Page 15 of Duchess By Accident
He let a smirk steal over his face, folding his arms across his chest as she closed the distance between them. He could see the tightness in her muscles, the fury in her blazing eyes.
Adrian arched an eyebrow at her. “I warned you there would be a price to pay for my help, did I not?”
“Yes, but I had no idea your price would be to force me into the exact same thing I was trying to escape!” Lady Natalie shook her head as she stopped, just out of arms reach of him. “If I had known I would be saved from one marriage to be forced into another, I would not have bothered asking for your help.”
“You made the bargain, Lady Natalie. I simply claimed my prize.” He met her gaze and closed the distance between them. “You are what I want as thanks.”
“Men! You are all exactly the same. You think you can just take what you want and no one will stop you.” Lady Natalie prodded him hard in the chest.
“Do not equate my actions with those of Lord Bolton’s.” Adrian gritted his teeth, anger flaring in him.
“Why not? From where I am standing you are two sides of the same coin.” Natalie gestured at him.
“We are nothing alike.” Adrian growled, fury coursing through him as he loomed over the young woman.
Her eyes widened and she took a step back. Sunlight fell across her face, and Adrian saw the slight tremor of her jaw, the way her hand went protective to her chest.You are worrying her.He shook himself.
With a great effort, he force his anger away. It would do no good.Control yourself.
“I just want to understand.” Lady Natalie’s voice was soft, almost kind and it melted the last shreds of his rage.
Adrian nodded. He gestured to the sofa and pulled a cord on the wall as he did so. A moment later, a servant appeared.
“Your Grace?” the footman bowed.
“We require refreshments, Green. Kindly ask someone to arrange tea and biscuits, perhaps some sandwiches as well.” Adrian said.
“I shall see that it is done.” Green bowed once more and left the room.
Adrian turned around, and joined Lady Natalie on the sofa. She was still watching him, the edge of suspicion clear on her face.
“I should not have let my temper get the better of me. It was not my intention to make you feel trapped once more, and I regret that this is how you see the situation. But I will not stand for being equated to that loathsome man.” Adrian clenched and unclenched his fist, letting his fingers flex in an effort to keep his cool.
Lady Natalie canted her head towards him. “But you must see how it feels to me.”
“I do. But I am nothing like Lord Bolton.” Adrian’s lip curled, the name an unpleasant taste in his mouth. “The man’s abandonment of his children is most egregious behaviour. To be a father is… It is more than a duty, and to have been so cavalier with so many lives is inexcusable.”
Adrian thought of the women he had spoken to, of the state of destitution they had been forced into, and his anger flared once more. “Many of the women shared how he had coerced them into the situation, using and abusing his power to do as hepleased. There are other details, but I will not share them. They are gruesome and do not bear repeating in such company.”
“I am not a delicate little wallflower.” Lady Natalie swallowed. “I understand how unkind the world can be.”
Adrian nodded. “His disdain for his fellow man is reflected in what has made him wealthy.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“His wealth comes mainly from the colonies, the selling and exchange of our African brethren.” Adrian wrinkled his nose. “No man should own another. William Wilberforce has the true measure of things.”
“Then you support abolition?”
“Can any man claim to be enlightened and do otherwise?” Adrian made an expansive gesture. “It is no wonder the man views lives as cheap.”
Lady Natalie nodded. “I understand why you did not want to be tarred with the same brush.”
“His reasons for marrying you were about control, power. He wanted to break you, to make you pay for what he thought was an unkind rejection.” He shook his head.
“And how do you know that?” Her brow creased.
Adrian let one corner of his mouth quirk upwards. “Men speak rather freely in front of people they believe inferior.”
