Will he harm me more once we are married?The thought twisted in her stomach. She had heard of those wives whose husbands left bruises on them in places where the rest of thetoncould not see. She did not want to become one of those women.
“Lord Langdon!” her father, the Earl of Forthwell, called out at that moment, and he immediately let go of her thigh and straightened up, affixing a smile to his face.
“Yes, Lord Forthwell?”
“You must try this excellent vintage,” Lord Forthwell said with a rosy smile. “I had it specially uncorked for this happy occasion. It is a rare vintage from France, and I wanted you to have the very best.”
“You are too kind, Lord Forthwell,” Langdon said with a heartfelt smile that made Vanessa’s own heart sink.He is such a good actor. He could fool anyone into thinking he was the most charming, generous man in theton. “But you did not need to go to such lengths. Just being in the presence of your lovely daughter is special enough for me.”
“That is so very chivalrous of you to say,” Lady Forthwell tittered, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Langdon. “You flatter our dear Vanessa.”
“Indeed, it is not flattery,” Langdon said, beaming at Vanessa. The butler, meanwhile, had moved over to his side and poured him a large glass of the wine. “I speak the honest truth.”
“Vanessa, darling, thank Lord Langdon,” her mother said, casting her a long sideways look.
“Th-thank you,” Vanessa stammered, and her mother’s expression darkened. She was going to be in trouble later for not showing more enthusiasm.
This did not, however, deter Lord Langdon.
“In fact,” he said, and he stood up, taking his knife and tapping it against the side of his wine glass as if he were getting the attention of a large group of people instead of just the five other people seated at the table. “There is something that I am eager to ask your daughter, now that we are all gathered here together and drinking such excellent wine.”
Vanessa thought she was going to cast up her crumpets.This cannot be happening. You must say no, Vanessa. You have the power to say no.The priest would tell her to say no. But as she turned to look up at Lord Langdon, all her will seemed to evaporate. She had not been raised to have will of her own. She had been raised to fall in line, to do her duty, to do as she was told.
“Lady Vanessa,” Langdon said, turning to her. “As you know, we have been friends for a very long time. And during that time, I have come to feel an affection for you that is unmatched by any that I feel for anyone else. You are, without doubt, the most beautiful—” Her mother let out a little squeal of excitement. “—and accomplished young lady of my acquaintance. Furthermore, I believe that I have shown you just how loyal and protective of a husband I will make.”
His eyes gleamed, and Vanessa’s stomach jolted. Even in his proposal, he was alluding to the ways in which he would control her once they were married.
“Lady Vanessa…” And to Vanessa’s horror, he got down one knee right in front of her, and took from inside his jacket pocket a small box that undoubtedly held a ring.
She was going to pass out right in the middle of dinner.
Vanessa gripped the side of her chair and tried to breathe.
Her stays felt too tight. Everything was turning white.
Langdon’s self-assured, smug face leered up at her. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
No. No, no, no, no, no!
But before Vanessa could say anything—before she could even react—there was a loud bang from the front hallway and the unmistakable sound of someone throwing open the front door of the house.
“What the…” Her father stood up, his brow creased, as all of their eyes snapped in the direction of the doorway.
From the hall outside came the slow, deliberate, but unmistakable sounds of a man’s footsteps approaching.
“Your Grace—” they heard a footman say, and then a man’s response, too low to distinguish but deep and resonant. Seconds later, the door to the dining room was flung open.
As one, they all stood up. All of them except Lord Langdon, who remained on his knees, his mouth gaping open as he stared at the intruder.
Vanessa also had to work to keep from the gaping. Not just because the man who stood in the doorway had otherworldly good looks—tall, dark, and wild-looking with long dark hair and a bulky, brooding frame that made him appear almost terrifying—but because he was staring right at her, deep into her eyes, as if he could see all the way to her soul.
“There you are,” the man murmured, and his rich, dark voice sounded starkly familiar. “I have been looking for you.”
Chapter Three
“You,” Vanessa whispered. She recognized him—or not him, exactly, not his face but his voice. He was the priest from the confessional. The deep, masculine richness of his voice was not something she could easily forget.
Except this was no priest. She did not know who it was, but she certainly knew that the wild, dangerous-looking man in front of her was not a member of the clergy.
