41
" You have to go rescue Gabe before he does something foolish. Chetwin is here and they’re near to coming to blows over that stupid race. They’re in the card room.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, I can’t believe Foxmoor invited that idiot.” He hurried off.
As soon as Oliver disappeared into the house, Celia and Minerva tugged Maria inside, grinning. “Hurry, before he gets back.”
They were met by Lord Gabriel and Lord Jarret, who strode up with several young men in tow.
“Lord Gabriel!” Maria exclaimed. “Your brother-“
“Yes, I know. And while he’s gone…”
He and Jarret introduced the other gentlemen to her. By the time Oliver returned, she’d promised dances to all of his brothers’ friends.
Oliver’s frown deepened as he saw Gabe standing there, blithe as could be. He raised an eyebrow at his sister. “Was running me off in search of Chetwin your idea of a joke?”
“I got confused, that’s all,” Celia said brightly. “We’ve been introducing Maria around while you were gone.”
“Thank you for making her feel welcome,” he said, though he eyed the other gentlemen warily. Then he held out his arm to Maria. “Come, my dear, let me introduce you to our hosts, so we can dance.”
“Sorry, old chap.” Gabe said, stepping between them, “but she’s already promised the first dance to me.”
Oliver’s gaze swung to her, dark and accusing, “You didn’t.”
She stared to feel guilty, then caught herself. What did she have to feel guilty about? He was the one who’d spent last night at a brothel. He was the one who’d been so caught up in his battle with his grandmother that he hadn’t even bothered to ask her for a dance. He’d just assumed that she would give him one, because he’d “paid” for her services. Well, a pox on him.
Meeting his gaze steadily, she thrust out her chin. “You never mentioned it. I had no idea you wanted the first dance.”
A black scowl formed on his brow. “Then I get the second dance.”
“I’m afraid that one’s mine,” Jarret put in. “Indeed, I believe Miss Butterfield is engaged for every single dance. Isn’t that right, gentlemen?”
A male swell of assent turned Oliver’s scowl into a glower. “The hell she is.”
Mrs. Plumtree slapped his arm with her fan. “Really, Oliver, you must watch your language around young ladies. This is a respectable gathering.”
“I don’t care. She’s my fi-“ He caught himself just in time. “Maria came with me. I deserve at least one dance.”
“Then perhaps you should have asked for one before she became otherwise engaged,” Celia said with a mischievous smile.
Gabe held out his arm to Maria. “Come, Miss Butterfield,” he said in an echo of his older brother’s words, “I’ll introduce you to our hosts.” As she took his arm, he grinned at Oliver. “You’d better start hoping you draw her name in the lottery for the supper waltz, old boy. Because that’s the only way you’re going to get to dance with her tonight. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
42
" But as the evening wore on and he was forced to watch Maria dance with a succession of young and handsome gentlemen, he began to wonder if he was so smart after all. Because seeing her with them was really chafing him raw.
One of the idiots made her laugh several times-an egregious transgression. Another let his hand linger on her waist after the dance was done-a cardinal sin. And the last one before the drawing had the audacity to whisper something in her ear that made her blush-a crime so unpardonable that Oliver wished he could thrash the man senseless for it. He’d never wanted to thrash so many men at one time in his whole life.
Somehow he managed to remain calm as the gentlemen gathered for the drawing. He watched Maria write her name on a slip of paper and put it into Foxmoor’s top hat, but he couldn’t tell if Foxmoor succeeded in snagging it. He held his breath through the entire process, only relaxing when the men started drawing names and Foxmoor dropped a slip of paper into the hat with a meaningful smile just as Oliver reached in.
Pulling the slip out, he read aloud, “Miss Maria Butterfield.”
Maria didn’t say a thing, her expression unreadable.
But she was his for the next dance whether she liked it or not, and his for supper, too. He meant to make the most of it. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
43
" I have to second Gran’s thanks for not giving up on me.”
“I did consider it a few times,” she teased. “But you can be such an engaging fellow that I never considered it for long.”
“And there was all that encouragement from my siblings,” he said. “All their little machinations to help our romance along.”
