Page 2 of The Virgin and the Viscount

She swallowed, shook her head. What could she say to him? He could ruin her if he told anyone about this. What had she been thinking?

“Please,” she managed to say, but the rest of her words died on her tongue. Oh God, he was going to ruin her. Or at the very least lord this over her for his own entertainment.

One brow arched. “Please what?”

“This, this didn’t happen. No one can know. I beg of you, my lord.” God, she loathed that he’d have this power over her. If he were a true gentleman, he’d offer to forget all about this, ease her embarrassment. Instead, he stood there and watched her as if he could see inside to her very soul. She shifted on her feet and clasped her hands tightly in front of her, uncertain of where to put them, as a wave of pure hatred rose within her.

Finally he nodded. “Whatever you wish.”

“You won’t tell him?”

He lifted his broad shoulders into a shrug, a gesture at once both careless and arrogant. Dismissive and rude. “I have no reason to.”

She felt her jaw clenching.

Of course he wouldn’t promise not to tell for the right reasons. He wouldn’t promise because it was the honorable thing to do. The noble thing.

No, Sullivan had no such honor. No such nobility. Instead, he wouldn’t tell because he couldn’t be bothered to. And perhaps because it amused him to have a secret of hers.

No, Sullivan wasn’t a gentleman. He was an absolute and total ass. Of that she was certain.

He searched her face, his expression softening a tad. “I suspect you have no real reason to want to ruin their nuptials.”

“No, I do not.” She shook her head vehemently. “This was a gross display of misjudgment on my part.”

“Very well, Freckles, I shall keep your secret.” He winked then walked back around the desk to return to the chair.

She bolted from the room. He would keep her secret now, but what about the day when he no longer felt compelled to protect her? When he lost patience for keeping her secret? What then?

Her worst enemy knew her darkest secret. All she could do now was wait for the moment when he would wield that information against her.

Sullivan fell back onto the settee and blew out a breath. “Was it just me or did that ceremony last unusually long?”

His older brother, Roderick chuckled from his spot in the adjacent leather chair. “I’ve attended shorter weddings.”

Sullivan thought back to the night before, or rather earlier this morning when Matilda had sneaked into this very study. Her secret admission had surprised him. If he was honest with himself, it angered him as well.

He’d always anticipated being bested by his older brother. Roderick was two years his senior and was everything an older brother and heir should be—smart, clever, and quick-witted. He was a good man, so coming in second had never bothered Sullivan. But losing to Thomas… no, that had been unexpected, not to mention damned irritating.

Thomas had all the appearance of charm and honor, but none of the substance. He was a sniveling, conniving, manipulative bastard. Roderick knew it. Sullivan knew it.

He’d always assumed Matilda was clever enough that eventually she would see it, too.

It turned out the only thing Sullivan hated more than being bested by Thomas was being wrong about Matilda.

Of course, now Thomas was married to Matilda’s sister. Still, she wanted Thomas.

The war in the Indies had ended and he’d been home for several months. In that time, he’d been intrigued by the tall, unconventional beauty. However, she’d taken an instant dislike to him. And now, finally, he understood why—she’d been harboring romantic feelings for his younger brother.

“Plans to find your own bride?” Roderick asked.

“No. I suspect my work is not done with the East India Company and I’ll be called up to travel east again. There’s no reason to saddle a woman with that burden.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Besides, I believe you’re the one of us who actually requires a wife. Need to secure your heir.”

“You become viscount if I don’t have an heir,” Roderick said.

“Precisely why you should find yourself a wife.”

Roderick laughed again. “You know if you want her, you should court her.”

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