“Let us be perfectly straight with one another, Miss Bourke. I do not appreciate your attempts to blackmail my brother.”
She caught her breath, surprised both by his bluntness and by the fact that Adrian had confided in him. “I know what you must think of me,” she told him, cheeks flaming. “And I don’t blame you for believing the worst. But please believe I never wanted any harm to come to your brother. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him and for what he’s doing.”
He stared at her for a long moment, seeming to stare into her very soul. “Adrian has been through a lot in his life. The last thing I want is to see him in a marriage to a woman who does not love him, so I am prepared to make you an offer.”
“What sort of offer?” she asked suspiciously.
“I’ve done some checking, and I’ve discovered your fondest wish is to leave the stage. I believe that is what has driven you to such an act of desperation. If you give up this ridiculous plan to marry my brother, I will set you up very comfortably in a house in the country for the entirety of your life. Just please, don’t do this to Adrian.”
She stared at him, stunned by his generosity. He obviously loved Adrian very much. For a moment, she considered it, for, in truth, he’d just offered her everything she’d ever wanted. She and Gabriel in a pretty little house in the country...
But she hadn’t earned it, and when she thought of never seeing Adrian again, a part of her cried out in denial. She wanted him. She could not bear the thought of letting him go. When she thought of adopting Gabriel, the picture was not complete without Adrian there beside her.
“I thank you for your generosity,” she told the earl, with as much dignity as she could muster. “But I must decline your offer. Adrian needs me. He needs someone to see past his scars and recognize him for the beautiful, brilliant man he is.”
The earl gave her the ghost of a smile. “You’re right. That’s exactly what he needs. But are you the one to give that to him, I wonder?” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t even consider it, were it not for the fact that Adrian allowed himself close enough to you for you to discover the truth. You must know how hard it is for him to trust anyone.”
She nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. “I have no intention of hurting him again.”
“See that you don’t,” he replied sternly.
She blinked rapidly, feeling like the worst sort of trash. Hadn’t the last few hours proven beyond a doubt that she did not belong here? Maybe she should just take his offer.
“Don’t cry,” he muttered, his entire manner gentling.
“I tried to get him to tell me the truth,” she whispered. “I wanted him to take off the mask, to trust me with his secret, but he wouldn’t. He walked away from me, rather than take the risk. I waited for him to change his mind, but when it became clear that he wouldn’t, I decided to force the issue. To give him no choice but to show me who he really was.”
The earl gave a hoarse laugh and sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms and hugging her awkwardly. “You’re right. He does need you. And I’m glad you want to try. It won’t be easy, you know. Adrian is anything but easy. Even Morgan and I have a hard time with him.”
“I know,” she agreed, dashing at her tears. “But all I want is a chance to try.”
Chapter Twelve
Two weeks after Vanessamade her awful proposal, Adrian found himself standing at the top of the staircase in Lucien’s London home in Grosvenor Square, staring down at the crowd milling below.
The whispers and excitement were a living thing. Everyone was waiting impatiently to see the earl’s scarred little brother and the beautiful actress he’d convinced to marry him.