He had the satisfaction of watching his wife blush very prettily. “I didn’t have anything to do with that. I had no idea they were trying to ‘push you’ anywhere.”
“Of course you didn’t. You don’t have an ounce of guile in your entire body. But I knew what they were doing.”
She blinked at him. “You did?”
“My siblings are as transparent as that fetching night rail you put on every evening.”
“If you knew, why didn’t you fight them?”
“Because they were pushing me in a direction I wanted to go.”
“That’s very sweet, but I’m sure you had no desire to marry until-“
“From the moment I met you, sweetheart, I could tell I was in trouble. I didn’t acknowledge it, but on some level I sensed it. When a man first sees the thing he never realized he wanted, he knows it instantly. He just doesn’t always know how to get it.”
She laughed. “Oh, I think you figured out very quickly how to get it. You just kissed me until I stopped kneeing you in the privates, and after that I was putty in your hands.”
“So that’s the secret, is it?” Reaching over, he hauled her onto his lap. “Now I know how I’ll be spending my afternoon.”
Her eyes gleamed at him. “Meeting with the tenants?”
“Guess again.” He began to unbutton her gown, which very conveniently opened in the front.
“Consulting with the carpenter?”
“Absolutely not.” Kissing each swath of flesh revealed with the release of a button, he started dragging up her skirts with his other hand.
“Seducing your wife?” she teased, then caught her breath as he slipped his hand between her legs to find her already ready for him.
“Exactly. But, if you don’t mind, I believe I shall skip the part where you knee me in the privates.”
And as she burst into laughter, he set about to show her the decided advantages in marrying a rakehell. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
44
" So now Nathan had a new partner, who, by all accounts, was a dour old drudge with nary a daughter to his name. She’d seen Nathan in town once since then. He had not looked happy.
But she was insanely happy, especially after what the doctor had hold her yesterday. With only a few days left at home, she and Freddy had dragged Jane and Oliver on a romantic picnic. So far, it wasn’t going all that well. Poor Jane darted up at every sound. Freddy’s mischievous brothers had convinced her that wild Indians might descend upon them any minute, and no amount of Freddy’s posturing with the sword could relieve her fears.
Oliver was no help, either. He kept pretending to see feather headdresses behind every bush, though Maria had told him repeatedly that the only tribes in their area had left long ago. He was every bit as devilish as her cousins, who’d embraced him instantly as a man after their own heats. Aunt Rose had pronounced Oliver a smooth-tongued rogue the first time he told her how fetching she looked in her peacock bonnet.
Little did she know.
“Are you sure there’s a fish pond back there, Freddy?” Jane asked skeptically as Freddy led her around a deserted cabin.
“Quite sure.” He puffed out his chest. “I’ve caught many a fine trout in that pond.”
“More like trout bait,” Maria told Oliver, who was stretched out on the blanket beside her, reading a letter from Jarret. “I’ve never seen a fish longer than my thumb in that pond. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
45
" You were never as much to blame as you thought,” she told him softly.
A brief smile touched his lips. “That’s what you say. But you’re biased.”
She shrugged. “Maybe a little. But I would never have agreed to marry you if I’d thought you capable of real wickedness. I wouldn’t have risked having a child of mine suffer the same torments you and your siblings suffered.”
Oliver went still. “And does this sudden mention of some future child have anything to do with your sneaking out of the house to consult with a physician this morning?”
She gaped at him. “You knew? How did you find out?”
“Believe me, angel, I know whenever you leave my bed.” His eyes gleamed at her. “I feel the loss of it right here.” He struck his heart dramatically.
“Aunt Rose spoke the truth about you,” she grumbled. “You are a smooth-tongued devil. And apparently you read minds, as well.”
He chuckled. “Your aunt simply cannot keep secrets. But to be honest, it’s not been hard to notice how little interest you show in your breakfast these days, and how often you like to nap. I know the signs of a woman with child. I watched my mother go through them with four children.”
“And here I was hoping to surprise you,” she said with a pout. “I swear you are impossible to surprise.”
“That’s only because you used up all your surprises in the first hour of our meeting.”
