheroot glow as he dragged on the other end.
She slowly straightened, and a shiver of unease slid through her. Who was it? If it was Bann, she could be in trouble. She looked around for something to use for protection.
“Not very clever to be walking around this house in the dead of night—alone.”
Relief washed through her. Devlin. “I’m not the guest here.” She walked slowly towards where he sat like a king on his throne.
“There are desperate men under this roof.”
“I have a powerful set of lungs.” She let herself smile, but before her lips curled upwards, Devlin’s arm snaked out and pulled her onto his lap, his hand clamping over her mouth.
“Hard to scream now.”
Dharma was too shocked to struggle. Shocked at the feel of the masculinity wrapped around her. Shocked at how her body reacted—a shivering arousal. That was enough to see her come to her senses and struggle. Devlin released her immediately with a laugh.
“Not so brave after all.”
She moved out of his reach. “I’m not scared of you. You’d never hurt me. Rosemary is my best friend. I’ve known you all my life.”
He sat silently staring at her for a moment before uttering, “Ah, honor goes out the window like this wispy smoke, when a man’s desperate.”
He was drunk. She could smell the brandy on his breath. His cravat was undone. His shirt hung open to his waist, and he looked like a man wallowing in a misery not of his making. But gosh, he looked so beautiful. Her heart swelled with the need to help him.
One short sentence could make his misery less. She could tell him Charlotte’s secret, but her throat closed until she could barely breathe. She didn’t want Devlin marrying Charlotte.
Like the flash of a lightning bolt, a vision blinded her.
