Page 63 of Sinfully Wed
“Oh, my God. Tell me you didn’t—Youbeggared him.Youimpoverished him. But I suppose it isn’t the first time you’ve done so to get what you want, is it? Viscount Maplehurst, Emily’s father—”
Odessa pressed a hand over her mouth lest the horror bubbling up her throat erupt from her lips. Shocked to the core of her being, her feet stayed firmly rooted in place.
The study remained silent as the question hung in the air.
“The other Emerson was a wastrel.” Papa ignored her aunt’s question. “He would have squandered away the family fortune on his own. I merely helped him along. Fool had no choice but to wed Odessa. He owed everyone in London, including me, and yet he dithered,” Papa spit out. “But with his brother,thisEmerson, I took the precaution of purchasingallthe outstanding markers. The entire debt is owed tome.”
A small, wounded cry sounded. Aunt Lottie.
“I thought that would be the end of it. But his solicitor gave him a bloody loophole and I never expected the coal—I will not have my plans ruined again.” The slap of her father’s palm against his desk cracked through the air. “I. Will. Not.”
Odessa forced herself to take deep breaths else she feared she might faint. And Burns would find her body in the hall. Papa would be summoned.
Blind. I have been blind to his ambitions all these years.
HebankruptedJordan and his brother, all so that one of them would wed Odessa. Forced them as surely as he’d put a pistol to their backs.
Threatened if I don’t comply.
Jordan’s words to her that night at Lady Curchon’s. A sob threatened to erupt, and Odessa swallowed it down. Her father’s casual words had her lightheaded and her knees buckled.
Papa had done this before. Viscount Maplehurst. Odessa’s grandfather.
No wonder Mama had hated him.
“Odessa wouldn’t want this, Angus.” Aunt Lottie’s voice trembled. “Think of your daughter.”
“I am thinking of her. Honestly, do you think a man like Emerson, despite his reputation, would look twice at Odessa if I didn’t hold a pile of markers over his head? She’sodd, Lottie. Only passably pretty. Certainly not intelligent, if her hobbies are any indication. But Odessa is the only child I have. My heir, whether I like it or not.”
A flare of anger surged through the pain beating in Odessa’s chest. “I was clever enough to have outsmarted you for several years,” she whispered, fists clenched at her sides. How could she have been so blind?
Not blind. Youchosenot to see.
“When Odessa finds out, she’ll hate you,” Aunt Lottie, weeping now, hurled at him.
“Emerson won’t tell her. I’ll have his hide if he does. Put it in the contract that he had to treat her well. Respectfully. And he receives a lump sum for the birth of every child. Incentive, so to speak.” An ugly chuckle lit the air. “I’m holding the man’s markers as well as his bollocks.”
Odessa clutched at her stomach, willing the contents roiling about inside to stay put. Jordan’s treatment of her had been in a bloody contract. Every kindness and smile. Even the tolerance and amusement at her eccentric interests had been dictated by her father. And their physical relationship—
A wave of anguish struck her.
How could she ever believe any of it was real? Worse, how could Jordan not despise her? He had to dance attendance on her like a well-trained dog.
“Odessa—caresfor Emerson,” Aunt Lottie said in a low, pleading tone. “This will destroy her, Angus. You terrible, horrible—”
Her father pounded on the desk. “I’m her Papa. She loves me. When Odessa is surrounded by my grandchildren one day and addressed as Lady Emerson, she will be grateful I went to great lengths to secure her future.”
“No, I won’t,” Odessa sobbed quietly to herself. “Not ever.” She straightened, meaning to march into the study and confront her father. Every fiber of her being dictated that she tell Angus Whitehall what she thought of him. She wouldnevercall him Papa again. Never believe he loved her. She’d only been a tool to further himself. And Jordan—
“And you will refrain, Charlotte Maplehurst, from expressing your opinions to me further, and to Odessa, not at all.”
The menacing tone stopped Odessa in her tracks.
“You’re quite ancient. Elderly. A tumble down the stairs and those old bones will shatter into pieces.” A growl came from the study. “I’d hate for you to take a tumble.”
Odessa swallowed. She steadied herself. Tiptoed quietly back the way she’d come. She could not be discovered. If Odessa confronted the madman in the study, he would hurt Aunt Lottie. Lock Odessa in her room. Threaten Jordan’s sisters. Angus Whitehall would doanythingto get what he wanted. She felt foul. Ruined.Utterlyhorrified.
Jordan, I’m so sorry.