“How so?”
“By boldly threatening me with Freddy’s sword. And by agreeing to my insane proposal. Then by showing sympathy for the loss of my parents. Few people ever did that for me.”
As a lump caught in her throat, he pulled her into his arms. “But your greatest surprise came long after, on that day at the inn.” Laying his hand on her still flat belly, his voice grew husky. “You surprised me by loving me. That was the best surprise of all. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
46
" Good God, Miss Butterfield,” Lord Jarret said. “Don’t tell me you read Minerva’s Gothic horrors.”
“They’re not Gothic horrors!” Maria protested. “They’re wonderful books! And yes, I’ve read every single one, more than once.”
“Well, that explains a few things,” Oliver remarked. “I suppose I have my sister to thank for turning a sword on me at the brothel.”
Lord Gabriel laughed. “You took a sword to old Oliver? Oh, God, that’s rich!”
Lord Jarret sipped some wine. “At least the mystery of the ‘weapons at her disposal’ is now solved.”
“He was misbehaving,” Maria said, with a warning glance for Oliver. Did he want them to know everything, for pity’s sake? “He left me no choice.”
“Oh, Maria’s always doing things like that,” Freddy said through a mouth full of eel. “That’s why we won’t teach her to shoot. She always goes off half-cocked.”
Maria thrust out her chin. “A woman has to stand up for herself.”
“Hear, hear!” Lady Celia raised her goblet of wine to Maria. “Don’t mind these clod-pates. What can you expect from a group of men? They would prefer we let them run roughshod over us.”
“No, we wouldn’t,” Lord Gabriel protested. “I like a woman with a little fire. Of course, I can’t speak for Oliver-“
“I assure you, I rarely feel the need to run roughshod over a woman,” Oliver drawled. An arch smile touched his lips as his gaze locked with Maria’s. “I’ve kissed one or two when they weren’t prepared for it, but every man does that.”
Lady Minerva snorted. “Yes, and most of them get slapped, but not you, I expect. Even when you misbehave, you have a talent for turning ladies up sweet. How else would you go from having a sword thrust at you to gaining Miss Butterfield’s consent to be your bride-eh, Miss Butterfield?”
Maria didn’t answer. Something was nagging at the back of her brain-a vaguely familiar line from one of Lady Minerva’s books: “He had a talent for turning ladies up sweet, which both thrilled and alarmed her.”
“Heavens alive.” She stared at Oliver. “You’re the Marquess of Rockton!”
She hardly realized she’d said it aloud until his brothers and sisters laughed.
A pained look crossed Oliver’s face. “Don’t remind me.”
Sparing a glare for his sister, Oliver muttered, “You have no idea how my friends revel in the fact that my sister made me a villain in her novel.”
“They only revel because she made them into heroes,” Lord Jarret pointed out, eyes twinkling. “Foxmoor got quite a big head over it, and Kirkwood’s been strutting around ever since the last one came out. He loved that he got to trounce you.”
“That’s because he knows he couldn’t trounce me in real life,” Oliver remarked. “Though he keeps suggesting we should have a ‘rapier duel’ to prove whether he could.”
Maria stared at them agape. “Do you mean that the Viscount Churchgrove is real? And Foxmoor…great heavens, that’s Wolfplain!”
“Yes.” Oliver rolled his eyes. “Churchgrove is my friend, the Viscount Kirkwood, and Wolfplain is another friend, the Duke of Foxmoor. Apparently Minerva has trouble coming up with original characters.”
“You know perfectly well that I only used a version of their names,” Lady Minerva said smoothly. “The characters are my own.”
“Except for you, Oliver,” Lord Jarret remarked. “You’re clearly Rockton. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
47
" Oliver reached past her to yank the curtains closed, then moved to sit beside her. She stiffened, but didn’t resist as he looped one arm about her waist to pull her back against his hard body.
“You don’t even know what you’re giving up,” he rasped, “what it’s like to shatter beneath a man’s touch. If you knew, you wouldn’t be so eager to throw that away for the cold comfort of a respectable marriage.”
