“I offered to finance her season and her sister’s in order to give her a choice.” Tricia squared her shoulders. “How could you use her situation against her like that?”
“I beg your pardon?” It was his turn to straighten. “I am helping her. We are helping each other.”
“No, brother.” Tricia stepped closer looking angrier than he had ever seen her in his life. “I am helping her. You were trying to help yourself. She can’t say no, so she’d be tied to an absentee husband who shirked his duties. Tell me, will you hire another man to raise your children?”
Theo didn’t answer. He had none. But surely Violette hadn’t seen it that way. Why would she have agreed? Instead he spun on heel and headed toward the inn.
He heard them all behind him. Picking up his pace, he reached the inn at a dead run. Ryker shouted and so did Luke, but he ignored them, heading up the stairs.
He knew which room was hers. It was the only closed door on the second floor. Stepping up to it, he banged on the wood. “Violette,” he called.
He heard her yelp. He was in the right place.
“Open the door.”
“I can’t,” she said. Then more loudly. “I won’t.”
He banged on it again. “What is the matter with everyone? We are helping each other.”
“Theo,” her voice was louder, she clearly stood on the other side of the door. “I’d expected an arranged marriage. I did. But not a husband who wouldn’t be there. It’s not that your offer wouldn’t help but I can’t take it.”
“Why not?” he growled against the door.
“I…” she started, “I love you.” He heard her broken sob. “It would break my heart every time you sailed away.”
Theo stumbled back. She loved him? Now more than ever, he wanted to hold her in his arms. He wanted to kiss her senseless. But he’d proposed an arrangement where love had no place. He let out a moan as he scrubbed his face with his hands. After he dropped them back to his sides, he saw Ryker, Luke, and Tricia standing at the end of the hall staring at him with wide eyes. Well, only one of Luke’s was wide. The other had swollen shut.
“What are you looking at?” he roared.
Tricia stepped forward. “Tell her you love her too,” she spoke so softly he almost didn’t hear it.
Did he? Maybe. But to declare it would be to give up his dreams, his plans, his chance at proving himself a success. With another guttural cry, he stomped away. He didn’t know where he was going and he didn’t care.
* * *
Violette had mostly held in the tears until Tricia’s soft plea. When Theo stormed away, that was the moment she knew. It was hopeless.
Whatever had been banking her grief, broke loose. Tossing herself across the bed, she let the tears flow.
She’d done it now. She’d pushed him away and there was no going back.
Violette knew what the alternative was, but it stilled heart. A soft knock at the door interrupted her grief.
“Violette,” Tricia called.
She pulled herself from the bed to walk over to the door and open it. Her limbs felt almost too heavy to move.
Once she’d opened the door, Tricia wrapped her in a hug. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured against Violette’s hair.
Tomorrow, she’d be able to say that it was for the best but she couldn’t now and she dropped her forehead onto Tricia’s shoulder and let the tears flow again.
Shuffling made her look up and through bleary eyes she saw Luke and Ryker standing in the hall. She quickly wiped at the tears, embarrassed to be seen like this, but as soon as she’d dashed them away, she noticed that Luke looked awful. With a gasp, she took in the damage. “What happened?”
“Teddy looks worse,” Luke grumbled.
It took a moment for those words to sink in. “Theo did that to your face?” She looked over at Tricia. “Why?”
“Let’s move this conversation out of the hall.” Ryker gestured into her room.
They all shuffled inside. She and Tricia sat on the bed while Ryker pulled over a desk chair. Luke stood, grimacing as he held his ribs in one of his hands. “He got me with a good body shot.”
“But why would he do that?” Violette looked around the group. “You’ve helped him. You’re his family.”
“I was helping him again. He needed to see what an arse he is.” Luke grimaced he leaned against the desk. “But I may be getting too old to teach that kind of lesson.”
Ryker gave a low chuckle. “I think you did a fair job. What I didn’t expect was for my lovely wife to deal an even more effective blow.” He gave Tricia a loving look.
Tricia shook her head. “I’m not sure about that. I think I made things worse.”
“You didn’t.” Violette took her head. “It’s not that I’m happy but…”
Ryker gave her an approving smile. “You, my dear, are very clever. I’m glad you’re smart enough to see that what Teddy offered isn’t a deal any woman should take, even when it comes from a duke. And Teddy needs a little reminder that just because he’s a lord, doesn’t mean he can do as he wishes. He’s long thought his father held him back. He needs a lesson that money and power come with responsibility, not freedom.”
Violette dropped her head, closing her eyes. “I have neither money nor power. Just responsibility. And I hope I’ve done my duty to mine because I am not sure that I did. My family needed this match and maybe I am the one who requires the lesson.”
Her response was met with silence. She would not cry in front of them, but tears threatened to spill over. Finally Ryker spoke. “You have honored both your family and yourself. I’ve nary met a woman who had shouldered her burden better. And I will do my best to see that Teddy sees reason.”
She gave a nod but she wasn’t at all sure that it would help. She may have ruined everything. It was a choice she’d made and she’d face the consequences.
