Bought: The Penniless Lady

Would Julian have known that? A spasm of guilt gripped Hadrian as he recalled the advice he’d asked Ford to convey to his brother, about the sort of wife he should seek. One with good breeding and useful connections who can help the lad continue his rise in the world.

Had Julian pursued Lady Daphne in a misguided effort to please him?

“Forgive me.” Miss Penrose contorted her lips into a feeble smile. “I did not mean to stir up painful memories. I only wanted to say a few words in Ford’s defense and beg you to make up your quarrel with him.”

Hadrian hated to disappoint the girl, but he was still not convinced Ford had done all he might to avert this tragedy.

Miss Penrose clearly sensed his reluctance. “Surely you can forgive Ford if you could forgive Lady Artemis enough to marry her.”

“Our marriage has nothing to do with forgiveness.” Especially now that he had a clearer understanding of what had happened. “It is only for the sake of the child.”

“I was certain it must be.” Susannah Penrose stuffed her damp handkerchief back in her reticule. “It is very good of you to rescue the poor babe from that cold, crumbling old mansion. It grieved me to think of him growing up in such a place. Daphne hated it. She used to say genteel poverty was the worst kind. It must have been a wrench for Lady Artemis to leave, though. She was devoted to the horrid old place.”

“Genteel poverty?” Hadrian gave a harsh, mirthless chuckle. “What is that—having only five carriages instead of ten?”

“There may be a dozen carriages at Bramberley,” Miss Penrose replied, “but that hardly signifies if they are too old to be of use and there is only a single pair of horses to pull them. Ask Ford if you do not believe me. He says all the Dearings’ income goes to keep up appearances and prevent Bramberley from falling into total ruin. Lady Artemis and the child will be far better off with you.”

As the girl’s words sank in, a fever of rage swept through Hadrian. No wonder Artemis Dearing had been willing to wed him in spite of her obvious aversion. The wretched manipulator, pretending their marriage was for her nephew’s sake when she had only been using the child to secure her own comfort! And he had been so gullible, assuming she could have no mercenary motive for wedding him.

His countenance must have betrayed some of the indignation seething inside him, for Miss Penrose backed away, her eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and alarm. “Since I am too late for the wedding, I should be getting home. I hope you will consider what I said about Ford. I know he would be glad to make up your quarrel, though he might not be willing to make the first move.”

Hadrian made an effort to better hide his feelings. “I promise you, I will think carefully about everything you have said, Miss Penrose.”

His response seemed to satisfy her. “Good day, then, Mr. Northmore. Tell Lady Artemis I wish you both joy.”

Joy? The moment Susannah Penrose was out of sight, Hadrian let his features lapse into a bitter sneer. That was the last thing he expected his marriage to bring him.

“Where are we going?” Artemis tightened her hold on her nephew as their post chaise flew past the local inn without even slowing. “I thought we would be staying here for tonight at least.”

Since it appeared they would be going farther, she edged over as far as possible on the carriage seat. She did not want to risk getting jostled against Hadrian Northmore, their hips forced into brief contact or her knee brushing against his. Any such friction might excite the disturbing undercurrent of awareness she fought to suppress.

“We are going to Durham,” Mr. Northmore announced in a tone that brooked no opposition.

“Durham?” Artemis prayed she had heard him wrong. “But that is hundreds of miles away!”

Hundreds of miles from the safe, familiar countryside where she had lived her whole life. Where her family had lived for generations.

“Three hundred.” Mr. Northmore seemed to take grim satisfaction in conveying the information. “That is why I wanted to get on the road as soon as possible.”

“On the road?” Artemis hoped that did not mean what she feared it might. “Surely you do not propose we travel all the way to Durham in this carriage. It would be much faster and more comfortable to go by sea.”

“I just spent four months on a ship coming from Singapore.” He folded his arms across his broad chest. “I do not intend to set foot off dry land again until I go back.”

“My comfort and Lee’s mean nothing, I suppose.” As Artemis contemplated days spent bumping over rough roads and nights trying to sleep in a succession of unfamiliar beds, her lip threatened to quiver. She bit down on it hard, determined not to give Hadrian Northmore the satisfaction of knowing how his imperious plans dismayed her.

His lip curled. “Your comfort is very important to you, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You don’t understand me?” His sneer darkened into a scowl. “Then I had better make myself plain, hadn’t I? You lured me into marriage to help yourself to my fortune and you used that child to do it! I wonder if your sister meant to do the same thing to Julian?”

If he had struck her a bruising blow with the back of his hand, Artemis could not have been more shocked or outraged. “How dare you?”

“You’ve said that to me quite often in the past few days. How dare I do this, how dare I say that, as though I have no business questioning anything you do?”

Unfolding his arms, he leaned toward her until they were almost nose to nose. Under other circumstances, Artemis might have thought he intended to kiss her.

Instead he dropped his voice to a low, menacing rumble. “I dare say it because it’s true and your fine title doesn’t change that. You put on a good show the other day when you came to see me. Dressed to the nines with your carriage and your servant. Pretending you were conferring a great favor upon me by accepting my proposal. But it was only a show, wasn’t it? Your proud family has no fortune, just a big, old house that’s crumbling away and a name that once meant something.”

How had he found that out? Much as it galled Artemis to hear him say such things about her family, she could not deny them.

He drew back abruptly, leaving Artemis with the bewildering sense that something had been ripped away from her.

Shaking his head in disgust, he muttered, “Who would suspect a marquis’s daughter of being no better than a common fortune hunter?”

She longed to fire back an indignant retort, but indignation was the privilege of innocent people who had been wrongly accused. “I…regret misleading you about my family’s circumstances. I was afraid if you knew the truth, you would exploit my position to take Lee away from me. I could not let that happen.”

She braved his direct gaze, hoping he might see she was telling the truth. Instead, a volatile awareness crackled between them.

“You must believe me.” She felt exposed and vulnerable, overwhelmed by the potent hostility that radiated from him. “I had no intention of deceiving you for mercenary reasons. I want nothing from you except to be able to raise my…our nephew.”

“Why must I believe you?” he growled. “Because you order me to?”

“Of course not. It is only a manner of speaking.” Now that he had this one misdeed to hold against her, he seemed determined to cast everything she said or did in the wrong. “What I mean is I hope you will believe me because I am telling the truth. I may have misrepresented the urgency of my situation, but I never told you an outright falsehood.”

It was clear from his dubious look that Mr. Northmore did not believe a word she’d uttered. Artemis told herself she did not care what he thought of her, but she could not bear to have him speak ill of Daphne.

“You cast an ugly slur upon my sister by implying she let herself get with child to snare your brother. I assure you, that was not the case. Daphne may have been naive and impulsive, but she was never mercenary. She would not have…lain with your brother if she had not fancied herself in love with him and believed he loved her.”

“You reckon she only fancied herself in love with him. Why is that? Because his blood was not blue enough to mingle with the likes of a Dearing?”

“Because they hardly knew each other.”

“Whose fault was that?” His eyes flashed with fury. “Your family would not receive him. They forbade your sister to see him, even after Lord Kingsfold tried to intervene.”