She closed her eyes against his words, but they were designed to tempt her, and tempt her they did. Last night had only roused her curiosity. Now, with the spicy scent of his cologne in her nostrils and his breath warming her cheek, she wanted to know more, feel more.
His voice lowered to a whisper. “Let me at least show you what you’d be missing.”
She felt rather than saw him shrug off his cloak, leaving him in his shirtsleeves. That sent a wayward thrill down her spine.
“Have you forgotten that I’m deplorably a virgin?” she said, attempting to regain control over the situation.
“No. And you’ll still be one when I’m done.” He pressed his lips against the bit of neck below her bonnet, making her shiver deliciously. Then he untied her bonnet and tossed it onto the opposite seat so he could press a kiss into her hair. “I only want to give you a taste of passion, sweetheart. Enough for you to see what it could be like between us.”
“Oliver…” she protested, turning toward him.
That proved a mistake, for he caught her head in his hands and kissed her. Boldly. Deeply.
And she couldn’t bring herself to stop him. Mercy, how fiercely he kissed! He scarcely allowed her breath as his mouth plundered hers over and over, startling her pulse into a wild gallop. She curled her fingers into his shirt, not sure whether she was trying to hold him closer or push him away.
It didn’t matter. He had full command of her, and he knew it. His large hands held her still as his tongue tangled with hers, and his thumbs slid down to caress her throat with a tenderness at odds with the wild abandon of his kisses. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
48
" Rockton is no more Oliver than Churchgrove is Lord Kirkwood,” Lady Minerva said stoutly.
“Then why did you steal my name for him?” Oliver asked.
“It’s not quite your name, old chap,” Lord Gabriel said. “And you know perfectly well that Minerva likes to tweak your nose from time to time.”
“Stop calling me ‘old,’ blast it,” Oliver grumbled. “I’m not some doddering fool.”
“How old are you, anyway?” Maria asked him, amused by his vanity.
“Thirty-five.” Mrs. Plumtree had said little until now, but apparently the conversation had piqued her interest. “That’s long past the age when a man should marry, don’t you think, Miss Butterfield?”
Aware of Oliver’s gaze on her, Maria chose her words carefully. “I suppose it depends on the man. Papa didn’t marry until he was nearly that age. He was too busy fighting in the Revolutionary War to court anyone.”
When the blood drained from Mrs. Plumtree’s face, Oliver’s eyes held a glint of triumph. “Ah, yes, the Revolutionary War. Did I forget to mention, Gran, that Mr. Butterfield was a soldier in the Continental Marines?”
The table got very quiet. Lady Minerva focused on eating her soup. Lady Celia took several sips of wine, one after another, and Lord Jarret stared into his soup bowl as if it contained the secret to life. The only real sound punctuating the silence was Lord Gabriel’s muttered “bloody hell.”
Clearly, there was some undercurrent here that Maria didn’t understand. Oliver was watching his grandmother again like a wolf about to pounce, and Mrs. Plumtree was clearly contemplating which weapon would best hold the wolf at bay.
“Uncle Adam was a hero,” Freddy put in, oblivious as usual to undercurrents of any kind. “At the Battle of Princeton, he held off ten of the British until help could arrive. It was just him and his bayonet, slashing and stabbing-“
“Freddy,” Maria chided under her breath, “our hosts are British, remember? "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
51
" Suddenly he spotted Gran deep in conversation with Kitty’s closest friend, and relief coursed through him. Gran would squelch the tale at once. And once she tried to quash the gossip, he would win-because he could then threaten to send notice to the papers of his betrothal if she didn’t back down. She’d have no choice but to give up on her scheme.
Except…she wasn’t acting as if she meant to squelch it. She was talking to the other woman with great animation. And when she met his gaze from across the room, beaming from ear to ear, he realized in a flash that he’d misunderstood everything. Everything.
She hadn’t been bluffing him. All the rot about trying to buy Maria off, the disapproving looks and snide remarks…all along, Gran had been goading him toward what she wanted. God preserve him.
