“Or, you pay me my fifty thousand pounds and go back to the people that have caused you and your family so much harm. Itisyour choice.”
Deborah had thought that she could never hate someone as much as she hated Sylvester, but as she stared at thehandsome devil across from her, she was beginning to wonder if she was wrong about that. Everything he had said was true. Furthermore, he did have a point about the auction. She had wanted to take that route as a sort of poetic justice, but her chances of getting to Sylvester would have been better if she had approached elsewhere, where there were fewer risks of her plan going awry.
“I will not let you touch me,” Deborah whispered, her voice vibrating with rage, “Married or not, you will not lay a hand on me.”
Cedric smirked as he leaned back into his seat.
“As I said earlier. Forcing women is not something that excites me,” he retorted, back to his wry, sarcastic manner.
Deborah rolled her eyes as her lips twinged toward a sneer.
“You are despicable,” she muttered.
“So I have been told,” he replied dryly, then gave a bored sigh.
“I can, however, also be generous when I feel so inclined. So, allow me to sweeten the pot, so to speak.”
“As if you could do anything sweet,” she remarked, and it earned her another dry laugh.
“Sparring with you is surprisingly fun,” he quipped, and she clenched her fists tight in her lap, willing herself not to punch him for teasing her when he already had her cornered.
“Here is my offer,” Cedric went on, “Come inside. It is late, and I was serious about not forcing my driver to take such a journey after an already long day. However, in the morning, if you still want to go, I will have him take you back home. Furthermore, if you do agree to be my wife and mother to my ward, I will give your mother and uncle the same price I gave to the auction, as a token of appreciation.”
Thatgot Deborah’s attention. She pulled back her rage, willing it to cool from a boil to a simmer, and sat up a little straighter.
“Why would you do that?” She asked, eyeing him suspiciously. “You were a bratty boy, and I suspect such selfishness has followed you into adulthood.”
Cedric’s smirk widened into a grin as his dark eyes sparkled.
“Careful, Miss Hunt. Witty sarcasm is my love language, and if you do not wish for me to touch you, you mustn’t play with me so,” he replied coyly.
Deborah’s eyes narrowed, ignoring the way his threat sent shots of unwanted excitement through her veins.
“So,” He asked, ignoring her question as he reached for the door handle and opened the carriage, “I am going inside. Youmay sleep here if you wish, though we keep the carriages in the stables, and the smells in there at times can be quite ripe. Or you can sleep in a real bed in a lovely room in my house. And Miss Hunt? They truly are lovely. I do take pride in my home.”
He then shrugged. “Whatever you decide.”
He then leaned forward in his seat to exit the carriage, his large body unfolding from the small space and taking up most of the room. Deborah’s brows shot up as she watched him exit, wondering suddenly how such a large man had even gotten into such a small seat to begin with. Then, with a sigh of annoyance, she followed him.
“I suppose a bed would not hurt,” she muttered.
“Splendid choice,” Cedric wryly retorted. “Come along then. The staff is no doubt asleep, but I will show you to a room.”
Deborah stayed standing at the bottom of the stone path, watching with bristling annoyance as Cedric walked toward the door. His offer to pay her family seemed too good to be true. Could she turn it down? Fifty thousand pounds could go a long way for her family.
“I will not wait long,” Cedric called from the open front door.
Rolling her eyes, Deborah sneered at him. Still, she willed her feet to move and went inside with Cedric.
“Rubbish,” Deborah sighed, rolling over yet again in her bed. She leaned up, plumped her pillow, and lay her head down again. The effort to get comfortable and finally sleep failed for the twelfth time, and with a snarl of frustration, Deborah flung back the expensive bedding, threw her legs over the side of the bed, and took a long look around the room.
She was not sure how truthful Cedric was yet, but at least he had not lied about his home being lovely. The Duke of Calder’s estate was the very definition of class, at least if the hallways and her guest room were any indication. For a renowned bachelor and rake, Cedric kept his house incredibly well-maintained and decorated. The room he’d put her in had a baby-blue ceiling with soft white clouds painted on it, and in its center hung a gold chandelier; its candles unlit due to the lateness of the hour. From the ceiling, the baby blue bled into a deeper, almost teal color down the walls, and upon the shining wood floor lay a plush white carpet that spread a good way beyond the large four-post bed that was placed upon it.
A white marble fireplace stood opposite the bed. To the left was a large Georgian wardrobe with shining gold knobs, and to the right was a matching vanity. The room once belonged to a woman, she wagered, especially since Cedric had invited her to take whatever she might need from the wardrobe, where she found several clean, white nightgowns, a dressing robe, and a few pretty dresses. Feeling grimy from the night, she had chosen to change into one of those nightgowns, and the fabric was cleanand soft- so much softer than the cheaper fabrics she’d been forced to get used to over the last few years.
As she looked around the room, she wondered what the woman had been to Cedric. A mistress, she supposed. Perhaps the mother of the girl that Cedric proposed she take care of. And where was such a woman now? Such thoughts swirled with all of the others taking up Deborah’s mind, rendering her sleepless and restless. Hoping some tea might help, she lit an oil lamp and left her room to search for the kitchens.
With the oil lamp held high, Deborah meandered quietly through the darkened halls. She took in the masterfully crafted paintings, the expensive side tables, the exotic potted plants that gathered in the corners. It truly was a remarkable place- and, to her growing annoyance, confusing as it was large.