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“But you will be an adulteress!”
She nodded slowly. “I will become so the moment Ravenwood’s ring is placed upon my finger, for in my heart I already belong to the man with the prior claim, and he to me. Let it weigh upon your soul at night and rob you of sleep.” She turned away, but then paused before walking out. “You should advise your lord and master to have the solicitor draw up the marriage contract with terms to prevent Ravenwood from withdrawing the money he’s paid for his bride. I’ll see the marriage is consummated so he cannot annul it, but don’t expect anything more of me. And don’t expect a warm welcome should you dare darken my doorstep.”
With that she strode out, leaving her stepmother behind along with all her hopes. The joy and excitement of that morning were now no more than cold, dead ashes in her devastated heart.
…
“I will speak with Eden now,” Percy demanded. “Is my fiancée your prisoner to deny her the right to tell me to my face why I am refused entrée?”
“She is not your fiancée!” hissed Lady Catherine. “She is engaged to Lord Ravenwood.”
“She was engaged to me first,” he growled, rage burning in his gut. “Now tell me where Eden is!”
“I’m here.”
“Eden!” gasped Lady Catherine, turning. Her hand fluttered to her chest. “My God, the servants—it will be all over London before sunset!”
Her stepdaughter looked on her with eyes like twin glaciers. “If so, then the fault is yours. Had you allowed me to better explain it in my letter he might not be here now. As he is here, I will give him the truth he deserves. In private.” Without waiting, Eden beckoned him and made for the drawing room.
With one last glance at his irate hostess, Percy followed. The moment the door closed behind them, he crushed Eden in his arms.
“My hand was forced—I had no choice!” she whispered brokenly. “I could not refuse him without endangering my entire family including my brother. He’s but an innocent child. I could not allow—”
“What leverage has Ravenwood against you to elicit such fear?” he asked her, tilting up her tear-streaked face. He listened in growing fury as she explained. “Your father should have come to me first. I would have helped him.”
“My stepmother convinced him otherwise. Then, Ravenwood approached Papa knowing our financial situation and offered him a way out that would protect his dignity. Papa considers it a fair bargain, a wife for the restoration of his fortune.”
He ground his teeth. “No man pays fifty thousand for a bride unless she’s of the peerage.”
“I agree.” She shook her head in bewilderment. “I cannot understand why Ravenwood wants me when any number of women would give their right eye to marry him.”
“He wants you because I want you.”
Her brow puckered. “I don’t understand.”
God… He could not tell her the truth—not all of it. It would crush her entirely and change nothing of her situation. “Ever has he striven to emulate me. Many have done so, but never as persistently as Ravenwood. The man has practically been my shadow. Now he seeks to further usurp me by taking what is mine.”
Something flared in her eyes, something that made his vitals tighten with need. “Percy, we may not get another opportunity to talk like this before it is too late,” she said, her voice barely even a whisper. “Though I marry Ravenwood out of necessity, you must know he will never be anything to me but a curse. You are the only man I have ever wanted.”
He stared into her eyes. Still she withheld her feelings. It didn’t matter. He loved her enough for both of them. “Eden, I will find a way to get you out of this. I swear it.”
She shook her head. “Ravenwood will follow through on his threat. He will ruin Papa.”
“I would marry you and pay those debts myself. I’d do it a hundred times over.”
“Even if you did, Ravenwood would ruin him still. My stepmother said so. It’s more than just money. I’m sure of it. I know she’s not telling me everything, and I saw real fear in her face when she talked about the man.” She closed her eyes and drew in an unsteady breath. “Something awful will happen if I don’t do this. If for Thomas’s sake only, I must honor this bargain. He is innocent, and I must protect him.”
His tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth. He understood all about making sacrifices for the sake of the innocent. Since opening the school, he’d kept dangerous secrets and had lied time and again, risking his reputation and, even on occasion, his life, to protect the innocent.
Eden’s blue eyes pierced him. “I don’t wish to lessen your opinion of me, but it must be said my marrying Ravenwood changes nothing of my feelings for you. I may take his name, but I want no part of him, and I will give him no part of me not taken by force. As such, I would ask you to—”
The door opened and there stood her father, his face an immovable stone. “Sir, you have violated the sanctity of my house against my wishes. I ask you now to depart forthwith and never return.”
Percy considered for a moment challenging him, but Eden’s eyes pleaded with him not to. There was nothing he could do. Not here
and now, at least. He bowed to Eden. “I remain, now and forever, your most devoted servant, Miss Lowther.” Turning, he addressed Sir Geoffrey and Lady Catherine. “In spite of what you think of me, I only ever sought an honorable union with your daughter, and your friendship.”
“What you sought is no longer of any significance,” said his unwilling host. “Eden is to be married within the month. I expect you to behave with honor and not interfere.”