With a sickening sense of inevitability, he saw her go to the duchess’s side and whisper a few words, then saw the duchess rise and tap her glass to indicate she had an announcement to make. With a triumphant smile, Gran announced the engagement of her grandson, the Marquess of Stoneville, to Miss Maria Butterfield of Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
All eyes turned to him, and the whispers began anew.
He couldn’t believe it. How could he have been so blind? He’d lost the battle, maybe even the war. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
53
" Hetty was awakened from a doze in a chair by the sound of a door opening. She was about to make herself known to whoever had entered the library when someone else entered, too, and she heard Minerva say, “Well? What do you think? Am I right about Oliver and Miss Butterfield?”
Shrinking into the chair, she prayed she wouldn’t be noticed in the corner.
“It certainly looks that way.” It was Jarret’s voice. “He does seem to have genuine feelings for her. I’ve never witnessed him act like that over a woman. You should have seen him-ready to strike me when I suggested going after her myself.”
“What a brilliant touch!” Minerva cried. “I told you he liked her. And I’ll hazard a guess that she likes him, too. I went up to her room after they got back, and she blushed furiously when I asked if Oliver had behaved himself.”
“That’s the problem. Liking her is one thing, but whether he’ll act on the attraction honorably is another matter entirely. Oliver isn’t used to being around a woman he’s not allowed to…er…”
“Take to bed.”
Hetty blinked.
“My God, Minerva, don’t say things like that! You’re not supposed to know about such matters.”
“Pish posh. I could hardly grow up with a rogue for a father and three rogue brothers without hearing a few things.”
Hetty had to chomp on the inside of her cheek to stifle her laugh.
“Well, at least pretend you don’t know, will you?” Jarret grumbled. “One day you’ll say something like that in public and give me heart failure. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
55
" I’m sure you tried to prevent that. For all we know, Nathan may not even be where he can see a London paper. As long as word doesn’t reach him, it’s fine.”
It was always her precious Nathan who concerned her, her damned “genteel and proper” fiancé. “I hope word does reach him.”
Her clear gaze met his steadily. “Do you?”
“Yes. Despite doing my best to make sure it doesn’t, I hope that bloody arse reads it and realizes what he’s thrown away. He deserves to lose you.”
Her expression wary, she slid from the bed and reached for her wrapper. “And what about me? Don’t I deserve a good husband?”
He tugged the wrapper from her fingers, then tossed it to the floor. “Hyatt couldn’t possibly make you a good husband.”
“So I’m to live alone, then?”
“No.” Snagging her about the waist, he drew her close. “You’re going to marry me.”
The minute he spoke, he realized it was exactly what he wanted. Her as his. Forever. Even if that scared the hell out of him.
Apparently it scared her a little, too, for she was staring at him with shock. “Why would I do that?” she whispered. “Why would you?”
“It’s the only way I can have you, isn’t it? "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
56
" You do that a great deal, don’t you?”
He swallowed the rest of his wine. “What?”
“Close up into yourself whenever someone tries to peer into your soul. Make a joke of it.”
“If you came out here to lecture me,” he snapped, “don’t bother. Gran has perfected that talent. You can’t possibly compete.”
“I only want to understand.”
“I want to be consumed by a star, but we don’t all get what we want.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” Turning for the nearest door into the house, he started to stalk off, but she caught his arm.
“Why are you so angry at your grandmother?” Maria asked.
“I told you-she’s trying to ruin the lives of me and my siblings.”
“By requiring you to marry so you can have children? I thought all lords and ladies were expected to do that. And the five of you are certainly old enough.” Her tone turned teasing. “Some of you are beyond being old enough.”
“Watch it, minx,” he clipped out. “I’m not in the mood for having my nose tweaked tonight.”
“Because of your grandmother, you mean. It’s not just her demand that has you angry, is it? It goes back longer than that.”
Oliver glared at her. “Why do you care? Has she got you fighting her battles for her now?”
“Hardly. She just informed me that I was, and I quote, ‘exactly the sort of woman who would not meet my requirements of a wife.’”
A smile touched his lips at her accurate mimicking of Gran at her most haughty. “I told you she would think that.”
