Page 49 of The Wolf Duke's Wife
Lady Gillray’s face sagged for a moment, but then her mouth snapped shut and her lips twitched.
“I do not know…”
“How close you are to being publicly shamed,” Tristan spoke over her, advancing a step.
“I have nothing…”
“On that, we are in agreement. You have nothing. No control over your ward, who is now my betrothed.”
Tristan turned as though dismissing Lady Gillray. He came to stand beside Christine, close enough that she could feel the heat of him, smell the faint spice of his cologne.
“Your Grace, I fear you are misinformed,” Lady Gillray said with an obsequious smile, “I…”
“Am a reprehensible individual who has abused her position as guardian over Christine. And you would not survive the scandal.”
Christine wanted to laugh as Tristan ruthlessly refused to allow Lady Gillray to complete a thought. She was turning dark with apoplexy, eyes bulging. Tristan stepped into the gulf whichher angry astonishment had created. He took Christine’s hand deliberately, his thumb brushing her knuckles.
“Lady Christine is no longer under your guardianship. She is under mine, as my future wife.”
“She is penniless. Her brother squandered the Southbria fortune.”
“She is, but I am not, so it is irrelevant.”
“She is tainted with the scandal of her brother. You will be tarred with the same brush.”
“And I have the means to hound those who spread gossip until the end of time. Christine is mine, and I do not appreciate trespassers.”
Christine held her tongue and warred with her own feelings. The casual possessiveness infuriated her.
I do not want to be a man’s possession. Any man’s possession. But hearing him say it feels almost like… freedom.
“She has not yet reached twenty-one years old. Therefore, she is unable to marry without the permission of her father, who is dead, or her guardian. Who is very much alive. Needless to say, I withhold it. But I am open to…negotiation.”
She spun on her heel, stamping out of the house. The echo of her departure lingered long after the door slammed. Christine stood rigid, her hand still in Tristan’s. When she finally pulled away, her voice shook. “You should not have done that.”
“I should not have stopped her from dragging you away?”
Christine turned away, pacing. “You enjoy this, don’t you? Pretending concern while tightening your net. You think if you make me dependent on you, I will tell you what you want.”
“What I need,” he corrected, “is information about your brother. Gillray all but confirmed she’s in contact with him.”
Her pulse stumbled. “You were listening.”
“I was saving you,” his tone hardened, “if I were not here, what then? Would you have gone with her?”
“Never.”
“Then you are welcome.”
She faced him, anger and confusion knotting together. “You use kindness as a weapon.”
Tristan’s expression didn’t change, but something flickered in his eyes.
“If I were truly kind, Christine, I’d have stayed out of your life altogether.”
“And yet here you are.”
“Yes,” he said quietly, “here I am.”