Chapter Thirteen
Theo sat in the tavern drinking away his pain. His face ached, his shoulder throbbed, and he’d been betrayed by his family, by the woman he…he would not say loved.
They were making it sound as though he wasn’t doing his duty to her. Which was absurd. He would save her family from ruin, prop up her sister and her brother, make her a duchess. How many women would make that exchange without hesitation?
But the voice he attempted to wash away with ale thought of Tabbie, heavy with child and alone. Not just for a few days but for months. What if Luke wasn’t there when she gave birth? What if she were alone when an accident like this occurred?
He ordered another ale and dropped his head into his open palm. He heard her voice, so soft and lovely when she’d declared her love. Barbados, or any other tropical island, seemed inconsequential compared with the warmth in her voice.
“What has you looking so sour?” A familiar voice grumbled next to him. “Besides the weather, of course. Bloody England.”
His head shot up as Rex came into view. “You arrived quickly.”
“Not as quickly as you I see.” Rex sat down next to him. “I got a missive from one of my captains at almost the same moment I received one from you.”
“I would like you to know my ship didn’t start the fire.” Theo dropped his head again.
“Really? I assumed it was. Neglecting your duties as you have been,” Rex drawled.
Theo’s head shot up. “Don’t you start too.” But as he met his friend’s gaze he saw the playful smile about Rex’s lips. Clearly, he jested.
“I shouldn’t start too? Is your family giving you a hard time about neglecting your life in England?”
“Yours isn’t?” Theo raised his eyebrows but pain shot through his forehead.
Rex chuckled. “They have, but apparently not as much as yours. Bloody hell, your face looks awful. Worse than normal.”
Theo attempted to glare. “They wanted me to marry, produce an heir.”
“Dreadful.” Rex gave a shiver. “Had they picked a woman?”
“How did
you know?” A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “The stranger part was that I met her on my way home. She is…” How to describe their instant attraction and connection to his friend who hated the idea of commitment?
Rex sucked in a ragged breath. “Do not say it.”
“What?” Theo sat up straighter. “I didn’t say anything.”
Rex grimaced. “Out with the story. Get it over with.”
Theo gingerly rubbed his forehead. Then he began. He told him of the English rain that caught him off guard, then of Violette’s mercenary rescue. How he left her only to have her arrive at his door. “It was like providence,” he said in a low voice.
“It was geography,” Rex growled.
Theo honestly wasn’t so certain. He continued his story with the confrontation he’d had with Tabbie.
“It’s her husband who’s been shouldering a great deal of the burden?” Rex asked. “Did he lecture you too?”
Theo pointed at his face. “In his own way.”
“Ah,” Rex nodded. “A respectable way for a man to show his dissatisfaction.”
“My face disagrees.” Theo continued on to his discovery that Violette successfully had grown her brother’s holdings, though not quickly enough nor with adequate funds. Then he relayed his plan to live a double life.
Rex didn’t say a word, which was odd. But Theo continued, “Then today, my sweet sister, who never has an unkind word for anyone, told me she’d agreed to finance Violette and her sister’s seasons in society in order to ensure my plan failed.” His fists clenched. “They have rallied against me.”
“Family,” Rex grumbled. “A plague on us all.”
Theo sat, now sipping his ale. Somehow the retelling had given him some clarity. “I know I can’t leave for two years at a time but what would be so wrong with taking the occasional adventure while still maintaining a family?”
Rex remained silent. Theo looked to his friend to see his face twisted in pain. “You can’t have both. Trust me, my father tried. In the end, he ruined all of our lives.” Rex tossed him an angry glare and Theo’s head snapped back in surprise. Rex never acted this way.
“Your father tried?” Theo asked.
Rex waved his hand. “Tonight is not my night for stories, but I am certain you have to choose. It’s one life or the other, you can’t have both.”
Hell and damnation, even Rex was against his plan.
“Your friend is right.” Luke stood over him.
“When did you get here?” Theo growled.
Luke gingerly sat in the chair next to him. “Long enough ago to hear the important parts.”
“This is your brother-in-law, I take it.” Rex grinned his usual rakish smile, his angst already forgotten. “I see you gave as good as you got.”
Luke rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “I’m too old for brawling.” He exhaled long and loud. “Everything hurts.”
“You deserved it,” Theo spit. “Talking about how some other man would crawl into my wife’s bed.”
“Your wife?” Rex asked at the same moment Luke spoke.
“You deserved it, talking about leaving a woman like that to her own devices.”
“Your wife?” Rex repeated and then. “A woman like what?”
“Never tell Tabbie I said this. She’d skin me alive. But that girl is beautiful inside and out. You’ll never find better and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you let her slip away. She is truly lovely.”
“Why can’t I tell her that?” Theo asked.
“Because I’ve sworn high and low that there is no woman who can outpace your sister. She’d kill me for even hinting at it. But Violette is a contender and right now, you’ve taken a rare flower and trampled it under your boot. She’s upstairs crying on your sister’s shoulder, absolutely devastated.”
“She is the one who told me she wouldn’t accept my proposal. More or less.” Theo’s voice was rising.