“Yes,” she said dryly. “You both excel at insulting people.”
“One of my many talents.”
“There you go again. Making a joke to avoid talking about what makes you uncomfortable.”
“And what is that?”
“What did your grandmother do, besides giving you an ultimatum about marriage, that has you at daggers drawn?”
Blast it all, would she not leave off? “How do you know she did anything? Perhaps I’m just contrary.”
“You are. But that’s not what has you so angry at her.”
“If you plan to spend the next two weeks asking ridiculous questions that have no answers, then I will pay you to return to London.”
She smiled. “No, you won’t. You need me.”
“True. But since I’m paying for the service you’re providing, I get some say in how it’s rendered. Bedeviling me with questions isn’t part of our bargain.”
“You haven’t paid me anything yet,” she said lightly, “so I should think there’s some leeway in the terms. Especially since I’ve been working hard all evening furthering your cause. I just finished telling your grandmother that I have ‘feelings’ for you, and that I know you have ‘feelings’ for me.”
“You didn’t choke on that lie?” he quipped.
“I do have feelings for you-probably not the sort she meant, though apparently she believed me. But she was suspicious. She’s more astute than you give her credit for. First she accused us of acting a farce, and then, when I denied that, she accused me of thinking to marry you so I could gain a fortune from her down the line.”
“And what did you say to that?”
“I told her she could keep her precious fortune.”
“Did you, indeed? I would have given my right arm to see that.” Maria was proving to be an endless source of amazement. No one ever stood up to Gran-except this American chit, with her naïve beliefs in justice and right and morality.
It amazed him that she’d done it, considering how he’d treated her. No one, not even his siblings, had ever defended him with so little reason. It stirred something that had long lain dead inside him.
His conscience? No, that wasn’t dead; it was nonexistent. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
57
" You look like a goddess,” he murmured as he raked his eyes down her form.
And she melted into a puddle.
“Thank you.” She tried to sound cool and sophisticated. “I much prefer wearing a gown that’s not too tight.”
“Except where it should be.” He dropped his gaze pointedly to her bosom.
The frank admiration in his eyes made her glad that she’d let Betty guide her choice for tonight. After that other scandalous gown, she’d been reluctant to wear anything low cut, but this one did look beautiful on her, even with its décolletage. Salmon had always been a good color for her, and the satin rouleaux trim made her feel pretty and elegant.
“So it’s presentable enough for dinner with your family?” she asked.
“They don’t even deserve to see you in it.” The low rumble of his voice made her breath catch in her throat. “I only wish that you and I could-“
“You do look lovely,” said another voice. Lord Gabriel came up from behind Oliver, dressed all in black as usual. A look of pure mischief crossed his face. “Sorry I’m late, Miss Butterfield, but thank you, brother, for keeping her company until I arrived.”
Oliver glared at him. “What the devil do you mean?”
“I’m taking the young lady down to dinner.”
“That office should be left to her fiancé, don’t you think?” Oliver bit out.
“Pretend fiancé. You have no real claim on her. And since you had her to yourself all day…” Lord Gabriel offered his arm. “Shall we, Miss Butterfield?”
Maria hesitated, unsure what to do. But Oliver was a danger to her sanity, and his brother wasn’t. So she was better off with Lord Gabriel.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, taking his arm.
“Now just wait one blasted minute. You can’t-“
“What? Be friendly to our guest?” Lord Gabriel asked, his face a mask of innocence. “Really, old boy, I didn’t realize it mattered that much. But if it upsets you to see Miss Butterfield on the arm of another man, I’ll certainly yield the field.”
Lord Gabriel’s words seemed to give Oliver pause. Glancing from Maria to his brother, he smiled, though it didn’t nearly reach his eyes. “No, it’s fine,” he said tightly. “Perfectly fine.”
When they headed down the hall with Oliver following behind, Lord Gabriel flashed her a conspiratorial glance. She wasn’t sure what the conspiracy was, but since it seemed to irritate Oliver, she went along.
