Page 53 of Winter's Waltz
He released her, stepping back.
And she was bereft. Cold. All his heat and reassurance had been taken from her. The sole comfort which remained was Arthur, still planted upon her foot.
“If that is how you feel, mayhap it would be best if I go,” he said quietly.
Coolly.
She hated the chill in his voice, in his eyes. Hated the absence of his dimples. Missed the teasing note in his voice, the comfort in his touch.
“Go?” she repeated, numb.
She was not prepared for such a reaction. Could not bear the thought of him leaving her. When their time together was at an end, yes. But she would have had time to prepare herself. More days. More hours. This was far too soon.
He nodded. “If you truly believe me an untrustworthy scoundrel who would imperil you, your future livelihood, and everyone in your employ, then why should I stay?”
When he phrased it thus, why indeed? She had no words. No explanation. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or the shock of the latest havoc which had been unleashed, but her tongue felt thick, her mind sluggish.
“You should stay because we have a bargain,” she managed at last. “One month of your time, a place for you to stay away from the trouble which has been dogging you, in exchange for your lessons. One month to find yourself back in your father the duke’s good graces. One month to teach me how to be a lady.”
“We did have a bargain. But conscienceless ne’er-do-wells do not keep their bargains, do they, my dear?” His voice was cutting as any blade. “So tell me, Miss Winter, which is it to be? Which man am I to you? Am I the man who would knowingly bring about the ruination of your business? Or am I the man you trust, the man you believe in?”
She hesitated. The decision was not an easy one. She had been wooed and charmed and duped before. Gregory had snuck into her room at the Devil’s Spawn that long-ago day. She had been fifteen. He had been older, handsome, a man who praised her and kissed her and told her everything she wanted to hear. A man who had done so because he had wanted to force her brothers into taking him on as a partner of the gaming hell. A man who had another woman he loved, all whilst courting and seducing Gen. Thank heavens Gav had discovered what Gregory had been about before it was too late. Before she had given herself to him.
It was those memories which made her slow to find her answer. Those memories which had made her jaded and guarded. Which made her question trusting the man she had known the Marquess of Sundenbury to be before his arrival at Lady Fortune. One who gambled too much. Who could not answer his debts. Who had brought danger down upon not only himself, but his family as well.
She could not speak. Could not choose.
“I have my answer.” Jaw clenched, the marquess gave her a mocking bow. “Fear not, Miss Winter. I’ll be gone in a quarter of an hour. You needn’t fear I will bring any further trouble to your door.”
“No,” she said at last, for she did not want him to leave.
But it was too late.
He was already walking away.
She flinched as the door slammed for the second time. And then she sank to her rump on the floor and threw her arms around Arthur. He settled on her lap, licking her chin. But unlike so many other occasions before, his beloved presence did not soothe her. Because the Marquess of Sundenbury was going. And from this moment on, their paths would have scant few reasons to cross. His sisters were married to her brothers, but their social circles were worlds apart.
He was lost to her.
Lady Fortune would be too if she did not make it her sole concentration over the next sennight. She had advertised her opening day, and it was arriving soon. She had kitchens to repair, stolen goods to replace, and noblewomen to entice to her doors.
Damn it.
And damn the Marquess of Sundenbury, too.