“Yes. Because she’s also the one who declared her love.” Luke leaned forward, which took an exceptionally long time. “Which is unrequited, apparently.”
What a mess. Theo’s brain had gone numb from the ale as he tried to decide what to do. “What do I do?”
He’d expected Luke to answer but it was Rex who replied. “You have to choose. Adventurer or duke. You can’t be both.”
* * *
Violette’s tears dried. Not because she didn’t still ache but because she’d run out of liquid with which to produce them. She’d sent Tricia to bed some time ago, and she lay in her room feeling broken and weak.
Food likely would have helped but no way would she speak with anyone in order to get it. So she lay there wishing sleep would take her and sweep her into oblivion at least for a little while.
A soft knock sounded at the door and she was certain that Tricia had returned to check on her. “I’m fine,” she called.
“Violette,” Theo rumbled.
She sat up, her breath catching. Did she throw open the door or tell him to go away. “Theo,” she answered uselessly.
“I’ve brought you dinner,” he said. “Please open the door.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and crossed the room. “Thank you. If you could just leave it by the door.”
He gave a heavy sigh. “We need to talk.”
“I know,” she answered. She wanted to open the door. Actually, she wanted to throw her arms about his neck. “But under the circumstances I don’t think it’s wise to do this tonight. Unchaperoned.”
“You know I will be a gentleman. I don’t want to discuss this in front of anyone else. It’s a conversation for just the two of us,” he rasped.
She stood trying to decide. It was a conversation for just the two of them, but if he ruined her now, there would be no more choice. While she tried to decide, however, the knob turned and the door opened. Blast, she hadn’t locked it after Tricia had left.
Theo stepped in the room and softly closed the door.
“I didn’t say you could enter.” Her arms crossed over the chest in what she hoped was a stern stance, but more likely she looked as though she were protecting herself.
He gave her a long stare as though he could see into her soul. “At least take the food,” he said, then he handed her a plate.
Sighing, she took the food and sat at the desk. “Thank you.” It smelled wonderful and her stomach lurched in need.
“Eat.” He waved his hand. “I’ll wait.” Then he sat on her bed.
She took a bite and then another. Before she knew it, the food was gone.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered. At least one of her aches had dissipated.
“Good.” He looked away from her then. “I’ve been told several times today that I can not have both lives. I can’t travel the world and be a husband and father.”
“I don’t believe you can,” she replied her heart hammering in her chest. Would he choose her? Was that even possible?
“So I’m to choose then?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He looked at her then, his face twisted. “Before I do, I want to know exactly what is your choice?”
Chapter Fourteen
“My choice?” Violette’s soft voice was like a balm. “What do you mean my choice?”
“I mean, have you chosen me? Because based on today, I am not sure that you have.” He didn’t intend to sound angry but he was. He’d done wrong here, but he wasn’t the only one who had been hurtful today.
“I choose to have a man by my side who shoulders his responsibility. My father did not. Look where that has led me.” She straightened then.
Ouch. That stung a great deal more than Luke’s fists. “I see.”
“Theo, I want that man to be you. But if I don’t force it now, I may never be able to again. This is the one time a woman has real leverage.” Her hands rested on either side of her cheeks as she spoke.
It was tempting to concede to her. To wrap her in
his arms and promise to be better. But there was something else. “Fair enough. But you could have spoken with me directly. Instead of concocting a plan where my sister informed me we were no longer engaged and she’d be sponsoring you and Daffodil.”
Her hands slid from her face even as her mouth dropped open. “Oh dear,” she whispered. “You’re right. It was awful what I did.” Then she lowered her head her gaze fixed on the floor.
“Violette,” he groaned. “I beg you, don’t cry.”
“I don’t think I have any tears left.” Then she looked up at him and found droplets forming behind her eyes. “I likely shouldn’t have eaten. It only gave me the ability to make more.”
“Of course you should have eaten.” He couldn’t stand it anymore. He crossed the room and gathered her in his arms. She was so soft, warm, and beautifully fitted against his body. His arms wrapped about her, one of his hands coming up to cradle her head. “I’m sorry too.”
She tipped her head back so it rested more fully in his hand and looked up at him. “Where does that leave us?”
He looked down at her, she was so lovely. He knew couldn’t leave her to marry another man. As much as he knew it was time to shoulder his own responsibilities. “We’ll marry. I’ll stay.”
Her eyes grew wide and her mouth parted. “Really?”
But he didn’t answer, instead he captured her lips with his own. At the touch, he knew he was making the right decision. That he could spend a lifetime just exploring her lips.
As he raised his head, he gave her a smile. “Fortunately, I’ve found a woman who I am sure will entertain me through the long English winters.”
She gave a soft laugh. “I don’t blame you for wanting to explore the world. I’ve always wanted to see other places.” Her lips turned down. “It just isn’t the fate of a woman.”
He felt a jolt, like lightening, course through his veins. “You want to travel?”
She gave a little nod. “I don’t want to abandon my family, of course. But I’d like to see a little of the world—”
My Duke’s Desire: Wicked Lords of London Page 8