The incident was only the first in a series that continued throughout the week. Whenever she and Oliver found themselves alone, even for a moment, one of his siblings popped up to offer some entertainment-a stroll in the gardens, a ride into Ealing, a game of loo. With each instance, Oliver grew more annoyed, for no reason that she could see.
Unless…
No, that was crazy. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
58
" . . . You've been striking at her ghost, screaming, 'If you didn't want me to turn out like him, you should have stayed to stop me!'
As his throat worked convulsively, she covered his hands with hers. 'But she can't hear you. So all you're doing is trudging a path that isn't your own, growing more weary of it by the day, wanting more from your existence but believing you're cursed to having less. That is no sort of life for anyone. . .'
'How can you have such faith in me?' he asked hoarsely. 'How can you believe in me when I’ve given you no reason?'
'You've given me plenty of reasons, but there’s only one that matters. I love you, Oliver. I can’t help myself. That is my reason. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
59
" As he strode across the room after Lady Tarley, Maria found herself smiling. She ought to be furious with him, knowing that the gossip might make it into the London papers and get back to Nathan. So whywasn’t she?
Because he’d done it to save her from embarrassment. And because Oliver rarely said anything on impulse. Considering how he’d fought the idea of marriage, it was astonishing he would let something like that slip. It made her hope…
No, she’d be mad to hope for anything more from him-especially given his clear alarm over how he’d misspoken.
The woman Lady Tarley had been talking to hurried to Mrs. Plumtree, who broke into a cat-in-the-cream smile after the woman said a few words to her. Mrs. Plumtree glanced over at Maria, and to Maria’s shock, she winked.
Winked! Maria didn’t know what had happened in the past few hours, but somehow Mrs. Plumtree had gone from disapproving of her as a wife for Oliver to approving of her wholeheartedly.
Oh dear. She had a sinking feeling that this evening was about to head in a direction Oliver hadn’t anticipated.
And the worst part was that a tiny, ridiculous corner of her heart was glad. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
60
" Say you’ll marry me, angel. You have to marry me.”
With his tale of heartbreak in her mind, she feared that he wanted this for all the wrong reasons. “You just want to save me from Nathan.”
“Nothing so unselfish, I assure you.” He trailed his mouth down her throat. “I want you. I need you. God, how I need you.”
He spoke of need, but not of love. Then again, he didn’t believe in love. And though that stung, at least he was honest about it. He’d always been perfectly frank about what he wanted.
“You need me in your bed, you mean.”
“Not just there, and you know it.” He drew back, firm resolve sharpening his features. Cupping her head in his large hands, he met her gaze with an intense look. “I’ll prove it. Agree to marry me, and I’ll leave you to sleep alone tonight and every night until we’re joined in matrimony. I’ll behave like a respectable gentleman. And I’ve never done that for anyone.”
Her blood thundered in her ears. She could well believe it. And something beyond desire shone in his face. Or was she just wishing on rainbows?
“I don’t know, Oliver. Until I can find Nathan-“
“Nathan!” A change came over him, dark and tempestuous. “Forget about Nathan. I won’t let him have you.” His eyes smoldered with a passion like the one seething in her own breast. “I won’t.”
He started backing her toward the bed in an unconscious imitation of his blatantly sensual steps in the waltz earlier, and a thrill shot through her. “You said you would leave me to sleep alone.”
“Not so you can think about him and what you owe him. I’ll make love to you before I let that happen. Because one way or the other, I mean to have you as my wife.” Raw determination shone in his harsh features. “Even if I have to ruin you to manage it.”
That errant thrill made her shiver again, no matter how she tried to suppress it. “Then you won’t need to marry me. You’ll have everything you desire from me.”
A ragged laugh escaped his lips. “It will take a lifetime to have everything I desire from you.”
His words gave her pause. Perhaps he really did need her. Perhaps he felt something even more.
“Besides,” he said with a wry smile as he shucked his coat, then his waistcoat, “my family will roast my ballocks on a spit if I ruin you without making an honest woman of you.”
“I haven’t agreed to let you ruin me,” she pointed out.
His black eyes glittered in the candlelight. “Ah, but you will. "
― Sabrina Jeffries , The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1)
